Soy sauce is a salty liquid made from fermented soy beans, roasted wheat, water and salt. Packed with umami, soy sauce is used as a condiment and seasoning in Asian cuisines.
Soy sauce comes in many subtle variations, but is generally broken down into dark and light varieties. Light soy sauce is generally saltier and thinner than dark soy and does not stain food while cooking. Chinese black soy has added molasses that colors dishes as it cooks. The whole soy beans used to make quality soy sauce lend it a dark color, but cheaper brands using soy protein may cheat by adding caramel coloring.
The Japanese use soy sauce as a dipping sauce for sashimi or to season tofu, grilled meat and vegetable dishes. The Chinese use soy sauce mainly for marinades. In Indonesia, it is used mostly as a table condiment (called kecap, which comes in sweet and salty variations).
Be warned: though Japanese tamari (a slightly thicker and complex soy sauce made from more soybeans than most) is generally wheat-free, other commercial brands of soy sauce do contain gluten, so if you are trying to cook gluten-free, check the labels carefully.
Basil is an aromatic herb originally from India. Common sweet basil is green, with large, soft leaves. It is the star ingredient in Italian pesto, and iconic Italian dishes such as the caprese salad. It is also commonly used in Provençal dishes like soupe au pistou.
Thai basil is an herb that can refer to three different types of basil used in Thai cooking -- Queen of Siam, Holy Basil or Horapa, which is the most commonly used Thai basil in the United States. It has purple stems, small greenish purple leaves, and a licorice taste that is distinct from Italian sweet basil.
Thai basil adds a subtle anise flavor and perfume when plunged into hot soups (including Vietnamese Phở), stir-fried dishes or curries just before serving. Or it can be eaten fresh in salads, wrapped in a lettuce leaf with mint, or fried in spring rolls.
Most of the heat in a chile pepper -- whether jalapeño, serrano, habanero, or another -- comes from the white ribs and seeds. Removing both reduces the chile's heat and allows more of the pepper's flavor to come through.
First, cut the pepper in half lengthwise. If you want the halves to stay intact for larger slices or a large dice, just trim out the seeds and ribs, cut out the stem, and slice the pepper as thick or thin as you like.
Otherwise, it's easier to get the seeds and ribs out if you cut each half in half again.
To get the seeds and ribs out, hold each quarter by the end. With the knife parallel to the cutting board, slice across the ribs and seeds. When you get to the top of the pepper, turn the knife downward toward the cutting board and chop off the stem with the same motion. (Here, we used a Granton Santoku knife; you may prefer a smaller paring knife.)
Reference: Help! I ate a hot pepper! (Cookthink)
Reference: How to seed a chile pepper (Cookthink)
Reference:: Why are some jalapenos hotter than others? (Cookthink)
what you should know
Perhaps as foreshadowing of the future of take-out everywhere, soy sauce got its start as a leftover. When the Chinese were fermenting soybeans for a flavoring paste in the 2nd century BCE, they realized that the liquids left behind were also pretty tasty.
Buddhist monks took the process to Japan, and by the 1600s it developed into the standard recipe of fermented soybeans and wheat we eat today.
to each its own Different versions of soy sauce exist across Asia. Chinese soy sauces are made light and dark, with the dark containing molasses to give it a sweeter edge. Japanese sho-yu is categorized according to color and ingredients, and ranges from lightly sweet to intensely dark and salty. Other soy sauces are made in Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, all with slight differences.
it's all the soy to me Though each sauce is slightly different, you probably don't need to have 15 different bottles of soy sauce in your fridge. If you can accept small variations in flavor, a basic Japanese soy sauce will work in most everything.
yum-ami The dark taste of soy sauce is practically the definition of umami, the savory fifth taste that enhances the other four (sour, salty, sweet, bitter) and is found in everything from meats and mushrooms to tomatoes and parmesan cheese.
wheat weak Tamari, a dark variety of Japanese soy sauce, is packed with rich umami flavor. But unlike other varieties, it has little or no wheat - which makes it a safe staple in a gluten-free diet.
what you need
A flat-bottomed wok is a versatile alternative to the rounded variety. You can use it for braises and other liquid cooking as well as stir-frying.
