# soy sauce



## boomchakabowwow (Aug 2, 2017)

my own pickle thread got me thinking..

i wonder what this crowds favorite soy sauce is.. low hanging fruit imagining this crowd favors the Japanese Shoyu or Tamari no?

what is your GENERAL use soy sauce? i damn well know you all food zealots have multiple soy sauces for different applications ..but what is your grab and go, front of the cabinet soy sauce?


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## DitmasPork (Aug 2, 2017)

Depends on what I'm cooking.

My everyday soy sauce these days are Kikkoman (US) or Yamasa (Japan). For braises or as a dip I'll opt for something richer like Kimlan (Taiwan) Aged soy sauce, though it does contain a bit of sugar.

For a splurge, to use with sashimi or Hawaiian poke, I love Kishibori Shoyuwonderful stuff, brewed in wooden barrels.

Here in NYC, Sunrise Mart, a Japanese grocery store carries about a dozen soy sauces, which makes it a great resource for testing what rocks your boattheir pricey smoked soy sauce is magic in a bottle, fine for a drizzle on anything off the grill. Chinatown are also an adventure for Chinese and SE Asian soy sauces"light" Chinese soy sauces are much saltier than "dark". I apologies if I'm broadening the horizons a bit, but soy sauce preferences are very personallike asking about the best cheesemy mom swears by Aloha Shoyu, brewed in Hawaii.


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## tsuriru (Aug 2, 2017)

DitmasPork said:


> I love Kishibori Shoyuwonderful stuff, brewed in wooden barrels.



:doublethumbsup:Word!


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## nwdel (Aug 2, 2017)

It's albacore season here, I'm going to have to try the Kishibori Shoyu. Otherwise I'm a Kikkoman and Pearl River guy.


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## panda (Aug 2, 2017)

tamari is easy to get


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## bennyprofane (Aug 2, 2017)

Thank you for the tip, Kishibori Shoyu sounds super interesting!

Comment from Amazon:

If you're on the fence because of the price, remember that this sauce is created in a way that no other soy sauce available to us Westerners is: using ancient practices, aging longer than anything you'll find in the grocery store, and created with care and tradition.

I'm in!


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## Noodle Soup (Aug 2, 2017)

Years ago my wife's Chinese secretary recommend Pearl River so I started using that brand. On my more recent trips to China I found I was usually again handed Pearl River. I have other brands and types for different needs but the others tend to see only limited use.


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## boomchakabowwow (Aug 2, 2017)

anyone try the one coming out of Kentucky?


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## foody518 (Aug 2, 2017)

Noodle Soup said:


> Years ago my wife's Chinese secretary recommend Pearl River so I started using that brand. On my more recent trips to China I found I was usually again handed Pearl River. I have other brands and types for different needs but the others tend to see only limited use.



This is what I've commonly bought these past few years as well for regular/light as well as dark soy sauce


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Aug 2, 2017)

Tamari is good, yeah. Even the Kikkoman stuff.

Otherwise: Pearl River Bridge or Golden Boat light. Whatever Shiitake-soy is at all available. Sempyo Gukganjang* (the bottle with the bright yellow label). Sometimes, Golden Mountain. All great *cooking* soy sauces, I'll be laughing if anyone doesn't read this to the end and tries any of this on sushi.

[video=youtube;sPNtJYvC8Cw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPNtJYvC8Cw[/video] from 0:40  (I am not even asian but god I laughed so hard when I saw this first).

*This is to Doenjang as Tamari is to Miso.


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## TimoNieminen (Aug 3, 2017)

My general-use soy sauce is whatever Korean brewed soy sauce is in our cupboard. Nothing super-fancy, just a normal good quality Korean soy sauce. We usually have the salty/soup kind and the lighter kind. Haven't been using much soy sauce in recent months - plenty of doenjang, and Chinese bean pastes, and miso.

Other than that, Pearl River light and dark if I want a Chinese soy sauce in particular, a very nice Taiwanese pale soy sauce by Ta-Tung (and a very industrial very cheap one also by Ta-Tung), and Indonesian kecap manis.


