I cook the odd Asian inspired meal from time to time and when I do soy sauce is often a key ingredient. The type I mainly use are the light and dark soy sauce made by Pearl River Bridge – not sure why that particular brand, think I was recommended it yonks ago and just stuck with.
A soy sauce that has been kicking around for a while – 300 years to be exact – and one I mostly see in Asian restaurants is from the Kikkoman brand: it’s that one with the iconic double spouting bottle top. Kikkoman recently held an event to showcase its soy sauce at the very swanky Matsuri St. James’s restaurant in Mayfair. Michelin starred chef, Simon Hulstone from The Elephant restaurant in Torquay and also brand ambassador, is there to offer a few tips and give more insight into the soy sauce.
The Kikkoman soy sauce is naturally brewed with no artificial colours, preservatives or flavour enhancers, yet surprisingly you can get 300 flavour elements from just the four ingredients used: soy, water, wheat and salt, that go into making it. We have a taste test but I obviously can’t detect all these. I sip a bit too much and the overriding taste is a salty tang – too powerful for me by itself.
Cooking on the Teppanyaki
Matsuri St. James’s is famed for its Teppanyaki, which is a theatrical style of cooking where food is cooked on a grill in front of you. Hulstone knocks up a fresh scallop and tenderstem brocolli dish, which is dressed in a very tasty and simple soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin and olive oil sauce, which compliment the sweetness of the scallop well.
Hulstone points out that the sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (Japanese for ‘savoury sensation’ ) taste to Kikkoman soy sauce is the key to its adaptability. He adds it to things like shepherd’s pie or even in desserts such as caramel tart. He also suggests adding some to baked beans sprinkled with cheese. Now that is just a step to far for me. I am very passionate about my beans, don’t touch my beans, leave them well alone, they are fine as is – Heinz brand all the way in case you were wondering. That aside, it’s interesting to learn that soy sauce is actually more versatile than I first thought and can realistically be an all-purpose seasoning.
Sushi Making
We are shown how to make sushi where soy sauce is the classic dip for it. But sushi with raw fish is my nightmare – it really is the type of food that makes me gag. I did try two pieces though, which I only just manage to keep down.
Sushi
Tempura
What I do enjoy eating is the tempura, which has a wonderfully light, crisp, batter served with a soy and radish dip, and the Scottish Angus Dry-Aged Fillet Steak with green and white asparagus. There’s also a bizarre misplaced side of ratatouille, which really didn’t go with the rest of the meal.
Angus Steak
Fireball Ice-Cream Crepe Dessert
Dessert is a show stopping Fireball Ice-Cream with crepes and shaved pineapple. I sadly fail to capture the flamboyancy of it in the pics, but I can tell you it’s flaming delicious and a fitting way to end to an entertaining event.
Many thanks to Kikkoman for the invite.
