Soy sauce: application and recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

More recently, in our country, no one knew what soy sauce was. Its use on a large scale began only in the nineties of the last century.

Product history

China is considered the birthplace of soy sauce. The first mention of this product is found in the 2nd century BC. There are many speculations about the reason for its creation. Someone talks about the shortage of s alt at that time and the desire of people to use it most sparingly. Others argue that this was due to the desire of the ancient monks, who, for religious purposes, tried to force people to eat only vegetarian food and completely abandon dairy and meat products. One way or another, it was then that the unknown soy sauce appeared. Its use in food has become mandatory and quite familiar. Very soon, this product crossed the borders of its country and began to spread rapidly around the world. The Japanese were the first to love the unusual sauce, and with the help of Dutch sailors, many European countries learned about it. Chefs with pleasureused this unusual Asian seasoning to give a new taste to long-known dishes.

Technology for making sauce and its varieties

Today, soy sauce is prepared in many different ways. However, in any case, the technology of its production is associated with the process of fermentation of a mixture of fried wheat and boiled beans in the presence of certain types of fungi and its subsequent fermentation and pasteurization. This is how real soy sauce is made. Its use in cooking has practically no restrictions, with the exception of desserts. It is used as a savory flavor additive to meat and fish dishes, as well as for the preparation of various dressings and marinades. In addition, it is used as a basis for the preparation of other sauces: mushroom, mustard, shrimp and others. Depending on the aging and duration of the fermentation of the product and the area of \u200b\u200bits application, three types of soy sauce are distinguished:

• light,
• dark,
• sweet.

Each of them has its own characteristic features in the recipe and cooking technology, and this in turn affects how the product is used. Take dark soy sauce, for example. Its use is limited to meat dishes and all kinds of marinades. The reason is that this sauce is thick, concentrated, flavorful and hardly s alty. The light type of sauce is less fragrant, but more s alty and therefore is used to prepare various salads. And sweet contains palm sugar and can not only decorate a dessert, but also favorably emphasize the taste of any meat or vegetable.dishes.

How to use soy sauce

Many people liked soy sauce. Application, recipes and methods of its manufacture are constantly expanding and improving. Adding lime, tomato paste, sesame oil or honey to it allows you to prepare completely new sauces. And the use of cinnamon, ginger, anise, mustard or garlic as an additive gives the dishes a completely unique flavor. Soy sauce can make even the most unsightly plant a real delicacy. For example, the classic "teriyaki". It can be easily made at home by measuring the ingredients with tablespoons. To do this, you only need:

3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of ground ginger and 3 tablespoons of Mirin wine (if it is not available, you can use sake, dry vermouth or any dessert wine).

Preparing teriyaki in one step:

In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients, mix, and then heat for 6-8 minutes over low heat

Teriyaki is ready. Now it remains only to cool. This is best done in the refrigerator. After that, the fragrant mixture can be used as a dressing for all kinds of salads, as well as fish dishes and various seafood. Soy sauce plays the main role in this spicy mass. Applications, recipes and product selections may vary depending on additional ingredients.

Meat in spicy sauce

In Asian cuisine, special attention is paid to meat dishes. Among themthere are many different recipes that necessarily use soy sauce. The use of this aromatic additive to meat allows you to radically change its taste. Take, for example, the recipe for spicy sweet and sour chicken. First you need to prepare the following products:

for half a kilo of chicken fillet (or leg) 6 cloves of garlic, 130 grams of roasted cashew nuts, a tablespoon of starch, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, vegetable oil, s alt, ground black pepper and a little green onion.

Cooking the dish should be done like this:

1. Fillet (or legs) of chicken roll in starch, s alt, sprinkle with pepper, and then fry for 5-6 minutes in oil in a hot frying pan.
2. Put the meat in a bowl and set aside, and in the same pan lightly fry the chopped garlic with chopped onion for 30 seconds.
3. Put the meat back into the pan, add the sauce and half a glass of water. Simmer for 1 minute, and then put the food still hot on a plate and sprinkle with onions and nuts.

This dish will taste good with pasta.

Rice abundance

Where is soy sauce not used? The use with rice, for example, is not limited to the main dish + side dish combination. Both of these components can be easily combined and create completely new recipes from already known products. For example, rice with vegetables. You will need:

250 grams of rice (basmati is better), 1 each carrot, sweet bell pepper, onion andcucumber, a tablespoon of sunflower oil and soy sauce.

Process technology:

1. Boil the washed rice for 10 minutes in boiling water, rinse and let stand covered for another 10-15 minutes.
2. At this time, fry the chopped onion in oil for 5 minutes.
3. Add grated carrots and continue frying the same amount.
4. Then remove from heat and pour a couple of tablespoons of sauce into the pan.
5. Put rice, pepper, cucumber into the pan and mix well.

Now you can eat the dish, and lovers can pour additional soy sauce on it in a plate.

Fragrant addition to dishes

Quite often in recent years there are recipes that use soy sauce. Application for sauces and dressings does not limit the scope of its use. Often it acts as a "dip sauce", that is, a liquid in which the cooked product is dipped. A mixture prepared from the following products tastes good:

2 tablespoons each of soy white sauce and rice white vinegar, 1 tablespoon each of sugar and chili oil, 2-3 cloves of garlic, s alt and ½ teaspoon of monosodium glutamate.

How to prepare such a sauce? To do this, you need:

1. Cut the chilli into thin rings and saute in a little oil.
2. Put it in a bowl and add garlic crushed in a press.
3. Then add the rest of the ingredients one by one and mix well. Add chili oil to taste.

Nowready-made sour-sweet-s alty sauce can be served with fish, meat and all kinds of vegetables. It is equally good both hot and cold.

Where is soy sauce used?

In many countries, this unique product is called the real king among the whole variety of sauces. And this is quite fair. Why is soy sauce so good? Its use in cooking is quite extensive. This product can perform four different functions at the same time:

• marinade,
• gas station,
• component,
• self-catering.

As a marinade, it not only gives a special flavor to the main product, but also greatly reduces the period of its preparation. And if you add special aromatic and flavoring additives to the main recipe, you can get many different unique dressings. In addition, the use of soy sauce as an ingredient makes it possible to exclude s alt from the recipe, and this helps to make any dish more beneficial for the human body. As a separate dish, soy sauce will never be superfluous on the table. There will always be a product for which it is simply necessary. You just need to think carefully about the menu and add a couple of strokes in time.