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## Badgertooth (Aug 3, 2017)

Yamasa for all purpose and kecap manis for The of dish that benefits from it


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## ynot1985 (Aug 3, 2017)

yep.. grew up on the Pearl River Bridge brand


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Aug 3, 2017)

Ooof. I was actually afraid to catch flack for recommending a simple, cheap, and actually (by label) additive free product like pearl river


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## TheCaptain (Aug 3, 2017)

Simple, cheap and additive free are three words I LOVE to hear in the same sentence! Pearl river is on my next Asian store shopping list...


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Aug 3, 2017)

Mind regional variations ... just as with kikkoman, some export varieties seem to have preservatives, some not...

The "mushroom flavoured" types are interesting, but buyer beware, different brands differ considerably in consistency and strength...


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## bryan03 (Aug 3, 2017)

tsuriru said:


> :doublethumbsup:Word!





need !


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## Mucho Bocho (Aug 3, 2017)

For me, there are two categories of soy sauce: cooking and finishing. For finishing, the most well balanced umami that's lightly salted richly flavored soy sauce, outside of small batch home made stuff, is the Japanese Shoya.

There are several brands but I like this one with fish

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GQYXTC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

EDIT: I didn't read the whole post before posting, good to know some of you agree with me. Sorry boom, I don't feel like climbing trees today


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## daveb (Aug 3, 2017)

A similar thread awhile ago got me to try Pearl River. I like the light and the dark. The mushroom is a bit too much. Also keep some organic around that a former gf liked.


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## panda (Aug 4, 2017)

mushroom dark soy = awesome for stir fries, especially lo mein noodles and fried rice


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## TheCaptain (Aug 4, 2017)

panda said:


> mushroom dark soy = awesome for stir fries, especially lo mein noodles and fried rice



Will you recommend a brand? I tried one once and it was so muddy tasting I pitched most of the bottle. Never tried any again but I love mushrooms so a second shot is worth a try.


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## Duckfat (Aug 4, 2017)

For the last few years I've been using an imported kikoman Organic soy that I get at a local Japanese market for $8. Very inexpensive. I'm going to have to to try some of the others mentioned in this thread. 

Dave


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## panda (Aug 4, 2017)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6A03MU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Mucho Bocho (Aug 4, 2017)

Added and checked out. Got some Plum Black vinegar too. thanks P


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## panda (Aug 4, 2017)

Mix that with oyster sauce, tonkatsu sauce, sesame oil and sugar you have yourself a stir fry umami bomb.
Fry garlic ginger leeks shallots first.


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## DaveInMesa (Aug 4, 2017)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> (I am not even asian but god I laughed so hard when I saw this first).



A little off-topic, but I disagree with their first point, about Westerners drowning their white rice in Soy sauce, while the Asians don't put anything on it. My wife is Vietnamese, and EVERYONE over there puts Soy sauce (Soya) on rice. Maybe it's a Chinese thing, rather than Asian? And I've never witnessed a Westerner drowning rice in Soy sauce, and we used to go out to Chinese restaurants pretty frequently at one place I worked, so I had lots of opportunities for observation. I'm actually not sure I've seen any Westerner other than myself put ANY Soy sauce on rice. Maybe that's a regional thing.

Personally, I don't use enough of it to really care, very much, but my wife strongly prefers lower sodium levels than the "standard" Western Soy sauces have. But she did, grudgingly, admit that Kikkoman's Low Sodium version was okay.


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## daveb (Aug 4, 2017)

Am I the only one with a bias against Kikoman cause it seems so walmartish?


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Aug 5, 2017)

As a finishing soy sauce (as the difference was explained), I find kikkoman is at least a safe choice - and I find their "GF" tamari is actually quite decent...

@DaveInMesa I'm aware I'm on extremely thin ice here, but I got an impression over time that asians always think they speak for all asians - how often have you heard a "way they do it in asia" lecture from a chinese/vietnamese/thai... grocer or cook that exactly described how it is done in his/her country and region and said nothing about all of asia? 

And I guess the soy sauce on rice stereotype about westerners is indirectly true regarding soy sauce drowning sushi


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Aug 5, 2017)

@TheCaptain hard to do, because I'm myself confused which brands were great and which were like cigarette butt syrup...


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## Marek07 (Aug 5, 2017)

Never bought a mushroom flavoured soy sauce I liked. However, I enjoy chopping up the stems of shitake once reconstituted and adding them to soy. Refrigerate and keep for at least a month. The longer the better.


