Sweet Soy Sauce

Sweet Soy Sauce

Corinn Blackwell
Condiments & Seasonings

Salty, sweet, aromatic, deeply savory condiment.

Sweet Soy Sauce

Makes 1.25 - 1.5 c

This sweet soy sauce is my take on a Sichuan seasoned soy sauce. While it is not a condiment often seen in Western adaptations of Sichuan dishes, it is worth it to make and keep in the fridge to add to a million different things. The flavor is hard to describe but it is savory and aromatic with a unique sweet and salty balance. While untraditional, I like to saute the hard spices in a touch of oil for a bit to open up their flavor more as I found the flavor is not as strong if this step is skipped.

“Recipe Tips:

*1. The simmering sauce can make quite a mess around the eye it is being cooked on. To mitigate this, you can partially cover the sauce but this may increase the cooking time by 5 – 10 minutes.”
 

Ingredients

Hard Spices

5g (1 t) vegetable oil

7g (5 whole) star anise

6g (1 stick) cinnamon

2g (24) whole cloves

1g (7 whole) green cardamom, crushed gently

7 bay leaves 

Aromatics

30g (2) scallions, cut into large chunks

11g (1.5 in) ginger, sliced

100ml (0.50 c) water

Finishing

300ml (1.5 c) soy sauce

60g (0.25 c) dark brown sugar

30g (2 T) granulated sugar

Method

1.      In a small pot heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat for 1 minute.

  • Add all the whole spices and saute stirring occasionally for 1.5 – 2 minutes or until the spices are beginning to toast lightly and smell aromatic.

  • Add the scallion and ginger, sauteing for 1 minute longer.

  • Add the water and bring to a boil covered.

  • Reduce the heat to a strong simmer.

  • Simmer for 5 minutes.

  • Add the soy and both sugars stirring until the sugar dissolves.

  • Return to a simmer and simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, 25 – 30 minutes* stirring occasionally.

It’s hard to give a specific cooking time for the thickening however, the best test, is to use your fingers.

Take some of the sauce on a spoon and carefully dip your forefinger into it. Using your thumb, rub the two fingers together while applying a little pressure then gently separate your fingers. There should be a slight tackiness or stickiness between your fingers while trying to separate them.

I prefer my sweet soy to be thinner rather than super thick so once I reach the tacky stage I pull the sauce off as it will thicken more as it cools.

For a thicker sauce, continue to simmer 5 – 10 longer and the sauce begins to coat a spoon lightly.

  • Remove the spices and aromatics.

  • Cool slightly and pour into a jar then cool completely.

  • Refrigerate until needed.

2.      Use as desired.

Curried Pasta Salad

Curried Pasta Salad

Related Posts