I recently bought miso paste for the first time and love it. My
problem with just about every Asian seasoning is that it is WAY
too salty. And I'm someone who loves salt, but by the time you
get done funking up the hoisin sauce with soy and fish sauce and
perhaps miso or whatever, it becomes incredibly salty.

So my question is why there are few low-sodium versions? For
example, fish sauce is preserved with salt, but surely a fresh
refrigerated version could use much less or no salt. But I
read that salt is important in miso production to slow the
fermentation and allow the flavor to develop. I assume soy
sauce is salty for the same reason.

So I could ask whether something can substitute for the salt in
soy fermentation, maybe some exotic growth regulator or perhaps
a change in pH, etc. While not traditional, surely something
can be found to allow the full flavor of these products to
develop using so much less salt.