Good idea in adding dried mushrooms.
Btw, did it end up darker than the initial light soy sauce?
I’ve learned that Koon Chun and Kowloon Soy Sauce is the same stuff, just in Hong Kong they branded it Kowloon and KC for export in Europe and US.
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My current soy sauce collection. (From L-R; Nomura Mitsuboshi Soy Sauce, my usual go-to, Yamaki Jozo organic shoyu, Tamari for my sushi and sashimi dipping if I’m not using my homemade tosa soy sauce, shiro soy sauce for my clear soup and ponzu recipes, Kikkoman usukuchi, and two flavored soy sauces – mushroom and smoked.)
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Hard to say as regular Kikkoman is already pretty dark. I’d have to put the before and after in glass and hold 'em up to the window to tell (something I have not done).
I’ve read you can darken it using molasses, but I’m more about the flavor than the color and prefer white sugar/vinegars/ketchup to sweeten things up.
Lovely collection. Do you make your own sushi and sashimi at home?
I start to learn cleaning slicing fish lately, so much to learn. Good Japanese soy sauce will be on my shopping list…
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Actually some light soy sauce can be quite dark, but it won’t add colour, especially it won’t stick to noodles like dark soy sauce does in stir fries . I don’t like the taste of dark soy sauce, but there are dishes, a darker colour is desired like Teochew braised duck.
Thank you. I do make my own sushi and sashimi at home occasionally. My skills are rudimentary, but I like trying. When you start shopping for Japanese soy sauce, consider the online store “The Japanese Pantry” (thejapanesepantry.com) for a selection of artisinal soy products.
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You may find this a bit weird… but one of the things I doctor soy with in meat recipes that call for it (especially red meats) is L&P.
Again dunno if it affects the color.
From what I understand, Kowloon Soy Sauce is a second brand of Mei Chun or Mee Chun (美珍). Koon Chun is a different company. Here are two articles which may be helpful
“九龍醬園，其實是美珍醬園的副線品牌 (Kowloon Sauce Garden is actually a secondary brand of Mee Chun Sauce Garden.)”
“Kowloon Soy Company started life as Mee Chun (mei5 zan1 美珍), one of the many chun (zan1 珍, “crown” or “treasure”) that form the old guard of local soy sauce production. It was forced to adopt a new name after Japan invaded and occupied Hong Kong in 1941, because the first character of its name, mei5 (美), which means “beautiful,” is also the first character in the Chinese name for the United States.”
Hong Kong Soy Sauce: Mee Chun, or Kowloon Soy Company (zolimacitymag.com)
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Thanks for the articles for the origin of Mee Chun. Indeed I was shopping in the Graham store when the store keeper explained the 2 brands were the same, but very briefly. It was a good place to get recipes or tips how to cook a particular dish.
It’s difficult to get Mee Chun here as most shops don’t carry it, except online stores. It’s annoying that the transport cost is 4 x the price of the price of a bottle.
You probably did not miss much.
my fav is KIKOMAN
I only have tamari in the house(*) (one daughter is gluten sensitive) and usually buy San-J brand. San-J was originally a Japanese tamari/soy sauce but I don’t think today it has that sweeter character that many Japanese sauces seem to have.
I was really surprised the other day in the grocery when my daughter pointed out a bottle labeled “Tamari Soy Sauce” that listed wheat in the ingredients. This was Kikkoman brand. When I got home I googled it and found they also had an offering labeled more carefully as “Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce”, which does not list wheat in the ingredients.
This is in the U.S. It may be that outside the U.S., all tamari are 100% soy/no wheat? And until just recently, I thought all “tamari” was wheat free here.
(*) Actually I just remembered that this isn’t quite correct. I’ve got a bottle of regular soy (very dark, thick) that is mushroom flavored. I don’t use it often.
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Calling it “Tamari Soy Sauce” is probably the clue that it isn’t pure tamari.
At first I would have agreed, but as I started looking at the question, it seems this usage is pretty prevalent whether it’s real tamari (no wheat) or wheat containing. The Kikkoman pure tamari (stated to be gluten free) is also labeled as a Soy Sauce (“Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce”). The San-J brand no-wheat tamari I buy says “Tamari Brewed Soy Sauce”, and Eden Foods, Simple Truth, La Choy, Lee Kum Kee, Yamasa brands all call it tamari soy sauce.
Even the 2 called Tamari at the Japanese Pantry (one was Ito Shoten, don’t remember the other) have a bit of English on the back calling it “tamari soy sauce”.
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I can easily imagine Kikkoman getting shit for their poor labeling. In general US parlance tamari is taken to be gluten free.
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Little Wisconsin love. I’m cool with Kikkoman.
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Adding another to the list of dangerously labeled tamari sauce. Wan Ja Shan “International” (they’re from New York) has allcaps across the front of the bottle
TAMARI
but the ingredient list has wheat.
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This is what I use. I know not “traditional “ but fabulous
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