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## TheCaptain (Aug 5, 2017)

daveb said:


> Am I the only one with a bias against Kikoman cause it seems so walmartish?



I was right there with you for awhile...but local newspaper and cooking magazine taste tests consistently rank it very well for a national brand so I got over my bias. 

We actually do home taste tests all the time and Aldi brands frequently beat out "gourmet" brands. I love a bargain!


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## Obsidiank (Aug 5, 2017)

This is my favorite for sushi. Hard to find. If you're in Chicago, mitsuwa carries it. http://www.higashimaru.co.jp/products/detail/pdt0005.html


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## DDPslice (Aug 7, 2017)

Lots of great info thanks for the heads up. I've been using Kikkoman but I picked up Bragg's Liquid Aminos. I really got it because its a great misting spray bottle and its made from soy. Its a meatier version of what I've tried before, at home and out and the spray is nice, not as misty as I hoped but its good for even distribution on rice etc. 

I put soy sauce on rice. I think its a case of the kettle calling the worm hole black when eating rice with a bunch of pickles and soy sauce is so crazy to think of.


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## Badgertooth (Aug 7, 2017)

I tried the Kimlan thanks to this thread and it's blowing my hair back. Got the piau shiang variant which is twice fermented over the course of a year and it has a nice controlled, rounded, fermented depth to it and the sugar makes total sense as a balance to that. Lovely stuff.


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## sharptools (Aug 7, 2017)

For light soy sauce, my two favorite are:

Lee Kum Kee Double fermented First Pressed Light Soy Sauce.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XWTSE3Q/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Koon Chun double black, also double fermented and first pressed
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00012OI0U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Also, can't go wrong with Pearl River, grew up with it so it tastes like home.

In general I find Japanese soy sauces to be much brighter (not sure how else to describe it) in taste and better for dipping. Chinese soy sauces tend to be more rounded and IMHO more suited for stir fry.

If you're making chili soy sauce you have to use a more rounded soy. The brightness and the chili isn't a very pleasant combo.


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## Chef Doom (Aug 22, 2017)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> Tamari is good, yeah. Even the Kikkoman stuff.
> 
> Otherwise: Pearl River Bridge or Golden Boat light. Whatever Shiitake-soy is at all available. Sempyo Gukganjang* (the bottle with the bright yellow label). Sometimes, Golden Mountain. All great *cooking* soy sauces, I'll be laughing if anyone doesn't read this to the end and tries any of this on sushi.
> 
> ...


Like half of us dont still drown rice with soy sauce. I have even refried fried rice with *more* soy sauce only to splash a little extra right before chowing down.


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## Chef Doom (Aug 22, 2017)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> Tamari is good, yeah. Even the Kikkoman stuff.
> 
> Otherwise: Pearl River Bridge or Golden Boat light. Whatever Shiitake-soy is at all available. Sempyo Gukganjang* (the bottle with the bright yellow label). Sometimes, Golden Mountain. All great *cooking* soy sauces, I'll be laughing if anyone doesn't read this to the end and tries any of this on sushi.
> 
> ...


The extra cup of ice killed me hahaha


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## benito (Sep 9, 2017)

eden organic tamari. 

it's the real deal. 

whole foods carries it.

i found a nice shoyu at sunrise (nyc) but i can't understand the label.

also shout out to kecap manis especially when its made with palm sugar.


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 20, 2017)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> Tamari is good, yeah. Even the Kikkoman stuff.
> 
> Otherwise: Pearl River Bridge or Golden Boat light. Whatever Shiitake-soy is at all available. Sempyo Gukganjang* (the bottle with the bright yellow label). Sometimes, Golden Mountain. All great *cooking* soy sauces, I'll be laughing if anyone doesn't read this to the end and tries any of this on sushi.
> 
> ...



Thanks for a good laugh. My better half is Japanese. When I cook curry or anything I always put the rice on the side for her. For me put the rice in middle of the plate & dump the stew on top.


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## Chuckles (Feb 22, 2020)

Went to the store today. Just did a tasting. Pearl River Bridge Light Soy is awesome. Also the Lee Kum Kee double fermented was very good. Kikkoman did not do well.


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## daveb (Feb 22, 2020)

The Pearl River Light and Dark are both in my pantry, and I've had the Lee Kum there. Not a fan of the PR Mushroom. The Korean Gouchu... (sp?) in the background will set you free!


