Soy sauce
One of the world's oldest condiments.
Originating in China over 2,500 years ago, soy sauce is a staple of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean cooking. Consisting of fermented soy beans, barley flour, salt and water, soy sauce is both used as an ingredient in cooked dishes, as well as for dipping sauces.
There are several types of soy sauces. The most common are:
Dark soy sauce - aged longer than other soy sauces, this is both darker and stronger in flavour, and used for flavouring red meat dishes and adding colour.
Light soy sauce - lighter in colour, thinner and saltiervthan dark soy sauce, it is used for flavouring fish or chicken dishes, and is used as the basis for dipping sauces.
Tamari is a gluten free soy sauce and despite being less salty and thicker, it can be used as a GF substitute for light or dark soy sauce.
Ketjap manis - a sweet soy sauce from Indonesia, which is darker and has a more syrupy consistency. The sweetness comes from the addition of palm sugar or jaggery.
The Pocket Chef's favourite ways to use soy sauce include: