cocktails w/ soy sauce

[barsala]

do you know any cocktails with soy sauce?

[Caitlin McGrath]

I just read a recipe that was apparently developed for the US distributor of Tuaca. Essentially, a couple ounces of Tuaca, a couple of dashes of soy sauce, stirred over ice and strained, garnished with a piece of pickled ginger.

[StriperGuy]

That sounds utterly yucky.

[EvergreenDan]

Tuaca? Vanilla, right? Reminds me of when someone puts vanilla in the drawn butter for lobster -- wrecks the whole meal.

Maybe he meant Cynar. Now that sounds kinda good, although a couple of drops would probably be better than a couple of dashes, and a bit of lemon would go nicely with the pickled ginger and soy.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I agree entirely, and I have no intention of sampling. Just passing the info along for the OP.

[JMF]

I tried it like bitters in cocktails a few times. Just a dash in addition to the dash of bitters to add some layers of flavor and some umami. If you don't go overboard it can add some real deep and hidden complexity.

I add soy sauce to most of my food recipes just for that complexity and umami, but you have to use a premium soy sauce that is actually made from good fermented beans, not the commercial stuff that is basically artificial.

[porker]

My rule of thumb is if it has hydrolized protein, it ain't real-brewed.

[JMF]

yup

[porker]

There's the Bloody Shogun (a bloody mary with wasabi instead of horseradish)
and the Bloody Mariyaki (terriyaki instead of wrocestershire)
...how about a combination, I dunno, Bloody Chinatown or Bloody Kung Fu, or Bloody Yangtze (I don't know the Chinese equivalent of "Mary"), using soy and wasabi instead of worcestershire and horseradish. Maybe use bok choy as garnish and a chop stick stir stick? I'd use clamato in place of tomato juice.

[TheDescendedLefticleOfAramis]

I think you may be onto something, a "bloody" variant seems natural.
Soy/salt, dashi/worchestershire ... kaiware (radish sprouts) brings the heat.

A clear, neat pour requires a bit more thought ... scotch & muddled kaiware ... hmmmm.

[StriperGuy]

Honestly, blech.

[tmso]

I made a teriyaki cocktail as a joke but actually kind of liked it.

Dissolve brown sugar in unsalted fish broth.
Muddle some ginger, add one measure of the above, one measure of soy sauce, two measures of vodka, stir, and serve up with a shrimp garnish.

I bet it would work better with rum.

[Tripeler]

Sounds like the house cocktail at Cap'n Blowchunks Discount Seafood Warehouse and Sushi Bar Outlet.

[tmso]

As I said, I made it originally as a joke. Strange as it was for a cocktail, it tasted like a glass full of teriyaki, which isn't altogether bad.

[Tripeler]

A glass full of teriyaki sauce, perhaps, but teriyaki on meat and fish is essentially a glaze created by multiple layers on meat being grilled.
That said, there are a few Japanese craft beers made with red miso and dark hatcho miso, and these are done in a subtle way so as to be quite good.

[Silverjay]

Like!

[elcid1970]

For decades I have marinated beef for grilling in homemade teriyaki & bourbon. It's almost a cocktail in itself but needs something. Kind of like a Bull Shot. Ideas welcome. Thanks.

[jerryc123]

Japanese Cocktails by Yuri Kato
I flipped through this book at a store, but did not purchase it.
I remember it had recipes that included Asian ingredients such as Yuzu, Sake, and Sochu.
If any book had recipes including soy sauce, this would probably be it.
Or at least worth a read.

http://www.yurikato.com/japanesecockt...

[jerryc123]

I have not.
But I am intrigued by the idea.

It would probably have to be something savory rather than sweet.
Perhaps with ginger liqueur.
Sochu, ginger, lemongrass, soy sauce?
Something like that?

It's worth exploring.

[EvergreenDan]

Cynar comes to mind

[barsala]

I was thinking about gin , it should blend well with a more savory drink.

[davis_sq_pro]

Agreed w/ Dan about the Cynar. But rather than gin, how about akavit? I've been working on a cocktail this summer (which still needs some tweaking) that fits this thread quite well:

Muddle tomatoes w/ salt. Fine strain and collect 1oz of liquid
To that, add:
1.5oz akavit
0.5oz tequila (something smoky--mezcal if you have it. I don't, so I've been using a reposado)
0.5oz Cynar
1-2d celery bitters

Shake, strain, serve up. After a few minutes the liquid will separate and the red tomato solids will float to the top, which looks really cool in my humble opinion.

The soy sauce might give it the extra bit of depth it definitely needs... will try it when I get some more tomatoes. Any other ideas? As long as Dan doesn't suggest Campari!

[EvergreenDan]

To improve the red color of your drink, how about some Ca.....

Your drink sounds absolutely fantastic, and I have some heirloom tomatoes waiting in the kitchen right now. No celery bitters, some maybe muddle some celery, too?

No Mezcal either. I still trying to get over the sticker shock of a mixing spirit north of $70.

[davis_sq_pro]

I believe celery bitters are flavored primarily with celery seed -- have any of that?

Regarding mezcal, if you look at the NYT article posted recently here there seems to be a range of prices available. I don't mind spending $70 if I'm only going to use 1/4-1/2oz as a flavoring agent, like in this drink, but I can't even find the stuff at any of my usual booze sales outlets. (With the exception of a bottle of really nasty-looking stuff with a worm at the bottom that I saw at Kappy's. Pass.)

[EvergreenDan]

I'm quite sure I saw a bottle of the good $70+ stuff somewhere in our Cambridge/Somerville area, maybe on a tippy-top shelf. I just looked at Savemor in Fresh Pond (new location by the new Trader Joe's), but it could have been hidden. Also might have been at the Porter Sq plaza liquor store.

I'd love to find the $30-ish bottle that they recommended. I was just in NYS and ordered some stuff from DrinkUpNY for shipment within the state (legal). This might be a way to get some (e.g. ship to a friend in NH or something).