Cooking with soy sauce

I was watching a show where people were eating udon noodles in Japan with a hot "soy sauce based broth" the show did not give any information beyond that tidbit, and it got me wondering, is a soy sauce based broth in Japanese cuisine best defined as a mixture of soy sauce (is there a variety that works best?) and dashi or water (or whatever)? Is there a ratio of water to soy that works well?

I have been cooking with alot of soy sauce lately and have really enjoyed braising pork in water with soy sauce and a good dash of honey.


So in addition to my questions above, I would like to know, how do you cook with soy sauce? Which kinds do you buy, and do you have specific uses for a particular variety of soy?

Thanks guys! :wink:

You'll probably get better answers out of some actual cooks/chefs, but I've been using tamari and miso which are similar to soy sauce. This is what I current have:


The amount I use (or amount to dilute) is based off of the saltiness as the constraining factor for me. I especially enjoy it with pork dishes.

I am out of my comfort zone here. But for cooking with soy sauce I buy Kikoman low sodium. Any amount of reduction on the regular product can get out of hand quickly.

This is a good thread I hope it gets better responses than mine.

I learned from the Kikkoman website it is very important (go do it now) to keep your soy sauce in the fridge to preserve the flavour. I had always been under the impression that soy sauce was fine in the cupboard, which is probably why I have very little experience with it (been using flavourless brown salt water for years, I suppose).

@TJ: Tamari! I had been meaning to pick this up. I am assuming the flavour is quite similar? Are you celiac by the way? Also, nothing wrong with your answers (so give em up)

This is what I have bought the last few times around the Japanese food aisle, next time I will try a new one and report back my findings. It is very delicious, I can pretty much eat it by the spoonful with joy, it has some yeasty notes that remind me greatly of my stout drinking days. I posted elsewhere, this is about 3 dollars worth (500ml). It's sold as "Fancy soy". Not sure what that means.

Same brand as the little bottle I have in the middle, except the tamari was $5.49 for 148mm bottle (~6x the cost) likely due to the organic aspect (plus the handy bottle with spout).

I don't have celiac but don't eat much wheat these days; I grind quinoa and oat flour as needed with my vitamix, but also grow wheatgrass (not sure if that counts lol). I find they taste very similar, less salty and slightly thicker (nothing like a prepared hoisin sauce or anything like that). I think a true connoisseur could tell the difference but I'm not having them side by side. I don't think all tamari is GF, but all have less wheat (or none) compared to soy sauce. Google of "tamari vs soy sauce" is pretty much spot on.

Been goggling the **** out of shoyu ramen but don't trust the random recipes online. Gotta be one of the more representative concepts for making soy sauce based japanese soup? Someone here has to know how to do it right! Share pls :cook::hungry3:

Dilute soy with water or stock, Simmer with sliced ginger, kombu, bonito flakes, scallions, mirin. dipping sauce, best for tempura.

is it this? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Z3F0IW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

its basicly soup base concentrate that you mix with water. I restaurant I used to work at used this for udon broth.

Not a huge fan of Kikkoman anything, although they pretty much dominate the market, even in Japan.
Yamasa is our regular brand at home and it's pretty good.
I'm trying to hunt this down: http://www.s-marunaka.com/homepage_eng/

I use organic tamari. Used to know the difference back in my macrobiotic period 30+ years ago. I use so little of it at a time (in most cases) that I get the good stuff.

From the interests:
"Tamari is traditionally tied to the Japanese (vs. the more common Chinese soy sauce). It is a thicker, less salty, fermented soy sauce that contains less wheat (if not any depending on the brand, aka “gluten-free”). It can be used in asian and non-asian cooking to add a full, savory, umami flavor to your dishes."

One of my two favorite simple ways to cook kale is to steam it and at the end add a little (1/2-1 tsp each) tamari and vinegar. The only other times I generally use tamari are in stir fries and marinades/glazes for fish or scallops. I prefer to use miso in soups for its health benefits.

spoiledbroth said:

I was watching a show where people were eating udon noodles in Japan with a hot "soy sauce based broth" the show did not give any information beyond that tidbit.

Click to expand...

There is a good chance that was mentsuyu, commonly composed of soy sauce, sake, mirin, konbu, and katsuobushi.

ecchef said:

Not a huge fan of Kikkoman anything, although they pretty much dominate the market, even in Japan.
Yamasa is our regular brand at home and it's pretty good.

Click to expand...

Same here; I find Yamasa more refined (for a lack of a better term) in taste.

This is the finest soy sauce I've ever had. Nothing else is even close. Their description is a little superfluous.

Ohsawa Organic Nama Shoyu 5 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019LA77K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Description
• Unpasteurized - Fresh & Alive!
• Made with mountain spring water
• Naturally low in sodium
• Naturally aged over two summers in 150-yr-old cedar kegs
• No added alcohol or preservatives
• Certified Organic
• Certified Kosher by Kof-K

The Only Soy Sauce that's Fresh and Alive!

The spring water used to make Ohsawa[emoji768] Organic Nama[emoji768] Shoyu comes from a small Japanese mountain village called Kamiizumi ("God Spring"). Dr. Masaru Emoto, Director of the Hado Institute in Tokyo and author of Hidden Messages in Water, has water crystal photographs from this spring that reflect its beneficial effects. Optimal well-being literally comes from good vibrations. When we take in good vibrations, they correct distorted frequencies within our cells, assisting our health and healing. Kamiizumisui water has been filtered through Chichibu paleozoic granite strata slowly for 1,400 years. It is scientifically proven to be "rare water, full of life-energizing force," with twice the surfactant potency and 18% more enzyme activity than ordinary water. Its pH is very close to that of the human body.

