Review: Coming home to Kikkoman

Red Cabbage Spring Rolls with Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce

Growing up in California, Kikkoman was to soy sauce as Heinz was to ketchup.  To me it's always been the benchmark for what soy sauce tastes like. And when I was a kid, I would pretend that each of the little bottles that I saw on the tables of every Japanese or Chinese restaurant that I went to, were little ladies in black dresses and red hats.

The flavour was so distinctive that impostors just would not do. While I have tried brands in my life, Kikkoman soy sauce just tastes like coming home to me. To review it would be impossible for me but I can explain to you why after years in the soy sauce wilderness, it is still the best.

The colour is a satisfyingly deep brown which sticks to your rice like it's very best friend. The consistency of the pour is perfect. Where other soy sauces feel light and uncommitted, Kikkoman has the weight of pour of a good red wine meaning that your less likely to over pour when cooking or seasoning. And finally the flavour is rich with a hint of smokiness that I have never found anywhere else. I mean they've been brewing the stuff since the 16th century, so it stands to reason that they know a thing or two about how to get it right.

Soy Roasted Beetroot

I got scrummy with two recipes to reacquaint myself with Kikkoman. The first was a homemade Red Cabbage Spring Rolls with Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce. The second was simple but beautiful Soy Roasted Beetroot, which can be serve hot or chilled. Both were beautiful and will be popping up on the menu again soon.