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Any great chef (or even most of the not-so-great ones) will tell you that when it comes to cooking, order is everything. Going into the kitchen with a plan helps speed up he process, minimise mistakes and brings out the best in the dish. This could refer to a good prep strategy or the order in which you add ingredients to build up flavours in the best way possible. For example, you wouldn’t add an ingredient like potatoes to a curry first, because they would likey overcook and disintegrate. In the same way, seasonings all have their ideal spot in the line-up to bring out the best in their potential.
When it comes to Asian cooking, and in particular, Japanese cuisine, soy sauce is one of the kitchen staples. But even though it seems like common ingredient, using it to its full potential involves a lot of nuance and practice which revolve around some core tenets of Japanese cooking.
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The Fundamentals Of Japanese Cuisine
Five essential ingredients form the basis of washoku, or Japanese cuisine. They are broken down into five easy-to-remember syllables which are:
- Sa - Satō (Sugar)
- Shi - Shio (Salt)
- Su - Su (Vinegar)
- Se - Shōyu/seuyu (Soy)
- So - Miso
By keeping this in mind, you’ll always know what order to add your seasonings. The reasoning behind this order is that sugar generally takes longer to break down and permeate food than salt does. Vinegar becomes milder and more palatable as it cooks down so it shouldn’t be added at the end. On the other hand soy and miso will lose their aroma if they’re cooked for too long, hence making them the last addition to the dish.
Types Of Soy Sauce
There are five main traditional types of Japanese soy sauce widely available today, and you can find similar equivalents in other Asian culinary traditions. These sauces serve various culinary purposes, such as dipping for sushi, sweetening baked goods, and enhancing stews. Each type brings unique qualities to the dishes.
Koikuchi, the most common type, is a dark soy sauce made from equal parts of wheat and soybeans. Usukuchi, on the other hand, is lighter and saltier, sweetened with amazake, a fermented rice ingredient. Tamari provides a gluten-free option as it is primarily or entirely made from soybeans, while shiro is predominantly wheat-based.
Lastly, there's saishikomi, a variation of koikuchi. This type undergoes a double brewing process, resulting in a richer, darker soy sauce with intensified flavours.
When To Use Soy Sauce
Not every Asian dish calls for Soy Sauce and not every dish made with Soy Sauce needs to be Asian. Thanks to its unique umami flavours thanks to the fermentation process along with the sharp salty nature, Soy Sauce lends itself well to marinades and dressings which would otherwise be one-dimensional. Always remember to factor in the salt content of the sauce when using it while cooking and adjust accordingly as it is very easy to over-salt while cooking with Soy Sauce.
So with this information in mind, you can now go out and conquer the soy sauce world without worry.
