Soy sauce

[Tay]

I noticed on the main SSI site that there is a section devoted to making soya milk/tofu (kindly written by Wombat).

As soya milk doesn't agree with me (or vice versa), but soy sauce does, I wondered if anyone on here had ever tried making it?

Soy sauce is not only expensive here, local supermarkets haven't had any in stock for months. As we both adore soy sauce and eat a lot of 'eastern' style foods, recipes just don't taste the same without it. And no, neither of us can face a trip back to England to stock up, even with the promise of soy sauce!

Any suggestions will be gratefully received. However, I have a feeling that this is a secret art, akin to making soft, fluffy naan bread... and never to be replicated by me despite my best efforts.

[hedgewitch]

I've never made it myself but I found this article I though you might want to take a look at.
http://www.ecomcanada.com/soysauce.html

[Tay]

Thanks for the link, HedgeWitch.

It looks like quite a complex process to make the traditional version, plus we'd have to wait a rather long time to get results. The blending option seems more viable - I'll have to search for a place to get hydrolyzed vegetable proteins though!

[Wombat]

Ew!

Once you have tried the brewed stuff, the blended stuff is not even fit for Stoney's pigs!

I read an article once where these people boiled up a large amount of water, some soy beans and some molasses, strained the lot into a large glass demijohn and left it for 12 months. If I can find the article I'll let you know. I have not tried this myself, so I can't comment on the end product though.......

Nev

[Pilsbury]

Any suggestions will be gratefully received. However, I have a feeling that this is a secret art, akin to making soft, fluffy naan bread... and never to be replicated by me despite my best efforts.

Best thing is probably get someone to post out a couple of bottles, or a 5 litre bottle, sure someone would help you out if needed.

[Tay]

Cheers

If you do find the article Nev, I'd be grateful to read it.

The problem with posting soy sauce is that it is so heavy. Friends/family do post things to us occasionally, but as postage rates have increased again in the UK, it would cost a small fortune. When people visit us from the UK, we always ask them to bring soy sauce. As neither of us have many family members, we don't get much soy sauce brought over to us. In fact, we haven't seen any relatives this year, and next year isn't looking good either... Friends here often return to the UK, and we have asked them to bring us some soy sauce. But the problem here is that most fly, and it weighs too much/is too bulky to bring us any. Making it ourselves seems the most practical option as we get (got!) through a hell of a lot of it. My OH puts a lot of it on everything - soup, mash, omelette, curry, noodles, rice. If it is edible, it has to have soy sauce with it!

[Millymollymandy]

I don't know why you can't find it in France. All the supermarkets sell Suzi Wan asian products, including soy sauce! There is also a (not nice) Japanese version on sale, but I don't advise buying that.

Look in the foreign foods section - even if you don't have an 'English' section they always have the Old El Paso mexican stuff and Suzi Wan asian stuff.

[Tay]

All supermarkets round here do indeed have Suzi Wan sections. But, the spaces for soy sauce have been empty for months! One supermaket has got some, but the bottles are tiny (MOH would get through one in a couple of meals) and they are €1 more expensive than at other supermarkets! Well, according to what the price ticket on the empty shelves say...

[Pilsbury]

how about doing a internet search for Chinese warehouses in you area? not sure if there are any over there but there are 18 within 5 miles of me.

[Millymollymandy]

That's an idea - try a search in the Pages Jaunes for 'alimentation exotique' or 'asiatique'. You might find somewhere in your nearest big town (wherever that may be). Could be worth a drive there to stock up on big bottles.

I'm lucky to have an Asian store less than 30kms away in north Rennes.

[Shirley]

Ew!

Once you have tried the brewed stuff, the blended stuff is not even fit for Stoney's pigs!

We bought some on the last Neeps suma order... a Japanese traditionally brewed shoyu soy sauce and it's delicious!!! It doesn't have any preservatives or caramel in it. I don't know whether it's the same one that you've tried M3... Sanchi is the name on the bottle.

[Millymollymandy]

Dunno, it went in the bin a long time ago! I don't think it was anything very special as it came from a supermarket.