For years, without quite knowing why, I'd reach for the nearest bottle of soy sauce whenever my seafood stews, vegetable soups or tomato sauces lacked a little "something" and needed a bit of a lift.
And every time, the dark-brown liquid worked its magic, adding not only a distinctive sort of saltiness, but an earthy or meaty taste that wasn't there before.
But I must admit that, in my younger days, I thought of soy sauce as the stuff in the clear-glass cruets or the red-and-white packets at the local Asian restaurant.
Once we moved to Seattle, a whole new world opened up. I discovered Japanese soy sauce, or "shoyu," which can be made from soy beans or soy plus wheat. When made from soy only, the sauces are called "tamari."
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Seattle Times.