Asian Cooking the Natural Way: Marukan Lite Rice Vinegar and San-J Tamari Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

I rely heavily on Asian cooking in my home, especially Thai and Chinese. I like how the intense and spicy flavors can be paired with vegetables, fish, and noodles or rice to create tasty low-fat meals. However, there are a few pitfalls to avoid with two staples of Asian-style cooking: soy sauce and rice vinegar. Many brands contain high salt, high sugar, and less-than-natural ingredients.

I've recently tried two "lite" and "natural" alternatives of two Asian-style cooking staples: seasoned rice vinegar and soy sauce, both purchased at a health food store. I compared both to larger brands purchased at an ordinary chain grocery store.

Marukan offers a Lite Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar with "low sodium and sugar." In comparing it to a non-lite version I picked up at a local supermarket (Nakano), Marukan does have less sugar (4 grams per tablespoon versus 5), and does not contain high fructose corn syrup like the other brand. However, Marukan's sodium content was actually higher (350 mg per tablespoon as opposed to 240 mg in the non-lite version). In terms of taste, the Marukan Lite variety was somewhat less pungent than Nakano's brand, but otherwise comparable.

.
I compared San-J's Naturally Brewed Tamari Premium Soy Sauce Reduced Sodium to La Choy's Lite Soy Sauce. (Note: San-J also offers an organic lite version but it was not available at my market that day.) The difference in taste was startling. Although the San-J brand contains more sodium than the La Choy (700 mg and 560 mg per tablespoon, respectively), the San-J tasted much less salty and had a deeper, more interesting flavor. Their web site attributes this to the fact that the product is made with more soybeans than ordinary sauce.

The bottom line: if you're interested in using a rice vinegar and soy sauce that have more natural ingredients, these two products fit the bill. However, be aware that using them will still add quite a large load of sodium to a dish (personally, I always cut the amount of soy sauce called for in any recipe in half). Just make sure to plan ahead so you don't overdo your daily sodium intake, especially if you plan on wearing those cute pointy toed heels that night!

About Marukan Vinegar USA: According to their Web site, the Marukan Vinegar Company has been brewing natural rice vinegars in Japan since 1649. Their vinegar is 100 percent naturally matured by the traditional method. They also produce organic rice vinegars.

Marukan Lite Rice Vinegar Ingredients: Rice vinegar (water, rice), sugar, salt.

About San-J : San-J International, Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of San-Jirushi, Kuwana, Japan. Their U.S. plant is located in Richmond, Virginia. The company accounts for over 50% of the world's consumption of Tamari

Naturally Brewed Tamari Premium Soy Sauce Reduced Sodium Ingredients: Water, soybeans, salt, alcohol (to preserve freshness), organic wheat

February 5, 2006

Asian Cooking the Natural Way: Marukan Lite Rice Vinegar and San-J Tamari Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce