Soy sauce

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Great stuff isn't it? I love it. But , I do think it is important to have more than one variety in your kitchen.

The basic thin Chinese one is fine for pretty much everything but you do need the thicker variety for cooking. Buy the 'Pearl River' brand if you can for it is genuinely Chinese and better than any Western imitation. They do a variety called 'Mushroom Soy' but quite honestly, I cannot tell the difference.

Then we have Japanese soy sauce which is notably different and equally tasty. I don't cook with it but I do sprinkle it on food. And it seems to me that it is the one to mix with wasabi paste for use as a dip with sashimi and sushi.

Ketjap Manis is a sweet and syrupy soy from Indonesia which I cook with in dishes from that area. Quite different from the above but just the right thing when you want it.