On Jan 17, 4:30*am, "Jean B." > wrote:
> I just found the Datu Puti, which someone here highly recommended
> and would like an easy way to compare the various soy sauces I
> have here. *Obviously, I am not just going to sample them as it,
> and I don't think I want to make some dish numerous times--or even
> split up, say some chicken, and try mini batches of marinade.
> --
> Jean B.

I recently bought a bottle of Pearl River Bridge superior dark soy
sauce at a Chinese store that I check out whenever my car needs fixing
since my mechanic is next door. The stuff comes in 3 flavors: light,
dark, and mushroom flavors and is sold in 16.9 oz glass bottles.
Pretty cheap at $1.99 a bottle. I went for the gold and got the dark
sauce. The dark sauce is not really soy sauce as we know it. It's a
thick syrup with a surprising molasses taste. I tested it by pouring
it on my finger and tasting. It might be good for a marinade or for
boiling chickens but versatile it ain't. I will sometimes put shoyu on
white rice and eat that but putting this stuff on rice would be
horrible. I added some to a meatloaf that turned out great but it's
not certain what part the soy sauce played in this. Generally, you
could say that it adds a dark, rich flavor to foods.

Soy sauce, vinegar, a little sugar, thinned down with some water makes
a pretty standard dipping sauce for pot stickers around here. The soy
sauce sold in the US by Kikkoman I believe, is a lighter, sweeter
version of their Japan shoyu. As it goes, many Americans find it still
too strong and salty. My guess is that most of the US would find a
diluted soy sauce with a little sugar and vinegar more to their taste
- including mine. I'm gonna mix up a batch. :-)