Soy Reduction (a.k.a. The Magic Sauce)

Summary by Krater

Helen Rennie demonstrates how to make a sweet, savory, umami soy reduction sauce called the "magic sauce" using soy sauce, sake, sugar, kombu, dry shiitake mushrooms, and bonito flakes, simmering and reducing the mixture into a thick syrup.

From the video

Answers: How do you make a soy reduction umami sauce?

• soy reduction sauce
• Japanese cooking
• umami sauce recipe
• making teriyaki-like sauce

Ingredients

• 10 oz (296 ml) Tamari soy sauce
• 300 g Sake
• 85 g (1/3 c + 1 Tbsp) Sugar
• 5 g Kombu
• 15 g (handful) Dry shiitake mushrooms
• 10 g Bonito flakes

What it concludes

• Sake from a box is fine for this recipe, and leftovers can be stored in the fridge almost indefinitely.
• Kombu and bonito flakes give the sauce its smokiness, making them the most important ingredients to prioritize.
• Using a non-stick skillet instead of a small pot prevents the reduction from sticking and lets you keep more sauce.
• Do not taste the sauce straight from the pan or lick the spoon to avoid a terrible burn.
• Storing the soy reduction in a squeeze bottle is the only good way to ensure you do not overwhelm your dish with it.
• Putting the squeeze bottle into the fridge overnight allows the sauce to mellow out and smooth, and it will keep forever.