non-soy sub for Nama Shoyu?

[nmb]

Hi all; I'm still very new to all this; my son's allergic to soy, but so many recipes call for this stuff. Can I just substitute a little salt & water? Or is there something else I can use to mimic the flavor & texture? Lots of stuff I want to try ....

Especially if anyone has any cheese recipes that don't use soy, I'd love to know.

Thanks!

[Diana Cda]

Very good question. I'd be interested to know if others have found a substitute. Water and salt don't give the food that asian flavour, though, so have always wondered what would work.

[Eva]

Diana... You're right that water and salt don't give the Asian flavor, and I don't have a solution in mind for that. Many recipes (such as flax crackers) really have no reason to taste Asian, though... so for those, I have been using sea salt, and it seems just fine. :)

I'm curious if anyone else has ideas to get the Asian flavor without soy...

[jaurequi]

Nama Shoyu is a living food product, not a RAW product; so, if that is what you are after, then use non-soy miso. There are chickpea misos, millet, brown rice, and many others which do not have soy as a base. Add water to it and/or blend (if it's the chunky variety), and it is basically a soy sauce.

For a stronger "soy" flavor, go for the darker misos.


South River (http://www.southrivermiso.com/index_steam.html) has the best quality misos. Or find an "unpasteurized" miso.


Best,

[nmb]

jaurequi - Thanks! Going to try the miso then & see... Now I have a new questiong though - can you explain the living food vs raw?

[rawkchicster]

"living food" has live enzymes, but isn't necessarily "raw"... In this case, the soy was initially cooked, but during fermentation, it grew live enzymes that help with digestion, so it's a "live food".

Right, guys?

[Eevie]

Since you are allergic to soy, watch out! Because even if it's called chickpea, rice or whatever else miso, it usually is a mixture of the ingredients mentioned PLUS soy! To be honest, I haven't seen any miso without soy. (just have a look on the label)
If you actually find a soyfree version make sure it says "unpasteurized" ;)

Good luck for your quest to find fake-Asian-flavouring! :D
Eevie

[Rawspberry]

There are many miso's out there made without soy and only the rice or chickpea etc.

Try the South River brand, which is unpasteurized.
http://www.southrivermiso.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/22/products_id/62

They say soy-free on the ones that are.

You could also try soaking sea vegetables instead and using the liquid from it.