Soy Sauce Usage in the Philippines
Soy sauce is a very flavorful ingredient prepared from fermented soybeans and wheat. In the Philippines, it has so much importance as you may hardly see a Philippine dish without soya sauce. The Philippine’s traditional dishes are incomplete without adding this ingredient. In the Philippines, soy sauce is known as toyò, derived from tau-yu in Philippine Hokkien. Philippine soy sauce is typically a combination of soybeans, salt, wheat, and caramel color. It is thinner in texture, saltier in taste than Southeast Asian varieties.
Here in this article, we will discuss the usage of soya sauce in detail. Moreover, we will give you the recipe of traditional Philippine food in which the main ingredient is soya sauce.
The most popular in restaurants of Philippine cuisine is pork or chicken cooked with soy sauce called toyò. Toyo is found not only in Adobo but also in different home-style simmered dishes. Patatim, another Philippine dish, is prepared from pork simmered in toyo.
Tapa, a famous Philippine breakfast dish is also incomplete without soya sauce. Fresh beef or pork is marinated in spices and cooked in a combination of toyo and sugar, then served with a fried egg and steamed rice.
The 2008 Philippines National Nutrition Survey highlights that the daily consumption frequency of soy sauce and 3 different kinds of fermented fish items is particularly the same. But, the percentage of various families that use soy sauce is over 40 %.
From this survey, you can take a note that soy sauce is more topically utilized in-home cooking than fish sauce in the Philippines. The soy sauce shelves in markets are lined with a no of varieties from 50 mL small plastic packages to one gallon (3.75L) containers, prepared by the three biggest makers – Datu Puti, Silver Swan, and Marca Piña –also products from 3 to 4 other brands. The shelves store a larger selection than those of fermented fish products in local areas.
According to the Philippine National Standards (PNS) from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Bureau of Product Standards (BPS), soy sauce is classified into 3 major types;
√Fermented
√Hydrolyzed
√Blend
Although soy sauce in the Philippines was once made in pots, in the old or traditional Chinese style. But in recent years, the Philippines have observed the introduction of Japanese shoyu-making methods and industrialization of the formation procedure.
Chicken Adobo is the most famous dish in the Philippines. You can easily make Filipino chicken adobo at home with soya sauce and some other common ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 1/4 cup Sauce Grandmaster soy sauce
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- 1 cup JADE BRIDGE white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup of water
Step By Step Instructions >> Chicken Adobo
Soya sauce is the first love for Filipinos because their famous foods have no value without it. Popular dishes like lechón (whole roasted pig), tapa (cured beef), adobo (chicken or pork braised in soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar, or cooked until dry), and kaldereta (meat stewed in tomato sauce and soya sauce) are some traditional foods in which soya sauce is the main ingredient. You can also try them at home as they are quite easy.
Dan
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