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## panda (Feb 22, 2020)

Try tamari


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## Chuckles (Feb 22, 2020)

I’ve had enough for one day. We had a sub soy sauce come in at work and it was horrid. Soy wasn’t even in the ingredients list but corn syrup was. Motivated me to do some homework.


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## aboynamedsuita (Feb 22, 2020)

I got the hello kitty (kikkoman) mostly just because of the bottle haha. The yamasa tamari is used more often and I prefer it over the kikkoman, doesn’t have the salty “finish” in the taste. The imported タケサン (takesan) shoyu is pretty good too, but for the cost difference I’d be happy to settle for the yamasa.


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## MrHiggins (Feb 22, 2020)

Chuckles said:


> View attachment 72091
> 
> Went to the store today. Just did a tasting. Pearl River Bridge Light Soy is awesome. Also the Lee Kum Kee double fermented was very good. Kikkoman did not do well.


I agree that regular Kikkoman is not that great (it tastes one dimensionally salty to me). However, this "extra fancy" Kikkoman from Tokyo is really great. Very deep and complex.


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## panda (Feb 22, 2020)

here's a tip for yall, water down your kikkoman with gingerale to make it taste better.


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## DitmasPork (Feb 22, 2020)

Current soy sauces in my 'fridge. Far left is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce, on far right is a Malaysian soy sauce.


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## LostHighway (Feb 22, 2020)

I usually try to keep a Japanese dark soy sauce in the house (currently Yamasa) and a Chinese light sauce like the Pearl River. @Chuckles I usually go to United Noodle for Japanese or Chinese ingredients, have you found a better spot?


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## panda (Feb 22, 2020)

i love the pearl river mushroom dark soy. why you no like that one dave??


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## daveb (Feb 22, 2020)

I've no recollection of why. Tried it. Didn't like it. Next. Would give it a go again but not buying a bottle.


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## CiderBear (Feb 22, 2020)

aboynamedsuita said:


> View attachment 72111
> 
> 
> I got the hello kitty (kikkoman) mostly just because of the bottle haha. The yamasa tamari is used more often and I prefer it over the kikkoman, doesn’t have the salty “finish” in the taste. The imported タケサン (takesan) shoyu is pretty good too, but for the cost difference I’d be happy to settle for the yamasa.



*gasps* @Xenif where are you there's Hello Kitty over here


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## CiderBear (Feb 22, 2020)

DitmasPork said:


> Current soy sauces in my 'fridge. Far left is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce, on far right is a Malaysian soy sauce.



I know that all the bottles say to refrigerate after opening, but... and I say this as respectfully as I can as an Asian person... cold soy sauce is no.

I'm not picky about my soy sauce. I just get the Whole Foods Organic Shoyu when I can't find Kikkoman for general cooking.

When I want an actual umami bomb, I use Maggi seasoning. That stuff is delicious.


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## panda (Feb 22, 2020)

people put soy in the fridge?? i didnt know that was even a thing. big yes to maggi!! its basically soy with msg.


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## ecchef (Feb 23, 2020)

Our standard at home is Yamasa. Nice to see that kecap manis too. Got turned on to it many years ago by an Indonesian friend.


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## Chips (Feb 23, 2020)

ecchef said:


> Our standard at home is Yamasa. Nice to see that kecap manis too. Got turned on to it many years ago by an Indonesian friend.




I don't know if it's a spelling error, but I've been buying this since 2017 and loving it. 

It's fabulous. I mainly dip nice steaks or yakitori chicken in it, since I'm not a fan of seafood. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007IBVIPK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 23, 2020)

Old thread new life. 

Just made a batch of green beans, browned potato slices, mushrooms, lightly flowered cut chix. thighs.

Used Kikkoman citrus Ponzu (soy sauce wt. Vinegar & citrus), Lee Kum Kee's Oyster sauce, little three crab Fish Sauce.


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## Chuckles (Feb 23, 2020)

It is good to see that Lee Kum Kee seems to be a reputable brand. Standing in a packed aisle, knowing some brands are going to be terrible, I’m glad I picked a winner for the double fermented. The Pearl River I got by searching the forum to this thread while at the store. I figured it would be faster and more trustworthy than google and I was right. Thanks KKF!

