Ultra Low Sodium soy sauce, or making my own.

[David_S]

Even the “low sodium” varieties of soy sauce that I have found are still too high in sodium for me (300 mg/tsp).

Does anyone know of a commercial brand that would be lower? Less than 100 mg/tsp would be great.

Failing that, does anyone have a recipe to make your own soy sauce? I have a no-sodium salt substitute that I use in place of salt in recipes, so if the recipe calls for salt, that’s OK.

Thanks

[greymalkin]

I recently tried Coconut aminos. They're not too bad and have a decently umami-soy sauce flavor, although they are quite sweet, which needs to be balanced for for in recipes. It is 113mg per teaspoon, which is pretty low. It has that fermented caramel-y flavor that is very evocative of soy sauce.
http://www.coconutsecret.com/aminos2....

I like the coconut aminos because I find a lot of the sodium-free beef broth-based soy sauce recipes to be too bitter for me to use, so I'd rather go sweet than bitter. But if you aren't as sensitive to the bitterness, then you will probably do quite well with the low sodium soy sauce recipes out there (or posted above by bobjfs).

The Shirakiku does taste awful. Better to follow the suggestions above and just dilute a better-tasting low sodium soy sauce (or use less).

[kennethcheek]

healthy heart market sells a brand " china town " soy sauce that is listed at 145 mg of sodium per tbsp. haven't tried it yet but will.

[becks1]

I just ordered "china town soy" yesterday. picking it up at there warehouse on Mon.
Will give opinion next week.
http://healthyheartmarket.com/
bottom of page.

[bobjfs]

Here is a recipe for very low-sodium soy sauce substitute.

2 T Sodium Free Beef Bouillon
2 t Red Wine Vinegar
1 t Molasses
1/8 t Ground Ginger
dash Black Pepper
dash Garlic Powder
3/4 c Water

In small sauce pan, combine and boil gently uncovered about 5 minutes or til mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup. Store in refrigerator. Stir before using.

Yield: 8 Servings

I LOVE this recipe. I find it gives dishes to which I add it the umami taste taste dishes get with real soy sauce. You may already know the meaning of umami, but for those who don't, this is a Japanese word for "savory" or "meaty".

[cathyeats]

Just be sure to check the ingredients on your beef bouilion. Some brands are made with partially hydrogenated oils - you don't want to trade your sodium for trans fats!

[MinkeyMonkey]

That sounds really good, Bob! I'm going to have to try this. I have a sodium free veggie bouillon that I'll try it with.

J

[paulj]

Umami comes from glutamates. The most common manufactured form is MSG, a sodium salt.

Kombu, the seaweed used to make Japanese dashi (broth) is a good source of umami. Mushrooms are also good, for example dried shiitakis.

[SouixChef]

paulj is correct. Umami is found in other fermented and aged foods - and even unfermented foods - not just soy sauce: parmesan and Roquefort cheeses, fish sauce, walnuts, grapes, broccoli, tomatoes, etc.

Try a good fortified wine, such as sherry, Marsasa, Madeira in place of soy sauce. Yes, the taste is different, but if you have to do without salt, these are worth a try.

[MinkeyMonkey]

I skip soy sauce entirely and use a blend of different sauces and spices. I use rice vinegar (unseasoned!), molasses, sesame oil and fresh ginger. Sometimes I add a touch of one or more of the following: balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, ground ginger, pepper, peanut butter (unsalted), minced fresh garlic, orange flower water. It isn't the same but it is darn good and satisfies. Oh, and sometimes chopped chives or scallions or even minced onion.

[Whispah]

When you make your not-soy sauce, how long does it keep? Do you know if it could be canned for a longer shelf life?

[bobjfs]

It lasts a week or so.

[Whispah]

Thanks!

[Matsukaze]

There is an extremely low sodium product called Shirakiku Saltless Shoyu with only 10 mg of Na per Tbsp. I haven't tried it myself, but according to reviews on the Web it tastes awful.

If you want something with decent taste try Yamasa Less Salt Soy Sauce (510 mg per Tbsp) or Kimlan Lower Sodium Soy Sauce (506 mg/Tbsp).

Making your own soy sauce is a rather involved process
<http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?s...>
and I don't think you could safety reduce the salt content.

[Karl S]

Salt is as vital to soy sauce as it is to cured meat and salt cod.

[MikeG]

Unfortunately (a) "mak[ing] your own" is not as simple as a recipe, it's a fairly big deal fermentation process. (b) I don't know for sure, but I doubt potassium chloride will get you anywhere in a fermented product - except maybe a vat full of rotten, not fermenting - soybeans. For that matter, I think what they do is actually remove sodium from the low sodium soy sauce post-fermentation, not simply use less to begin with, like they do to make de-alcoholized wine.

The Bragg's aminos sounds like an option - if you can't get by with less or diluted soy sauce - or maybe look around on a health food store's shelves in the vicinty of the soy sauce for similar products.

[CookieGal]

What about Bragg's???

http://www.bragg.com/products/liquida...

I use it all the time, it tastes great and it's non GMO, and really pretty healthy.

[foodphreak]

Braggs is not low-sodium either, it is only non-fermented: 1 tbl = 660 mg, 1/2 tsp=110 mg
Kikkoman Low Sodium: 1 tbl = 575 mg, 1/2 tsp = 96 mg
Yamasa Less Sodium: 1 tbl = 520 mg, 1/2 tsp = 87 mg