Soy Sauce--the "All-Purpose Seasoning"
I didn’t think it was possible, but we have used almost a liter of soy sauce in our six months in Japan. What do we do with it? Well, we do not pour it over our rice, which is apparently impolite. Soy sauce is for dipping purposes only in Japan, we have been told. So, we dip our take-out sushi in it. We use it as part of a marinade for salmon or chicken, or as part of a dressing for an Asian cole slaw.

At the time of purchase, I never imagined we’d use so much soy sauce, since we only needed a small amount to go with our take-out food. But in our first trip to a Japanese grocery store, we were lost in a sea of one-liter bottles (large for soy sauce by American standards!) full of brown liquids with only slightly varying labels. After several moments of hesitation, we randomly grabbed one of the bottles.

Brian was prepared to take it home and be surprised. But as we checked out, I sheepishly asked the cashier, “Soy sauce?” as if surely she must know those English words? She got very nervous, gestured she’d be back, and ran to get another lady who spoke a little English. When they returned, she said, “No soy sauce.” So I hurried behind her to find out where they kept the soy sauce and how to identify it by the label.

I guess deep down I must have known we’d need more sometime in our three years here! And in retrospect, it makes sense that among all those brown one-liter bottles, the soy sauce was the only one with the English words “All Purpose Seasoning” on the label! Even we’ve found many ways to use it!