@LostHighway 
I went to United Noodle. I ended up at Coastal Seafoods right down the street for some squid ink and they had some whiskey barrel aged fish sauce and other interesting stuff. I like red boat better btw. Coastal was purchased by Fortune Fish out of Chicago. They also purchased Classic Provisions and are making a strong move to be competitive in the specialty grocery scene. The Coastal retail outlet by United Noodle appears to have much expanded grocery options highlighting the takeover. Worth a stop if you are in the neighborhood.


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## LostHighway (Feb 23, 2020)

Chuckles said:


> It is good to see that Lee Kum Kee seems to be a reputable brand. Standing in a packed aisle, knowing some brands are going to be terrible, I’m glad I picked a winner for the double fermented. The Pearl River I got by searching the forum to this thread while at the store. I figured it would be faster and more trustworthy than google and I was right. Thanks KKF!
> 
> @LostHighway
> I went to United Noodle. I ended up at Coastal Seafoods right down the street for some squid ink and they had some whiskey barrel aged fish sauce and other interesting stuff. I like red boat better btw. Coastal was purchased by Fortune Fish out of Chicago. They also purchased Classic Provisions and are making a strong move to be competitive in the specialty grocery scene. The Coastal retail outlet by United Noodle appears to have much expanded grocery options highlighting the takeover. Worth a stop if you are in the neighborhood.



@Chuckles, thanks for the update on Coastal and Classic Provisions. I'm still in quest of my Platonic ideal fish sauce. Red Boat 40°N wasn't quite punchy enough for my palate. I'm trying to track down New Town 60°N from this tasting https://ourdailybrine.com/fish-sauce-taste-test/ IME United is weaker on Vietnamese and Thai ingredients relative to Chinese or Japanese. I may pay a visit to Dragon Star and Golden Lion in Brooklyn Park to see what they stock. For South Asian groceries I hit Pooja in Columbia Heights. I'm in quest of an alternative to Holy Land for Middle Eastern ingredients if you have any suggestions?


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## panda (Feb 23, 2020)

if you need extra funky try adding fermented shrimp paste to what ever fish sauce you have.


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## Viggetorr (Feb 23, 2020)

Yeah, Lee Kum Kee light is my go to. I've seen many like the Pearl River Bridge light so got a bottle of it, gonna compare them. PRB mushroom is terrible though.


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 23, 2020)

A chef friend of mine said Three Crabs Viet Huong fish sauce his favorite so I bought a bottle in Chinatown. 

Been using Kikkoman less sodium soy sauce. For sushi mix it with frozen real wasabi got from Cherry Japanese Imports here. Keep it frozen cut off a little with sharp Kau Kong cleaver. It's almost but not quite as good as grading a fresh wasabi root.


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## Xenif (Feb 23, 2020)

@CiderBear you didn't honestly think I didnt have a Hello Kitty soya sauce bottle

And yeah 3crab is THE fish sauce of choice

My chinese ancestors must be pissed I choose japanese soya sauce over chinese soya sauce


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## panda (Feb 23, 2020)

leave it up for kkf to have a thread dedicated entirely to soy sauce, lol love it


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## aboynamedsuita (Feb 23, 2020)

Keith Sinclair said:


> A chef friend of mine said Three Crabs Viet Huong fish sauce his favorite so I bought a bottle in Chinatown.





Xenif said:


> And yeah 3crab is THE fish sauce of choice
> 
> View attachment 72206



Have either of you compared it to the Red Boat fish sauce? I get the 40°N version but there are some even fancier versions too. 

I still lol when I see these bottles haha


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 23, 2020)

Yeh that's the bottle. I'm no expert on fish sauce, that 3 crab is good stuff

Where did you get that Hello Kitty soy container. I thiñk Janice loves our cat more than me

There is one shop in Chinatown with rows of shelves filled with bottles. Some have no English at all on label.

A lot of people are wearing surgical masks tho no cases in Hawaii yet. Chinatown has lost some business also homeless hang around that area.


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## Marek07 (Feb 24, 2020)

Been a very long time since I tried Pearl River Bridge soy sauces. I note that some here like it. Perhaps it's my last memory of their mushroom soy (thoroughly dreadful) that dominates my taste buds so I'm not about to try it again. Kikkoman is a staple in my kitchen for cooking though I do try other tamari and shoyu that show up at various outlets for table use. I create a mushroom flavoured sauce by using the chopped up stems of re-hydrated shitake mushrooms, covering with Kikkoman and storing in the fridge for a couple of months.


