Tamarind and mushrooms are wonderful together, so it’s no surprise that it adds a zippy "umami" flavour to this little homemade condiment and makes it taste so good. It actually gets better over time; keep it for up to six months in a tightly-covered jar in the refrigerator. At 8 mg per tablespoon, it has only slightly under 1.4% of the sodium in the Kikkoman Less Sodium® soy sauce (580 mg/tbsp), which is the lowest sodium brand I’ve been able to find readily available, so it is ideal for low-sodium cooking. Splash it into stir-fries, vinaigrettes, and grilling marinades.
Ingredients
1 ounce (about 12 medium) dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cups (500 mL) filtered spring water
¼ cup (60 ml) cider vinegar
2 tablespoons (30 mL) molasses
1/8 teaspoon (1 g) ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon (1 g) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 g) garlic powder
2 teaspoons (10 mL) Kikkoman ® Less Sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoons (15 g) tamarind paste *
1 packet (4 g) Herb Ox Beef ® Sodium Free bouillon granules
Preparation
Place the mushrooms in a clean heatproof jar with a tight-fitting lid. A 1-quart Mason canning jar works well.
Combine the remaining ingredients in water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil.
Pour the hot liquid over the mushrooms. Let stand until cool.
Cover the jar and steep the mushrooms in the soy/tamarind/vinegar mixture in a cool place until the liquid develops a pronounced mushroom flavour, 1 to 2 weeks.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean sterile jar with a tight fitting lid. Press on the mushrooms to extract as much liquid as possible. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
The mushrooms can be re-used to season soups and sauces. Rinse them briefly, dry on paper towel and freeze till ready to use.
* tamarind paste can be found at Asian markets.
NUTRITION PROFILE: Low sodium, low carb, low fat
Source: Adapt from Dick Logue, Low Sodium Cooking
Source: Adapt from Dick Logue, Low Sodium Cooking
