You do that
- A splash of soy sauce gives a rich Umami taste and turns a simple vinaigrette.
- Start with a teaspoon of soy sauce, then try and add more if you want.
- Go with normal soy sauce or try sweet soy or Shirodashi to introduce caramel, smoke or hearty notes- no additional sugar.
I realized that I needed a quick dressing this week while making a dense bean salad for lunch. My fallback recipe for salad dressing is Ina Gartens simple vinaigrette with two ingredients. I drizzled it over my salad, and although it was pretty good, I felt how the chickpeas and edamame pods needed a kick from Umami. And then it hit me. I can upgrade the vinaigrette with the Umami power package, which is always stored in my pantry: Soy sauce.
My salad -minded -upgrade
You probably think: “But Kat, soy sauce is intended for fried vegetables and not for a salad!” I would also have been on this boat if I hadn’t tried it myself.
After doing the vinaigrette, I mingled with a tablespoon of soy sauce. I recommend that you start with a teaspoon and go from there to fit more with your palate. For those among them who love sweet salad dressing, use a sweeter soy sauce. I wouldn’t go as cute as Kecap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), but you are welcome to experiment.
I recommend Lee Kum Kees sweet soy sauceHow it also has a little smoky caramel taste. It is my go-to-soya sauce in a clay pot when steaming entire fish or bravery and it is perfect as a supplement to vinaigrette, as it offers a hint of sweetness without having to add honey or sugar.
If I have a Vietnamese and Cantonese background, of course I keep more than just a kind of soy sauce at home. My everyday soy sauce is something very special: Shirodashi or white soy sauceMade from oysters, mushrooms, Bonito and Kombu extract (all ingredients with glutamates or MSG of nature). You can see that this is a good soy sauce, since everything is written on the label in Japanese and the name translates super umami.
This soy sauce makes everything better, including the Vinaigrette from Ina Garten by adding Umami notes and improving other flavors. I buy my soy sauce in my local Japanese supermarket, but you can find it online for a slight charging.
So next time you make a salad, you should open my vinaigrette with three ingredients to drizzle over your greens. A mere splash will climb even the simplest salads and strengthen the taste with an irresistible Umami kick.
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My tips for putting on salads
- Mix a pinch of MSG into the vinaigrette for even more Umami.
- Hack herbs, chives, shallots, garlic or a mixture can give your vinaigrette more taste.
- When you enjoy thicker salad dressings, give the vinaigrette a good whisk before adding your greens. You can even try to be ashamed with a milk carriage.
