Sauce in translation: in Asia, soy sauces are valued and cultivated much like the wines and cheeses in Europe. The ingredients and spices used to create them have purposes and functions that can augment cuisines on any side of the Pacific

Prepared Foods, Jan, 2005 by Marcia A. Wade

Becker agrees, admitting that he went to a great extent to source ingredients for his sauces. "We wanted to set our products apart and create the authentic and quality flavor profiles that I felt were in demand," he explains.

"If you can find unique raw materials, ingredients or flavoring systems from one culture and apply them in another, why not add it if the end result is a finished product that the consumer finds [appetizing]," says Stone. "If you are trying to set yourself apart from your competition, then it makes sense to [travel and explore]."

Oriental Over There

Above and beyond soy sauce, chefs are turning to many different seasonings.

Mirin, sweetened cooking sake, is a popular Asian sauce made from fermented rice. "The Japanese are very fond of sugar," says Becker. "Sugar is also a very powerful flavor enhancer--just like shoyu." While tamari will discolor foods, mirin is golden and does not affect color.

Ponzu is a tart dipping sauce made from shoyu and either yuzu or sudachi, two Japanese citrus fruits. "Ponzu is too sour for the typical American palate," explains Becker. Nevertheless, the thick, glaze-like sauce has a very unique profile and also can be used in non-Asian salad dressings, dips, salsas, pasta and sushi. Ponzu can be sweetened with barley malt but, commercially, sugar is used and yuzu and sudachi may be substituted with lemon or lime. "It is multi-dimensional with sweet, salty and sour connotations," says Esko.

Kecap Manis, an Indonesian sweet soy sauce, also is coming into vogue right now. It is a syrup made of soy sauce and palm sugar.

Wasabi, a green Japanese horseradish, can be used to spice up a variety of dishes. "It doesn't taste hot immediately, but its intensity builds and then quickly dissipates," says Esko. It is said to have antibacterial properties and aids in digestion, she notes. In Japan, real wasabi is considered a natural treasure, but most commercial formulations do not contain any wasabi but a mixture of ground horseradish and mustard powders. It often, is diluted with corn starch and chemical colorings.

Umeboshi plums and paste are made from small un-ripened plums pickled with salt and the dark red leaves of the shiso or beefsteak plant also known as perilla, which give pickled umeboshi plums their natural red color. "There is nothing else like shiso," says Becker. It is used in very small quantities because it has such a distinct, profound flavor. It is related to the mint family. Among other things, the extremely salty and sour Umeboshi concoction has been added to beverages, sauces, dips and dressings. There are two types of shiso, green and red. The green leaves are slightly minty, sour and bitter, and are used mainly in making sushi or serving sushi upon.

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