Enjoy Ohsawa[emoji768] Organic Nama[emoji768] Shoyu's full-bodied flavor and exquisitely delicate bouquet, whether you're using it at the table or in cooking.

Organic, Macrobiotic, Vegan, Raw, Kosher

Anybody got some decent recipes to use soy sauce in? I am planning to try red braised pork belly next time I'm at the market.

Red-braised pork belly is awesome, as are Filipino adobo recipes. Jennifer McLagan has a recipe for braised oxtail that's reprinted here http://sundaynitedinner.com/chinese-braised-oxtail-stew/.

I like soy-pickled beech mushroom too. Soy-pickled anything, really.

ecchef said:

Not a huge fan of Kikkoman anything, although they pretty much dominate the market, even in Japan.
Yamasa is our regular brand at home and it's pretty good.
I'm trying to hunt this down: http://www.s-marunaka.com/homepage_eng/

Click to expand...

I think rakutan has it?

There are a few different types of ramen they make, such as shoyu miso and tonkotsu. But you also have to take into account rich or light flavor. I prefer thick heavy ramen known as kotteri and usually go for s tonkotsu base.

Quick search and here are some useful links:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/the-serious-eats-guide-to-ramen-styles.html

http://luckypeach.com/a-guide-to-the-regional-ramen-of-japan/

Recommend throwing this in google translate if you can't read Japanese :
http://ramenrecipe.info/howto/shouyu_soup.html

osakajoe said:

Recommend throwing this in google translate if you can't read Japanese :
http://ramenrecipe.info/howto/shouyu_soup.html

Click to expand...

Just tried. Ingredients list is interesting. Among other things, I'm going to need:

chicken torso grounds: 1kg (easy enough I suppose)
fist: 2kg (getting weirder)
pig: 1 (sure thing!)
this bonito thickness sharpener: 100g (does it have to be this one?)
mackerel clause: 30g (comes with a lawyer I hope)

:scratchhead:

Most Japanese soup make from base stock (dashi) + soy. http://www.tsuji.ac.jp/hp/gihou/Basic_Techniques/japan/stock/home.html follow that link to learn about stock.

However, for home use, just buy "mentsuyu" (concentrated dashi). They sell everywhere that sell soy sauce
1 part mentsuyu + 5 parts water would become udon soup stock. Most mentsuyu bottle will have recipe to make different soup stock or sauce.

chiffonodd said:

Just tried. Ingredients list is interesting. Among other things, I'm going to need:

chicken torso grounds: 1kg (easy enough I suppose)
fist: 2kg (getting weirder)
pig: 1 (sure thing!)
this bonito thickness sharpener: 100g (does it have to be this one?)
mackerel clause: 30g (comes with a lawyer I hope)

:scratchhead:

Click to expand...

Fist - this is according to a link on the page (http://item.rakuten.co.jp/nikuru/800990/?scid=af_pc_ich_link_img&sc2id=191763051#800990) what we in the west would call a ham hock. But I was also thinking "chicken fist" because chicken feet would lend an incredible body to the stock too.

Probably pig = 1kg ground pork !

Maple according to the page seems to be chicken feet indeed. "Chicken I wonder if too refreshing only gala? When you feel,
you will a thick soup when you plus the maple"

So it seems:

chicken torso grounds: 1kg (chicken torso/parts)
fist: 2kg (ham hock)
maple: 200g (chicken feet)
pig: 1kg (ground pork)
onion: one
green onions: 1/2 This
garlic: 3-4 pieces of
ginger: 50g
Anchovy: 150g
this bonito thickness sharpener: 100g
Sota-bushi: 30g
mackerel clause: 30g
Hidaka kelp: 15g

Although I use soy sauce (the simple Kikkoman stuff) left and right occasionally as a minor flavor booster, I'd say the main volume comes from using it to make Tare sauce (essentially the sauce used for teriyaki.

3 parts hon-mirin
2 parts sake
2 parts soy sauce
1 part brown sugar
(all measures by volume, not by weight - there's a difference!)

Cook and reduce by half. Keeps in the fridge for ages (even kept a pan of it outside of the fridge for a months once) and is a great condiment on pretty much any meat or vegetable that can use some help. Combines great with (lots of) garlic as well, for example when throwing it in with the meat saute at the end.

Ginger, scallion roots, shallots, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, light chix stock, seasoning. bring to simmer and infuse. Thicken with equal part potato starch and tapioca flour.

Soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, fermented black bean, Chinese cooking wine and water. Bring to simmer and cook for a few minute. Thicken it and finish with coriander

For steamed fish

Sautéed shallots, ginger, garlic, dried chilli flakes add brown onions, capsicum deglaze with Chinese cooking wine, add soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, sugar, star anise, cinnamon quills, spring onion roots and chix stock. Can be used for sautéed chix dishes, prawn dishes or even to braise pork belly.

OR

Do something fancy if you are into molecular stuff.

Soy sauce brittles. Soy sauce and sugar + xantham gum then in a mixer whipped ubtil thicken while adding some versawhip. Spread on a baking May and dehydrate for 2 days. Garnish for fish or mushroom dishes