The Multi-Purpose Dressing: Sweet Soy Sauce

Ever since I’ve got my hands on the The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, I haven’t been able to put it down. All the photos look amazing and all the recipes just sound so delicious. I’ve tried a few of the recipes and each has turned out very tasty as promised. But among them, the one recipe that makes my eyes light up is the Sweet Soy Sauce recipe. Originally, I made to accompany Steamed Rice with Chinese sausages, but now it  has evolved to be a versatile dressing that adds a whole new dimension to plain foods such as blanched veggies and steamed rice.

This dressing takes very little prep work and making one batch will last you for a long time.  The original recipe itself already has great flavours from lighting frying garlic and shallots but I tweaked the recipe slightly and added in some more aromatics (minced ginger and dried chili pepper) for a spicy flare. If this sounds tasty to you, I suggest getting Jaden’s book and following her instructions to the letter when you make it the first time for a foolproof delicious sweet soy sauce. Then, tweak the recipe to your likings when you make it the next time. The following recipe is my tweaked version of Jaden’s delicious recipe.

Sweet Soy Sauce

Adapted from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Makes about 3 cups.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 small piece ginger, minced
• 1 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium)
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 scallion, cut into small pieces

Directions:

• Heat cooking oil in a wok on medium heat. Add garlic, shallot and ginger, and fry for about 30 seconds or so to let the flavours infuse into the oil; do not let them brown.
• Carefully remove the garlic, shallot and ginger pieces, try not to remove the flavoured oil as you separate out the bits and pieces.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the oil and simmer until the sauce becomes thickened, about 5 – 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add in the scallion pieces.
• Pour into a clean, tightly covered jar. Let it cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.  Strain out the scallion pieces before using.