# Replacement for cooking with Soy Sauce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948 "2019-10-18T12:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/1 "2019-10-18T12:20:01Z")
Even Light Soy Sauce has a sodium content that’s beyond what I can enjoy. Anyone have a recipe for the basic flavors imparted by soy sauce that is nominally sodium-free? This isn’t a medical condition issue. I just cannot balance a volume demand in a recipe with the high salty taste imparted. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/2 "2019-10-18T12:32:56Z")
You have to make it yourself. There’s a lot of recipes on the internet, many of them very complicated. I haven’t tried this, but this is the simplest one I’ve found: [ul] [li]1 cup water[/li][li]1 tablespoon cooked unseasoned rice vinegar[/li][li]1 teaspoon molasses[/li][li]½ teaspoon dark brown sugar[/li][li]½ teaspoon garlic powder[/li][/ul] Just mix everything together. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/3 "2019-10-18T12:35:48Z")
Soy sauce is a complex product with free aminos, short peptides, maillard products, sugars. And of course sodium, which you don’t want. These complements can be found in mushrooms, meat broths, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, seaweeds, molasses. If you want to talk recipes, we should probably ask for a move to CS. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/4 "2019-10-18T13:20:30Z")
What are you making? Soy sauce is a source of umami and salt. If you just want the umami, I think you’d use more dashi (stock) of some kind, probably bonito flakes and kombu. There is this [soy zero](http://hukumans.com/shop/soyzero/) but it’s a flavoring spray, so I suspect the low sodium is partly due to the tiny portion size. I’ve never tried it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/5 "2019-10-18T13:29:47Z")
Coconut aminos might do it. Less than 10% of the sodium in a standard tamari. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/6 "2019-10-18T15:29:29Z")
Worcestershire sauce or straight MSG ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/7 "2019-10-18T15:42:45Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Coconut aminos might do it. Less than 10% of the sodium in a standard tamari. Coconut aminos is (are?) good. It’s pretty readily available these days because it’s recommended for Paleo cooking. Note that the serving size is 1tsp (5ml) while Kikkoman soy sauce is 1tbp (15ml) so sodium comparison is a little different. 90/5ml versus 570/15ml. Still less sodium in coconut aminos, and no msg. To me, they tasted the same. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/8 "2019-10-18T16:32:00Z")
**Moderator Action** This will do better in Cafe Society, where all the foodies hang out. Moving thread from GQ to CS. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/9 "2019-10-18T19:09:58Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Worcestershire sauce or straight MSG I hesitate to suggest this, but maybe fish sauce(nam pla) would be a decent substitute. It’s super-salty, but you use a LOT less of it than you do soy sauce, since despite being a rich source of umami compounds, it’s funky and smells like stinky feet. Used in small quantities it’s more similar to straight MSG though. Really though… soy sauce mostly tastes like salt, umami and some roasted/maillard flavors. So I’d think maybe MSG and a tiny bit of coffee/cocoa might substitute adequately without the salt. You’d have to experiment a lot to find out the ratio though. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/10 "2019-10-18T19:12:49Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Worcestershire sauce or straight MSG Isn’t Worcestershire sauce soy sauce-based? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/11 "2019-10-18T20:46:03Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Isn’t Worcestershire sauce soy sauce-based? No, it’s primarily anchovies, salt, and vinegar, aged and fermented in a wood barrel. It’s very much like Asian fish sauce. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/12 "2019-10-18T20:51:07Z")
Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce is very low in salt but still has some. That will give you color and some flavor. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacement-for-cooking-with-soy-sauce/841948/13 "2019-10-19T03:29:16Z")
Maggi isn’t low sodium but might be worth a look.