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## panda (Feb 24, 2020)

seems im the only one who likes the mushroom one, lol. i only use it for cooking fyi, not as a dip


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## Michi (Feb 24, 2020)

panda said:


> seems im the only one who likes the mushroom one, lol. i only use it for cooking fyi, not as a dip


All this talk has made me curious. I'll pick up a bottle next time I'm at the Asian supermarket


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## Chuckles (Feb 24, 2020)

The Pearl River Bridge Mushroom Dark Soy is a very strong flavor. I haven’t tried it in a dish yet but a little bit would go an extremely long way. I have a sneaking suspicion there must be a better one out there.

@LostHighway I have to check out Pooja next. Thanks for the heads up. I don’t know much about the other places you named. I have been in a silo of Italian cuisine for the last five years. Now that I am out I am trying to catch up fast globally. Starting with China and India and working my way out from those hubs. So much to learn!!


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## Xenif (Feb 24, 2020)

Usually just use dark soy for colour, unless you get really good mushroom dark soy, a lot of them use caramel colouring


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## panda (Feb 24, 2020)

Chuckles said:


> The Pearl River Bridge Mushroom Dark Soy is a very strong flavor. I haven’t tried it in a dish yet but a little bit would go an extremely long way. I have a sneaking suspicion there must be a better one out there.
> 
> @LostHighway I have to check out Pooja next. Thanks for the heads up. I don’t know much about the other places you named. I have been in a silo of Italian cuisine for the last five years. Now that I am out I am trying to catch up fast globally. Starting with China and India and working my way out from those hubs. So much to learn!!


youre gonna be stuck in india for a while, such good food. 

reach out to me when you get to korea, ill give you my 'korean bbq' marinade recipe


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## Noodle Soup (Feb 24, 2020)

Xenif said:


> @CiderBear you didn't honestly think I didnt have a Hello Kitty soya sauce bottle
> 
> And yeah 3crab is THE fish sauce of choice
> 
> My chinese ancestors must be pissed I choose japanese soya sauce over chinese soya sauceView attachment 72206



I used 3 Crabs too but when I can find it I prefer Phan Thiet. Kind of camped next to the factory in Phan Thiet for several months during a lively part of my life. You don't forget the smell of a fish sauce factory for sure.


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## Luftmensch (Feb 24, 2020)

Chuckles said:


> View attachment 72091
> 
> Went to the store today. Just did a tasting. Pearl River Bridge Light Soy is awesome. Also the Lee Kum Kee double fermented was very good. Kikkoman did not do well.



Including background gochujang photo-bomb!


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## mise_en_place (Feb 24, 2020)

aboynamedsuita said:


> Have either of you compared it to the Red Boat fish sauce? I get the 40°N version but there are some even fancier versions too.



A long time ago my bosses bought one of the bourbon barrel aged bottled from Red Boat. I finally took it home. Kind of makes me laugh. 

I have about 6 varieties of fish sauce around at all times. I am not a huge fan of 3 crabs but it has its uses.


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 25, 2020)

I think South India has largest veg. population on the planet.

Northern India has wonderful meat curries. Not to mention some truly beautiful women.


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## Noodle Soup (Feb 25, 2020)

Keith Sinclair said:


> I think South India has largest veg. population on the planet.
> 
> Northern India has wonderful meat curries. Not to mention some truly beautiful women.



Something to do with eating meat curry?  I don't mind eating vegetarian off an on. Just don't try to make that a legal requirement like some vegans around here would.


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 25, 2020)

When I went to India was working at Kahala Hilton. Stayed for free at Hilton in Madras. It was fancy hotel & the female staff front of the house were exotic beauties. Even on Air India 1990 there were boxes in people's laps things that would never be legal in US. People having great time watching the Indian movie and a stewardess that could win any beauty contest.


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## panda (Feb 25, 2020)

Keith Sinclair said:


> When I went to India was working at Kahala Hilton. Stayed for free at Hilton in Madras. It was fancy hotel & the female staff front of the house were exotic beauties. Even on Air India 1990 there were boxes in people's laps things that would never be legal in US. People having great time watching the Indian movie and a stewardess that could win any beauty contest.


you forgot while being able to smoke


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 25, 2020)

India is sensory overload. Was there about a month mostly travel by train & taxi Scooters. It's like stepping back in time.


