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Despite being diagnosed with a likely soy allergy and confirming it with a food challenge, I also challenged gluten-free tamari separately and decided I could handle it. But paying a little more attention to the fact that I felt lousy the day after Denise and I would have sushi, and also when I’d make stir-fry, I started experimenting with making my own soy sauce substitute. I did try coconut aminos. I didn’t like them. Your mileage may vary, but coconut aminos can also be a bit on the pricey side. Regardless of what you find that works for you, I think that soy sauce is a handy flavor to have in your arsenal for so many uses.
I looked at and tried a variety of recipes online, but none were quite exactly what I wanted, taste-wise. This recipe is my version — I’d suggest trying it in this size (makes a little less than a cup) and then seeing what you might want more or less of in your own final version. Then, if you find you use it regularly, double it. So far, it seems to last safely about a month in the fridge. None of mine has made it past that.
This sauce works best, in my opinion, in cooked or mixed recipes, so stir-fry, teriyaki, marinades of all sorts (like jerky), rather than as a dipping sauce for sushi. Although, hey, it works there, too, but it shows its differences a little more.
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (be sure this is free of “caramel coloring”)
2 teaspoons rice vinegar (free of sweeteners)
3 teaspoons molasses
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns (lightly smash one or two if you really like pepper flavor)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic or one large clove, smashed
1 large chunk of ginger — approximately 1 inch square, but chopped into 4 or so pieces
1 pinch of onion powder
1 teaspoon (or so) of salt
In a saucepan, mix all the ingredients except the salt. A fork or whisk seems to work best to incorporate the onion powder and fully blend the molasses.
Bring to a boil, then turn down to a high simmer (it should still be bubbling briskly) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, until reduced by 1/3 in volume.
Remove from heat, whisk in salt. Allow the mixture to cool, then strain and bottle. Store in the fridge.
*I would not highly recommend veggie stock for this, although if you really roasted the veg good and brown, it might be okay. Mushroom broth or stock has a richer flavor in the right direction for a soy sauce replacer, though, so if you want to make this vegan or vegetarian, and you’re not allergic to mushrooms, check out that option. There is at least one boxed brand on the market, or Vegetarian Times has a recipe.
If you tweak this to your tastes, please let us know! Post your recipe or a link below in the comments.
This soup is very much for the potato people, my people. If you merely “like” potatoes, you will probably like this soup, but if, in your world, the potato is the pinnacle of nature’s bounty, this soup is for you. It contains other ingredients, but these serve mainly to make the potato shine in all its earthy goodness.
If you really love the potato, make your chopped potatoes bigger — on the order of one-inch cubes, or mix larger and smaller cubes. The big chunks won’t break down as you reheat the soup. If you prefer your potatoes blend well with all the other ingredients, chop everything a little smaller. I opt for nice big chunks of all the vegetables, all of which then maintain their structural integrity and individual flavors and textures.
The original recipe on which this soup is based is lost to the many moves of my grad school years. One of my roommates picked it up at one of our local grocery stores, in the free recipes section up front, and it was cheap and hearty, which made it a winner in our house. It still is. It bears up to some messing with, mainly on quantities and sizes of ingredients, and is easily made vegetarian, but the way I’ve written it up for you is the way I like it best.
Best Potato Soup
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped or crumbled *(optional — leave off or use a veg substitute to make this vegetarian)
2 teaspoons oil or fat, melted *(olive oil works great. I usually use bacon fat.)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cups broth *(I prefer half vegetable broth, and half chicken broth, both homemade, but all of one or the other works fine.)
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt, to taste *(probably not necessary if you are using commercial broths)
shredded cheddar cheese or cheddar-style vegan cheese *(Daiya is my preference)
Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat until hot. Add onion. Cook until onion is translucent, 5 or so minutes. Add carrots, celery, broth, potatoes, and cayenne. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are done. Taste, add salt if needed. Serve topped with bacon and shredded cheese, if desired.
Best Potato Soup
It really is that easy, and this soup ages very well over the next 5 days or so. The recipe easily doubles to feed a crowd (or yourself all week).
I am not a religious person, but if there is one thing that makes me believe there might be some grand design to the world, it’s potatoes. They are a wonderful, versatile, almost perfect food (only “almost” because they don’t greatly lend themselves to dessert, Grand Forks’ chocolate-covered potato chips notwithstanding). I feel as though I could do a pretty good Irish potato-lover’s version of the Forest Gump shrimp monologue, and I’ve prepared potatoes about a hundred million different ways.
