In
Thailand, soy sauce is called sii-íu, soy sauce comes in a number
varieties, including, White, (Sii-íu kǎao), Black(sii-íu dam), and Sweet
(sii-íu wǎan). Dark soy is used for colour, whilst sweet is used for Dipping
and usually in Thai cooking the White version is mostly used.
Soy
Sauce is the by-product of Soy paste it is made by fermentation of the soybean,
if made in the traditional way soy sauce would take months to make, so todays
Soy sauce is mass produced using special products to speed up the process, the
Flavour, colour, and aroma develops
during the production are from
a non-enzymatic reaction (a
chemical reaction between the amino acids and sugars) this
is
also what gives
the
distinctive flavour of soy sauce., there
are variations
because
of
the
different methods & durations
of production and the different ratios of water, salt,
and fermented soy used as well the addition of other ingredients. Traditional
soy sauces are made by mixing soybeans and grain with microorganisms and
yeasts,
historically,
the mixture was then fermented naturally in large urns and under the sun, which
was believed to contribute extra flavours, today,
the mixture is placed in a temperature and controlled incubation chamber
speeding up the process to only about 3 days. Like
many other
condiments
that have been invented, soy sauce was originally a substitute for salt which
was historically an expensive luxury,
whilst there are some possible health benefits,
for example Dark soy sauce contains 10 times
the antioxidants of red
wine,
and can help prevent cardiovascular diseases
& unpasteurized
soy sauce is rich in lactic acid bacteria and
has
anti-allergic
properties, but these are pushed aside when you consider the amount of salt in
soy sauce.
Ingredients: Water, Salt, Soya bean, white sugar, wheat
flour, preservatives E211, Flavour Enhancer E631, E627
Fun
Fact: Soy sauce considered almost as old
as soy paste—a type of fermented paste obtained from soybeans—which had
appeared during the Western
Han dynasty around
206 BC – 220 AD and was listed in the bamboo slips found in the archaeological
site Mawangdui