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## Tristan (Feb 26, 2020)

http://ieatishootipost.sg/kwong-woh...soy-sauce-might-be-right-in-our-own-backyard/

a poor mans balsamic?


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## aboynamedsuita (Feb 26, 2020)

Keith Sinclair said:


> Where did you get that Hello Kitty soy container. I thiñk Janice loves our cat more than me



It’s a kikkoman bottle lol. The Asian Markets sell a variety in them for about $5cad (expensive for the quality and amount, but the bottle is worth it). They’re legit glass bottles, the hello kitty isn’t a shrink wrapped label that peels off


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## minibatataman (Feb 26, 2020)

panda said:


> leave it up for kkf to have a thread dedicated entirely to soy sauce, lol love it


A soy sauce thread that spans 3 years, mind you, haha


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## minibatataman (Feb 26, 2020)

panda said:


> seems im the only one who likes the mushroom one, lol. i only use it for cooking fyi, not as a dip


I was surprised no one else does tbh. I love cooking with that stuff.


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## Chuckles (Feb 27, 2020)

How do you use it? Do you use it in addition to another soy sauce? Only when you need deep color?


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## panda (Feb 27, 2020)

Fried rice & stir fry


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## kidsos (Feb 27, 2020)

I use tomasu shoyu for my good dipping soy sauce, it is made in the Netherlands and from ingredients that are all sourced locally. Really good flavour!


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## Noodle (Feb 27, 2020)

panda said:


> reach out to me when you get to korea, ill give you my 'korean bbq' marinade recipe



Do we really have to wait until he takes a trip to Korea to get this recipe?


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## panda (Feb 27, 2020)

Noodle said:


> Do we really have to wait until he takes a trip to Korea to get this recipe?


Well I was just going to give him a list of ingredients and let him experiment


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## Chuckles (Feb 27, 2020)

Trip to Korea sounds great. I made a broth tonight with white wine, stock, light soy, double fermented soy, fish sauce, and gochujang to put it over the top. Really good flavor. It’s a whole new palette to play with. Loving it.


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## panda (Feb 27, 2020)

Chuckles said:


> Trip to Korea sounds great. I made a broth tonight with white wine, stock, light soy, double fermented soy, fish sauce, and gochujang to put it over the top. Really good flavor. It’s a whole new palette to play with. Loving it.


Instead of fish sauce try dried anchovies and Kombu. Sake instead of wine.


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## Chuckles (Feb 28, 2020)

Will do. I almost bought Chinese cooking wine while at the store but it was so inexpensive that I didn’t trust it.


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## Noodle Soup (Feb 28, 2020)

Was the wine that salted "not for drinking" kind? It certainly is cheap around here but I told my instructor in Chengdu about it and he astounded. "Why would anyone use wine with salt in it? How are you ever going to know how much salt you have added to the dish?" It took me a while but I found a store in Portland Oregon that sells real Chinese drinking rice wine. Maybe $8-9 dollars a bottle instead of $2.00


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## Chuckles (Feb 28, 2020)

I didn’t look at them very closely. I just assumed at that price point they had to be something I didn’t want to ingest. All the soy products are salty. I feel like the wine should be acting to alleviate the salinity. Wine with added salt? Yuck.


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## panda (Feb 28, 2020)

for broths, instead of using gochujang, try frying gochugaru (the flakes) in sesame oil with garlic and ginger


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## Paraffin (Feb 28, 2020)

Chuckles said:


> Will do. I almost bought Chinese cooking wine while at the store but it was so inexpensive that I didn’t trust it.



I don't have a good local source for Chinese cooking wine, so I just substitute extra dry white sherry (also very cheap!) for recipes calling for it. Works fine for the Chinese recipes I use.


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## Chuckles (Feb 29, 2020)

> gochugaru



That sounds great.


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## Michi (Feb 29, 2020)

Michi said:


> All this talk has made me curious. I'll pick up a bottle next time I'm at the Asian supermarket


Just did that and had a taste. I quite like it. Reminiscent of Maggi seasoning, but with a more earthy note to it. Not for use by itself I'd say, but I can see this adding loads of umami as part of other seasonings.