But for picnics, for the upcoming Labor Day festivities, for an end-of-summer celebration? Potato salad is where it’s at. Potato salad is the one socially-acceptable way to eat cold potatoes; it’s perfect for a hot day, travels well, and in a mayo-free version, is both allergen-free and pretty temperature stable. As an added bonus, this one fries up into amazing home fries if any makes it to the next morning.
I developed this recipe in my friend Cathy’s kitchen, adapting the random ideas in my head to what happened to be in her pantry at the time, and it turned out better than all my previous attempts. This is definitely a tweakable recipe (ask my mother, who asked for the recipe and then proceeded to make it with nearly none of the same ingredients. She’s like that sometimes).
Somewhat Germanic Potato Salad, Two Ways!
A note on notations — I use the “~” to indicate approximate measurements, indicating that exact measuring for these ingredients is not necessary. Actually, exact measuring is not necessary for this recipe, but this is how I’ve made it.
4-6 strips of bacon (whatever fits in your skillet, adjusted to how much bacon you like)
1 Tablespoon of bacon fat, reserved
2-4 Tablespoons onion, chopped
One bunch of scallions/green onions, chopped and separated (greens from whites)
2 teaspoons dried mustard or 1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
3 teaspoons dried dill or up to 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper as needed
Somewhat Germanic Potato Salad, Vegan Version
~2 lbs. potatoes, your choice, washed
Water to cover
~1 Tablespoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of vegan margarine (I’ve used Earth Balance soy-free)
2-4 Tablespoons onion, chopped
scant 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon of salt
One bunch of scallions/green onions, chopped and separated (greens from whites)
2 teaspoons dried mustard or 1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
3 teaspoons dried dill or up to 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper as needed
Step 1: Cook potatoes. This step is the same no matter which version you’re going to make. Now there are many types of potatoes out there, and any one of them will work for this recipe. Some will just work better than others. I personally prefer a more waxy potato for salads, as I think they hold together better. The local fingerlings that are coming in now are just about perfect. Red potatoes are probably the best out of the “typical” finds in a grocery store.
Fingerling Potatoes
Don’t peel your potatoes unless you really really hate potato skin or maybe are using the thick-skinned Idaho russet potatoes (baking potatoes). There are lots of vitamins and fiber in the skin, plus it adds texture. Just wash and scrub the potatoes and boil them in salted water. I’ve never measured the water or salt I use for this step — cover the potatoes with water, plus about another inch. For this batch of two pounds, I probably used a tablespoon of salt.
Cover and bring this to a boil on high heat, turn down to medium or low, depending on your stove, but make sure the water keeps boiling. How long the potatoes will take to cook depends on the size of your potatoes. Cooking them whole retains more nutrients, but it’s harder to give you a time. Smaller potatoes take about 15 -20 minutes, larger baking potatoes could take 40 — you might want to cut those in half.
Drain and cool the potatoes, then chop them into bite-sized chunks.
Step 2: Here’s where things diverge into two tracks — the bacon lover’s edition, and the vegan version. The final effect is mostly the same, but how you get there differs.
Bacon Lover’s Edition, step 2:
Cook bacon. Chop or crumble. You could chop the bacon ahead of time, but I think it turns out crispier if I cook it in strips and then crumble it.
Dump out most of bacon grease, leaving about 1 T.
Vegan Version, step 2:
Melt about 1.5 T of Earth Balance (I use their soy-free version, but whatever works for you) in a skillet. Wait until it gets a little sizzle to it.
Back together again, steps 3-6:
Step 3: Saute onion in your chosen fat. If making the vegan version, add the salt and liquid smoke once the onion has started cooking.
Add white part of scallions when onion is translucent, cook another few minutes.
Step 4: Sauce it up.
Turn off the heat but leave the skillet on the burner.
Add mustard and dill. If using prepared mustard, add the vinegar before mixing (trust me). If using just dry spice, mix before adding vinegar and let the mustard and dill soak up the oil.
Stir in the green parts of the scallions (1/2 cup or so, depending on your bunch).
Add a dash or two of olive oil if needed. You want the end result to be a bit saucy, as the potatoes will soak up the vinaigrette. I’ve added about 1 Tablespoon in the photo.
Add potatoes, stir, taste — add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm. Or chill and serve, up to you.
Eat. Re-fry leftovers and call them “George.” No, really, call them home fries. They are awesome.
