Product Name: Pearl River Bridge Superfine Soy Sauce, 500mL
Store Purchased: TNT Supermarket
Price: $1.99 CDN
Ingredients: water, soy beans, wheat flour, salt
Used For: seasoning
Review: Most basic foodies should know very well that there exists a difference between soy sauces, primarily dark, light, and region. But amongst each one of these groups there are also a large variety of soy sauces each with their own nuances and price/quality ratio. Light soy sauce is primarily used as a seasoning to add salt without too much of an overpowering flavour or colour. Since mostly acquired for their salt value, light soy sauces have various prices dependent on their % inclusion of soybean ingredients. The cheapest soy sauce tends to have mostly salt, MSG, and colouring, and might even have NO soybean in it. The most expensive soy sauce contains little added salt, no MSG, and no artificial flavourings and colours. For a full rundown of soy sauce classifications go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce
Superfine soy sauce is a middle ground sauce, used in Chinese cooking and fine enough to use as a dipping sauce. Salt is the last ingredient on the list, soybeans are the second on the list. If you look at a display of Chinese light soy sauces, they will increase in price as the wheat flour and salt components move down the list.
Pearl River Bridge (http://www.prb.com.cn/) makes a good dependable soy sauce with high quality assurance, and a less likely chance of false labeling. In recent years, there have been many news reports of products from China that display fake ingredients lists, to boost profits. Some have even included hair and poisonous elements. (TRY GOOGLING FOR "FAKE SOY SAUCE" REPORTS, IT'LL BE INFORMATIVE). I particularly like how the bottle is printed with a PRODUCTION DATE, which is rare on most grocery items.
If in doubt about your preference for soy sauce, I suggest buying all types of sauces from one dependable brand and having a soy tasting night, by yourself or a bunch of friends. Dip dumplings or mild noodles into each type, until you've found a winner. Each person can bring some airtight containers to take home some of the ones they prefer. In general, I suggest not buying the cheapest one on the shelf, unless you really just want the salt and brown colour.
On a sidenote, most oyster sauces are not made with real oyster, hence are named "oyster-flavoured" sauce. But, real oyster sauce can still be found if you look real hard and are willing to pay the price. In the meantime, if you would like to make your own REAL oyster sauce here's a recipe (provided by www.gourmetsleuth.com) Nothing can compare to oyster sauce made with real oysters!
Homemade Oyster Sauce
I N G R E D I E N T S
1/2 lb. shucked oysters with liquid
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp salt
light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Drain oysters and reserve the liquid. Mince oysters and place in a saucepan. Add water and reserved liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add salt and cool completely.
Force the mixture through a fine sieve into sauce pan. Measure the liquid, adding 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce to each 1/2 cup. Add dark soy sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 7 minutes.
Cool to room temperature and pour into a sterilized jar. Seal and store in the refrigerator. This sauce can be kept for several weeks.