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## bahamaroot (Mar 1, 2020)

Michi said:


> All this talk has made me curious. I'll pick up a bottle next time I'm at the Asian supermarket





Michi said:


> Just did that and had a taste. I quite like it. Reminiscent of Maggi seasoning, but with a more earthy note to it. Not for use by itself I'd say, but I can see this adding loads of umami as part of other seasonings.


With all the talk I'm going to have to get a bottle and give it a try myself.


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## Marek07 (Mar 1, 2020)

Michi said:


> Just did that and had a taste. I quite like it. Reminiscent of Maggi seasoning, but with a more earthy note to it. Not for use by itself I'd say, but I can see this adding loads of umami as part of other seasonings.


@Michi - clarification please... which one are you referring to - Pearl River Bridge Superior Light, Superior Dark or Mushroom Flavored Superior Dark?
Hurts using the word _superior _but it's on the label.


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## Michi (Mar 1, 2020)

Me bad. I was referring to the Perl River Bridge mushroom version.


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## rickbern (Mar 1, 2020)

Noodle Soup said:


> Was the wine that salted "not for drinking" kind? It certainly is cheap around here but I told my instructor in Chengdu about it and he astounded. "Why would anyone use wine with salt in it? How are you ever going to know how much salt you have added to the dish?" It took me a while but I found a store in Portland Oregon that sells real Chinese drinking rice wine. Maybe $8-9 dollars a bottle instead of $2.00


Went to a wine shop in Chinatown, nyc. Told them I wanted a bottle to cook with, they wouldn’t let me spend more than six bucks. It was not salted. 

Took it home, tasted it, I want to go back and get a better bottle to drink. 

Found this video that explains a lot about cooking with wine in Chinese cuisine. 
Btw, I love this channel. I’ve learned a lot from watching them. 


It’s a lot like sherry in that there are four grades from dry to sweet. According to them, at least.


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## Michi (Mar 1, 2020)

@rickbern Thank you for that link, that's a really interesting video!


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## Noodle Soup (Mar 1, 2020)

I checked a bottle of the old Shao Hsing Rice Cooking Wine I used to use. It is labeled "not for beverage use" 1.5% salt content. As I understand it, this allows them to sell it without the normal US alcohol taxes. The rules may be different in other countries. Real Chinese drinking wine is hard to find around here but every little grocery store has the salted kind very cheap. Also salted sherry, red wine etc.


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## rickbern (Mar 1, 2020)

Yeah, the unsalted kind you can only buy in a liquor shop at least in New York State.

ymmv

opens up a whole new world if you seek it out, and not just for Chinese food. I always keep a bottle of dry vermouth next to my stove for a little wine to use with fish like mackerel. Shaoxing does very similar things to food.

ps, sorry for sidetracking this old and venerable soy sauce thread!


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## Noodle Soup (Mar 1, 2020)

I need to go to the big Viet grocery store in Portland OR to find the real drinking kind here. I have the impression most Asian cooks in my area just use the salted stuff because it is so cheap.


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## CoteRotie (Mar 1, 2020)

Back to soy sauce, I buy this stuff all the time. I don't read Japanese so I don't know what it is but I can recognize the bottle. Anyone else use or know anything about this stuff? Way more complex and deep than Kikkoman.


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## rickbern (Mar 1, 2020)

Noodle Soup said:


> because it is so cheap.


and because it’s used in minicule quantities for a marinade


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## Noodle Soup (Mar 1, 2020)

rickbern said:


> and because it’s used in minicule quantities for a marinade


True enough but since my time in Chengdu I never use it any more. The real stuff is more expensive but like you say I usually only use a table spoon or two at a time. A bottle lasts fairly long time.


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## spyken (Mar 3, 2020)

I buy whatever is available locally:
- flavoured soy sauce (they do add some sugar + MSG) from Malaysia
- golden swan (a local Singapore brew), from basic to aged 12 months, but I can only afford the basic
- special double brew from HK (this is going to be aged further by me)
- whatever I pick up on my travels


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## spyken (Mar 3, 2020)

you can visit your local Chinatown if you want to experiment with the various labels. I try to steer away from MSG-enhanced soya sauce(s) but honestly, I'm not adverse to MSG. it's UMAMI after all


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## lowercasebill (Mar 6, 2020)




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