These are the ratios I use for making a pork stew and teriyaki-style pork marinade. I hate measuring things when I cook, so having pre-made mixes that I can keep in the fridge lower the friction to preparing a healthier meal.
Sri Marinade Type 1
premade soy sauce, sugar, water base
The basic idea is to provide a baseline that is just sweet enough, adding additional ingredients as needed. The ratio is 4:2:1 water to soy sauce to sugar.
1.0
Water
0.5
Soy Sauce (shoyu or Taiwanese)
0.25
Brown Sugar (white sugar ok too).
Adjust to taste, as your soy sauce will taste different compared to mine.
I prefer Japanese Shoyu-style soy sauce if I can't get Taiwanese soy sauce (preferably an "aged" variety). Chinese-style soy sauces taste more watery and salty to me by themselves, so you need to add some additional sauce magic to make it taste good (see Adjustments below for some ideas).
Applications
- For Mom's teriyaki-style pork slices: add garlic powder and a dash of msg. Let sit 15 minutes.
- For Mom's pork stew: dillute until bland; the meat and other additions will fill-in as it cooks.
- For Mom's Lu Rou: dillute until bland; add sack of star anise, cinnamon, ginger slices, green onions.
- For Generic Stir Fry: use just a little bit with thin-sliced pork or chicken, let sit for 15 minutes. Start with onions, other vegetables until almost cooked. Remove, then quickly stir-fry protein for 3 minutes of medium-high heat before adding back the vegetables for a final mix.
Adjustments
Adjust by tasting as you mix and cook!
- Add Chinese rinsed fermented black beans to give an earthier taste
- Add Korean Doenjang, a fermented soybean paste, for a similar effect
- Add Taiwanese Kimlan Soy Paste for a earthier taste without the fermented tang
- Add grated ginger to energize the middle with brightness. Adding later in the cook will keep it brighter.
- Add what's missing: MSG
- Add a dash of Sesame Oil at the end for chicken dishes