Avoiding Soy isn't Soy Difficult

Soy is one of the trickier ingredients that I need to avoid.  When I was going to Japan a year and a half ago, I asking my doctor if soy and rice are safe for me (at the time, rice was out as well) and he said yes to rice but still no soy.  I remember thinking "ok...I will survive.  I can always have a bowl of rice."  But, after researching a little more, I started to get frustrated as they use soy sauce on absolutely everything there, they season their rice with wheat for flavor....OMG.  What did I get myself into by going to Japan for three weeks?  What saved me?  Coconut Aminos in my backpack.

I had never heard of coconut aminos before or anyone having to avoid soy in their diets either.  Look around, soy is in everything.  So I found this product coconut aminos by Coconut Secret.  I can't say it tastes exactly like soy sauce, but it is a nice substitute.  This company has a few products that work well for those of us with challenging food issues.

Last night I was experimenting with an oldie but goodie recipe that we used a lot at the restaurant.  It is a delicious sweet orange soy sauce that works well on chicken, pork or beef....so we used it a lot there.  Since the sauce is made with a 1:1 ratio of soy to orange juice and a lot of brown sugar, it is a little challenging to make a soy-less, no processed sugar version taste just like it, but never the less, I took on the challenge of recreating a Carrie-friendly version.

Right now, the Cara Cara oranges are in season and are super juicy and sweet.  I bought two of those and squeezed out the beautiful pink juice into a sauce pan.  I matched the volume with the Coconut Aminos Garlic Sauce.  I used the garlic version just to supplement with additional flavor.  I added a couple dashes of salt and I sliced some fresh ginger to the pot.  Finally, I added about 1 tablespoon of agave nectar and turned on the stove to reduce the sauce.  Throughout the reduction I added a bit more OJ and some more Coconut aminos.  Finally, the sauce thickened and started to bubble nicely, so I removed from the stove.  What I ended up with was a nice sweet soy-like syrupy sauce that I could drizzle on my meat and veggies!  Whoop Whoop!  Not the same, but still delicious.  Arguably the sauce may have been better than the original since there was more flavors in the mix with the ginger and garlic.  We paired my new sauce concoction with pork tenderloin cooked sous vide and a mix of veggies sautéed in peanut oil.  It was amazing!  I cannot wait to eat the leftovers.

I am very pleased to be able to mimic the recipes that I loved from the past.  It helps bring peace to my emotional ties to food as well as challenges me to think outside of the box with my cooking.  It is my cheap therapy!  If you would like to try this Orange Soy-less Stir Fry, check it out!