Soy sauce is not only widely used by the inhabitants of Asian countries, but has long been used for the preparation of European dishes. It perfectly complements meat, fish, pasta, rice, and all kinds of salads. Therefore, housewives often have a question whether it is possible to make delicious soy sauce at home.
Soy sauce is a fermentation product of soybeans under the influence of a special Koji fungus from the genus Aspergillus. It is a dark liquid with a pungent specific odor, which perfectly replaces salt harmful to the body. There are 2 technologies for making real soy sauce: by natural fermentation and acid hydrolysis.
Features of making soy sauce in different ways
The method of natural fermentation has been used by the peoples of Asia for several millennia, and to this day it has come down practically unchanged. To make soy sauce, the beans were steamed, then mixed with roasted wheat grains, poured over with water, and slightly salted.
The mass thus obtained was poured into special bags and hung out in the sun. The Koji fungus, which entered the mixture from the air, initiated a fermentation process that lasts from 40 days to 2 years. The resulting liquid was collected, filtered and poured into containers. To speed up the process, today the Koji fungus is immediately added to a dry soybean-wheat mixture. This allows the fermentation period to be shortened to 1 month.
To speed up and simplify the process of making soy sauce on an industrial scale, some manufacturers use the acid hydrolysis method. In this case, soybeans are boiled with hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, then the excess acid is neutralized with alkali. As a result of such a chemical reaction, chloropropanol, a carcinogen harmful to health, is formed, which is practically impossible to isolate and remove from the finished product. The taste and color of the finished product is formed by the corn syrup, colorings, salt and flavorings.
It is clear that the usefulness of the product prepared in this way is questionable. That is why many housewives strive to make soy sauce on their own. It is difficult to make a real sauce, since its main component - the Koji fungus - is not easy to get. However, there are several recipes, following which you can make homemade sauce with your favorite taste.
Soy sauce recipe
To make a delicious sauce, you will need the following ingredients:
- soybeans - 120g;
- butter - 2 tbsp. the spoon;
- vegetable broth - 50 ml;
- wheat flour - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
- sea salt to taste.
Soybeans must be boiled until tender and ground into a homogeneous mass. Then add broth, butter, flour and salt to it. Mix everything until smooth.
Put the almost finished sauce on the fire and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, remove from heat and cool. Your delicious, and most importantly, healthy soy sauce is ready!
