Quality soy sauces
Most people associate soy sauce with eating sushi in particular. However, soy sauce forms a solid base of Asian cuisine where it plays an indispensable role in the preparation of marinades, sauces, dressings, as well as soups, salads and one‑pot meals.
Soya beans have a specific slightly sweet taste and are characterised by their high salt content. Thanks to their glutamic acid content, they have the ability to accentuate other flavours and thus add an extra flavour dimension to dishes - the so‑called umami flavour.
Types of soy sauces
To understand all the different types of soy sauces and how to use them correctly, you would probably need to attend a specialised course. The basic types of soy sauces are:
- Shoyu is a traditional soy sauce that is made from soybeans and wheat. It is suitable for cold cooking or for flavouring ready‑made dishes.
- Tamari is created as a by‑product of miso paste production, making it naturally gluten‑free. Unlike Shoyu sauce, it is darker and more flavourful, and is more suitable for cooking.
Within Shoyu sauces, there is also a distinction between light and dark sauces, which differ in the time they take to mature. Chinese cuisine recipes usually call for light, whereas Japanese cuisine traditionally uses dark soy sauce. Sweet soy sauce made from soy and sugar is popular in Indonesia. Other Asian sauces, such as Hoisin, are also based on soy, Teriyaki or Ponzu.
An alternative to soy sauces is coconut amino sauce which is also suitable for individuals with soy allergies.