Healthy soy sauce with the usual tang

Every person has unique taste for food.   But when it comes to condiments, it's almost always possible to find a kitchen with a collection of seasonings imported or local.   The Food Channel says more people have soy sauce in their kitchen than tea, coffee, milk, or salsa.

Soy sauce is the brown and salty extract of fermented mixture, made from soybeans, wheat, water and salt that is commonly used in Asian cuisine.

Soy sauce originated from China.  It is used in various cuisines across Asia and an especially important seasoning in Japanese cuisine.  But Chinese and Japanese soy sauces are substantially different, and it is rarely appropriate to substitute one for the other.

Chinese soy sauces are primarily made from soybean with relatively low amounts of other grains.  The Japanese soy sauce, or “shoyu”, is traditionally divided into five main categories, depending on differences in ingredients and methods of production.

Wheat is a primary ingredient in Japanese soy sauce.  This gives the Japanese varieties a slightly sweeter taste than Chinese soy sauces. 

Filipino soy sauce, on the other hand, is patterned after the Japanese product counterpart.

But no matter where soy sauce is concocted, one solid fact remains – this condiment is very high in sodium.   Both fish sauce or patis and soy sauce is very high in sodium.   Based on the Asean Food Composition Tables, one tablespoon or 15 ml of soy sauce, light, grade 1 contains 1,423 mg of sodium comparable to one tablespoon of fish sauce or patis which contains 1,394 mg of sodium. 

The high sodium content makes soy sauces unsuitable condiment for people with kidney problems.  It should generally be taken in moderation.

Soy sauce also contains a small amount of naturally occurring monosodium glutamate or MSG.  However, soy sauce is also a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B6, magnesium, copper, protein, niacin, and phosphorus.

Soy sauce is nearly always present in many Filipinos' daily meals as “sawsawan” and therefore it is a good vehicle for fortification.

The Food and Nutrition Research Institute, an agency of the Department of Science and Technology has developed a technology on the fortification of soy sauce with vitamin A, iron, and iodine. 

The result of a study led by Dr. Mario V. Capanzana showed that iron and iodine are substantially retained in fortified soy sauce after one year of storage in glass and plastic bottles exposed under simulated market conditions.  

A significant reduction in vitamin A content was noted in soy sauce kept in plastic and glass bottle and stored under similar conditions. The result of the study will serve as basis for large-scale production of fortified soy sauce and eventually for technology transfer to the food industry.