Soy Sauce (Shoyu)...

Soy sauce is known as tamari or shoyu in Asian countries and often at the sushi bar. This versatile seasoning has many different varieties all with their unique tastes and qualities.

Uses
Soy sauce is so versatile, you can use it for just about anything, even for cleaning your windows… Ok so I was kidding, but here's a list of it's many uses.

• Marinating meats and vegetables.
• Seasoning on already prepared meals, like dipping your sushi.
• Seasoning while fry, such as stir-fries.
• Seasoning a mixture before cooking, such as scrambled egg and omelets.
• Seasoning in soup.

There is more to soy sauce than Traditional and commercial. Different styles of the sauce are available for different tastes to suit different people and different foods. Here is a list of the types of soy you can expect to find;

• Light
• Dark
• Wheat Free
• Low Sodium
• Thick
• Tamari / Shoyu (traditional)

Modern technology
It's easy to knock modern technology and brand the commercial soy sauce as cheap inferior version of traditional shoyu. While this may be true, modern technology has not harmed the traditional way but helped it. Commercially developed soy sauce has increased its availability helping it spread worldwide and becoming more popular. Lets not forget commercial soy such as wheat free that lets people with food allergies still enjoy the taste of soy sauce. Today the connoisseurs still seek out traditional shoyu, it is far from forgotten.

Where Can I buy it?
You can find the commercial soy sauce in nearly all shops. Despite its Asian roots it is popular as a versatile seasoning world wide. You should be able to find at least two different types in most shops, usually light and dark soy. For your traditional shoyo you will have to look a bit harder. Try visiting a Chinese or Japanese store. You find it there in bulk if not in small bottles. Don't worry about buying too much, it will keep stored at room temperature for over a year. Once you get the taste for it you will wonder where it all went!

Nutritional Information:
1 Table spoon of soy sauce contains approximately;

• Calories: 9.4
• Protein: 1.25g
• Carbohydrate: 1.26g
• Total Fat: 0.006g
• Fiber: 0.13g

In simple terms soy sauce is quite high in salt content and doesn't really have much of the goodness you get with other soy products, such as tofu. Overall I'd say it's not too bad for you, especially compared to most sauces.

If you like soy sauce, get yourself down an Asian store or visit an online Asian store and buy yourself some shoyu. If you like sushi or just fine food it is well worth it. Just don't come trying to me when you run out and your having withdraw symptoms. SushiShrine has no responsibility for turning any persons into a shoyuholic!