Food & Drink by Shari Darling For more information on wine and food, go to www.sharidarling.com I am a fan of all types of cuisine, including Chinese, Japanese andThai. Many of these cultural recipes include soy sauce. Those living a low-sodium and/or gluten-free lifestyle or taking part in a Paleo or Whole30 diet, usually refrain fromusing soy sauce. Soy sauce typically contains wheat (grain) and is super high in sodium. We are addicted to soy sauce as it is high in the fifth taste sensation called umami. Umami is the Japanese word for “yummy.” Umami is what we refer to as roundness and depth of flavour. This fifth taste sensation is not a combination of any of the other taste sensations of sweet, sour, bitter and salty. That is often a misconception. Umami is a sensation all its own, providing us with that ‘comfort food’ feeling. It gives us that feeling of satisfaction after eating spaghetti, Chinese food (with soy sauce), ripe tomatoes, cooked potatoes and aged cheeses such as Parmesan. Umami hits the back of our palate, leaving us with a craving for more. Remember how, years ago, Chinese food always contained MSG? That’s the acronym for monosodium glutamate. MSG is a flavour enhancer. The “monosodium” contains the sodium salt of glutamate acid. The glutamate (a naturally occurring amino acid found inmany foods) is the umami − that savoury experience! When found naturally, the umami is simplistic. If the food is slow-cooked in some form or aged, the umami becomes synergistic and many times more flavourful. MSG has, for a long time, been linked to headaches and other side-effects. Now, takeout Chinese food is made without MSG. InNorth America, we are addicted to ketchup. Ketchup is slow-roasted tomatoes high in synergistic umami. That’s one of the many reasons we love ketchup somuch. It is our ‘goto’ condiment loaded in synergistic umami. Asian cuisine also includes an umami-rich condiment called soy sauce. Soy sauce contains large amounts of free glutamic acid, which is the source of that umami taste. If we are committed to eating in a healthy way, it’s important to watch our sodium intake. Consuming soy sauce freely can blow the commitment which you have to a low-sodium diet right out of the bottle! As I’ve written in the past, consuming too much sodium can possibly lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and can cause calcium loss. We should consume no more than 700 milligrams or less per meal. If we eat three meals per day, that’s 2,100 milligrams of sodium consumed in moderation. When enjoying dishes and foods containing soy sauce, our sodium intake can dramatically increase if we are not diligent about keeping it low. Did you know that one tablespoon of light soy sauce used in Cantonese cuisine contains 1,190 milligrams of sodium? That’s almost half of the recommended daily requirement in one tablespoon! Dark soy sauce used in Chinese and Taiwanese dishes is also high in sodium, more than 900 milligrams per tablespoon. Japanese Kikkoman soy sauce contains 920 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon. Kikkoman’s low-sodium soy sauce contains 580 milligrams per tablespoon. This means that consuming just two tablespoons of this condiment uses up almost your entire daily recommended requirement. When do we ever stick to just one tablespoon of soy sauce when splashing this condiment on Chinese fried rice? Do you keep track of how many tablespoons of soy sauce you actually consume with your sushi? I discovered a fabulous soy sauce substitute called coconut aminos or coconut sauce. Coconut aminos is a salty, savoury seasoning sauce made from the fermented sap of coconut palm and sea salt. It is soy-free, wheat-free and gluten-free, lower in sodium and loaded with umami. One tablespoon of coconut aminos contains 360 milligrams of sodium. Coconut aminos is lighter in colour than Kikkoman soy sauce, with a slightly sweeter tone and far less saltiness. I actually prefer this condiment to my once-favourite Kikkoman brand. Use coconut aminos in all the same ways you would normally use soy sauce and at the same one-to-one ratio. It can be found in bulk food stores, health food stores and now, in many supermarkets. 60 | www.snowbirds.org
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