The Late Night Gourmet
Assistant Cook
I came upon this one by accident years ago. I saw this bottle for Chinkiang vinegar, I didn't know what it was, so I decided to try it. I found that the smoky flavor - imparted by the black garlic used to make the vinegar - imparts characteristics that I found similar to soy sauce. A check for the nutritional content vs soy sauce is startling: only 155 mg in a tablespoon vs. 1006 mg in regular soy sauce and 531 mg in reduced sodium soy sauce.
Nutritional benefits are important, but does it work as a substitute? I’ve found that I can do without the soy sauce entirely in recipes with robust flavors, like Hot & Sour Soup. For pork fried rice and chicken fried rice, I add only a tablespoon of reduced sodium soy sauce to a 4.5 lb batch, with the rest of the flavor coming from the Chinkiang vinegar.
Nutritional benefits are important, but does it work as a substitute? I’ve found that I can do without the soy sauce entirely in recipes with robust flavors, like Hot & Sour Soup. For pork fried rice and chicken fried rice, I add only a tablespoon of reduced sodium soy sauce to a 4.5 lb batch, with the rest of the flavor coming from the Chinkiang vinegar.