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.
Oyster sauce is a thick brown sauce made from oysters, brine, umami flavor enhancers likes MSG and preservatives.
Invented in 1888 in China, oyster sauce is commonly used in Chinese (especially Cantonese), Filipino and Thai cooking. It is popular on steamed vegetables such as broccoli or in stir-fried dishes.
No salt is added to a good-quality oyster sauce, which gets its salty brininess from the oysters, which are simmered until they produce a broth that is then cooked down until thick and caramelized. Inferior oyster sauces may thicken the sauce with starch and caramel coloring.
Green onions are a somewhat renewable resource in your kitchen. When you finish slicing off what you need for soups, bread, or whatever else you use them for, hang on to the white bub plus a scant inch of the green part. Placed in a small cup of water on a sunny windowsill, the onions will shoot up again and keep you well stocked through several re-growings. Change the water every few days, and clip off pieces as you need them.
Recipe: Scallion and Radish Soup (Barbara Kafka)
Recipe: Green Onion Beer Bread (Coconut & Lime)
Recipe: Boiled Eggs With Green Onions, Bell Pepper And Ginger (cookthink)
Shaoxing wine is a sweet, low-alcohol Chinese drinking and cooking wine that is often confused with Japanese mirin or sake.
Made from fermented sticky rice, yeast and water, it is named for its origin in Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. When used in cooking it adds flavor to marinades, glazes and other dishes such as Chinese Drunken Chicken.
How to cut broccoli into florets
How to cut broccoli into florets
Most broccoli dishes call for florets of varying sizes. The tender broccoli stems, when peeled and sliced, are as delicious as the florets.
Cut off and discard the very bottom part of the stem since it's usually tough and fibrous all the way through.
To make the stems easier to peel, trim away any small "branches" with a pairing knife.
With a peeler (or a pairing knife), remove the tough outer layer of the stem to reveal the tender, lighter green flesh underneath.
Separate the stem and florets with single cut.
Now you can slice the stems any way you like. For quick-cooking dishes, slice the stems on the bias, 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. For dishes that call for larger pieces, cut the stems into 1 to 3-inch sections.
Now you can trim the florets to any size you like. For roasting and braising, keep the florets large. For pastas, stir-fries, and ragouts, cut them small.
When you cut the florets into small pieces you may have some really long stems. To make bite-size pieces just trim them away and toss the stems in with the florets.
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!
