Substitute Soy Sauce with Black vinegar (Chinkiang)?

Question

I am looking around for a product to replace soy sauce that is healthy and has a negligible amount of salt, as we know soy sauce is packed with salt and I find if I use it sparingly it lacks the flavour. I went to my local oriental grocery store and found they have this 'Gold Plum Chinkiang Vinegar' which seems to be really popular and gets great reviews. "Chinkiang vinegar is a dark, slightly sweet rice vinegar with a smoky flavor." This seems like it would be a great replacement for soy sauce, obviously not the same taste of soy sauce but I really like the sound of this, and I would be able to use it sparingly with flavorful results.

The only problem is the ingredients: "Water, Glutinous Rice, Salt". I have looked everywhere to see how much salt is in it but I can't find anything anywhere and was wondering if anyone could tell me how much there could be in this vinegar, as I feel it would be pointless replacing salt from soy with salt from vinegar.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

When you're talking about replacing soy sauce in a recipe, that would be a total negative... like replacing Chicken Broth with lemon juice.

Would it be a delicious thing to add to your dishes? Absolutely. The good thing about it is that it would add a little bit of acid to your food, which is a good way to get a little bit of flavor in there if you're looking to reduce sodium.

If you've got a major salt sensitivity, you probably don't want to risk cooking with it without solid nutrition information. Even if you find nutrition info for a similar product from another manufacturer on the net, it's probably a bad idea.
If you're not at risk for serious hypertension and haven't been diagnosed with salt sensitivity by a doctor, you probably don't need to have a reduced sodium diet anyway.

Answer 2

dsdowbiwowhngv

Answer 3

ummm well i guess you could because it is salty ish but idk

Answer 4

I have a bottle in my cupboard right now, and to make a substitute, mix a bit of soya sauce with a bit of white vinegar and a touch of brown sugar, I live in Toronto Canada and we have a larger Asian community, in fact I just bought 2 bottles as it was on for 99 cents a bottle at my chinese grocery store in downtown.

Answer 5

Since you are having so much trouble finding a replacement why not make your own dressings and you personally can control how much salt you add to your cooking.

This is a recipe for a soy sauce recipe
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/sauces/r…
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1715,148…

Here is an article I think you should read.
http://www.megaheart.com/sodium_all_abou…
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0ge…