Let's Talk Soy Sauce

If you and I shared a similar childhood you probably recall having some primary school education about health and nutrition, an the infamous "food pyramid".

Here's why the food pyramid is bullshit: it's missing the most critical food group of them all - sauce. I'm all about sauce - marinara sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce, you name it. This following artist's rendition dramatically illustrates my feelings about hot sauce, Sriracha in particular.

Tonight's topic however is soy sauce. You may be thinking that there are a number of different brands of soy sauce available on the market, and that I am going to debate the pros and cons of each. Wrong. There is only one brand of legit soy sauce on the market: Kikkoman. If you're a La Choy kinda person, I suggest you try this amazing computer trick right now: Alt+F4.

The brew-masters at Kikkoman do have a variety of flavors with which to dazzle you (not ending on a preposition here, suckas). Let us highlight two of them - the general purpose soy sauce and their sushi / sashimi blend.

According to Kikkoman:

Made from our naturally brewed soy sauce, Sushi & Sashimi Soy Sauce is sweeter and milder than original Kikkoman Soy Sauce. The balance of sweetness and saltiness, as well as a special blend of natural ingredients, pairs well with wasabi (Japanese horseradish paste) and heightens the flavor of sushi and sashimi, as well as a variety of other foods, such as pot stickers, grilled meat and chicken.

I did a quick back-to-back taste test. Relative to the control (all-purpose "normal" soy sauce), the sushi & sashimi blend definitely does have a bit less of an edge to it, and while perhaps not that much more mild does have a sweeter and less aggressive taste to it. The difference is subtle, but it really is very good - and not just for sushi. I've used it for just about everything and it is quite good.

Try it out. In Ohio I had seen it briefly in Giant Eagle, though seemingly it disappeared off the shelves within the year before I moved out of there. In North Carolina it is definitely available at Harris Teeter, but not at Lowe's Foods.

No Vehicle Dynamics Here

I'm Jersey Tom. Some of you may know me from my other blog which had distinctly different subject matter. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about motorsport engineering and vehicle dynamics. However, I get a big enough dose of that from my day job trying to get 3600 lb stock cars to go a fraction of a percent faster than the competition.

I enjoy creativity - be it creative control in my engineering work, writing and playing music, or cooking. This blog will be focused on the last of those topics - though it's certainly conceivable that I delve into whatever happens to be on my mind on any given day, including how disappointed I am that Reverend MC Hammer supports the Occupy "X" protests.

Anyway, no promises here but I'm all about enjoying something good to eat and/or drink. I do appreciate the fact that some people aren't quite as into it as I am. I've heard plenty of people say, "Well why bother with the time/expense/effort? I can just eat at X and it's cheap!" This may be true. For those looking for a bargain for food - look no further. This is right up your alley for a great deal on some sustenance that will (probably) keep you alive without devouring your wallet.

Personally I try to do the best I can when I cook at home. Bear in mind my formal culinary training is non-existent, but then again my formal vehicle dynamics training is non-existent as well and I seem to have fared well in that regard. Fuck it, let's see what we come up with.