One of our favorite Japanese cookbooks, Harumi's Japanese Cooking, is a beautifully photographed collection of classic and reinvented Japanese recipes.
Nothing says "this isn't take-out" like a pretty soy sauce pot.
what you do
Soy sauce and eggs may not sounds like a fantastic combination, but the savory saltiness of the soy works so well with green onions for this omelet with shrimp and broccoli.
An Asian adaptation of a classic Italian dish: there is a light and refreshing lilt to the tortellini in soy and lemongrass broth.
A simple soy dressing dresses up this cold black rice noodle salad with mixed vegetables from Coconut & Lime.
It's sweet, hearty, salty and earthy, so a plate of stir-fried beef, leeks and bell peppers with basil over rice satisfies just about any craving.
featured recipe This light dish of green beans with mayo-soy sauce made us think of spring! It's this week's featured recipe for the Root Source Challenge and it's from Alanna of A Veggie Venture!
Here's a fast, organized way to slice a bell pepper. First, cut off the top end. You can use the flesh around the stem, so save it to prep at the end.Next cut off the bottom. Save it to slice or dice at the end, too.Split the pepper from top to bottom with a single cut.Pull out and dscard the core and seeds.Now you're left with relatively flat sections. You can slice them to any thickness, in any direction. For stir-frys, slice the pieces into long thin strips.To make larger irregular slices for longer-coooking dishes like braises and stews, rotate the sections back and forth as you slice.
What do we mean by shimmering oil?
What do we mean by shimmering oil?
Shimmering oil is hot oil that is nearing its smoke point.
At room temperature, common cooking oils like vegetable and olive oil seem fairly thick. Put them in a pan and heat them though, and they thin out when you swirl the pan. As they get hotter, they tend to "flow" and coat the pan more easily.
In the right light, when you look at oil that's at a good temperature for sautéing -- nice and hot, but not yet smoking -- it shimmers. It forms "tines" like those on a wine glass. It looks colorful, iridescent even.
Shimmering oil is good for sautéing because it increases the chances that the food won't stick. Hot oil immediately seals the bottom of food, creating a natural barrier between it and the bottom of the pan.
The easiest way to store basil is in a ziploc bag, tucked away in the refrigerator.
The trick here is to manage the moisture content in the bag. If you notice that too much water accumulates in the bag and turns the leaves dark, slip a few pieces of folded paper towel inside the bag between the basil and the plastic. The paper towel will absorb the water, but release enough of it to keep the air inside humid.
If the basil still has roots, you can put the roots in a small cup of water, cover the leaves with a plastic or ziploc bag, and secure the bag around the cup with a rubber band (or just tuck the bag underneath the cup). This method takes up a little more room in the refrigerator, and we haven't noticed that the roots extend the life of the basil that much.
Reference: How to prep basil (Cookthink)
Recipe: Watermelon Basil Agua Fresca (Coconut & Lime)
Recipe: Prosciutto, Mozzarella And Basil Pita Pizza (Cookthink)
Vinegar is basically fermented wine. You know how that forgotten bottle of red takes on a thin, shrill quality when you neglect to drink it in a timely fashion? It's on its way to becoming vinegar. (The French word for vinegar, vinaigre, literally means "sour wine.")
Made since the Gallo-Roman era, vinegar gots its official stamp of approval when vinegarmaking was declared an official occupation in 1580 by Henri IV. It's a pretty simple process: vinegar is made using a bacterial process in which naturally fermented wine is converted into a weak acetic acid that lends vinegar its sour taste.
Vinegar quality depends on the quality of the ingredients from which it is made. There are many types of vinegar, which can be made from wine, spirits, Champagne, rice or honey. It can be infused with tarragon, raspberry and even rose petals.
Reference: The Vinegar Institute's FAQ
Recipe: Quick Pickled Cucumbers and Sweet Onions
Recipe: Balsamic Vinegar Sauce
