There’s No Salt in This Soy-Free Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
Updated Feb 15, 2021, Published Feb 22, 2017
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This is a salt-free, soy-free, gluten-free substitution for soy sauce.
Jessica Goldman Foung, a.k.a. “Sodium Girl,” must live salt-free due to risk of kidney failure prompted by lupus. She’s a queen of substitutions – an inspiration for those on special diets. This enthusiastic foodie spices up her diet with tasty sweet and savory alternatives to salt. Here’s the back-story (and the recipe) behind her ingenious GF, no-salt soy sauce.
“I remember the day that my low-sodium diet truly turned around. I had just purchased The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium Cookbook, by Donald A. Gazzaniga, and as I flipped through the recipes, I landed on “Soy Sauce Replacement.” I had never considered the idea of replacements before. Or that I could mimic something as salty as soy sauce, which contains more than 1,000mg of sodium per tablespoon.
I made Mr. Gazzaniga’s Soy Sauce Replacement, and while it didn’t taste exactly like the original—there is just no way you can replicate the taste of all that salt—it did have a similar Asian essence. And when mixed with other components for marinades or BBQ sauces, it provided the right amount of savory sweetness.
I created my own version that I use whenever a recipe calls for soy or teriyaki or fish sauce. And I call it umami sauce, as I want your palate to seek out the savory quality, not the salt.”
Umami Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- ½ teaspoon dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe excerpted from Sodium Girl by Jessica Goldman Foung, with permission from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Originally posted January 2013.
Post originally published in Gluten Free & More, written by Alicia Woodward.
So grateful! Will try it!
I tried this recipe and loved it.
I just made this. It has a good flavor. Not soy sauce but Asian just the same. I added a little red pepper flakes and 2 drops of salt free liquid smoke. Hubby loves it! We will be using it as a dip for our shrimp and vegetables. Yum yum!
umm soy sauce is fermented and doesn’t have sugar in it. idk what this is a recipe for…?
Hi Richard,
This is for a soy-free soy sauce substitute. It’s for people cutting back sodium or people who can’t have soy but want to replicate the taste of it, so this recipe does use sugar in order to achieve that.
Thanks!
Hi Carol, cutting back on sodium with rice vinegar (which contains salt) might be a challenge.
Hi!
Most unseasoned rice vinegars are free from sodium. Here’s a brand without sodium: https://www.marukan-usa.com/products/genuine-brewed-rice-vinegar/
Hi, I’m keen to make this. What is ‘cooked’ unseasoned rice vinegar?
Thanks
Hi Kelly,
Good question! That must have been an error. Sorry for the confusion – I’ve corrected it.
thank you for this! I’m trying not to have any sugar as well. Any sub for the sugar? Maybe Splenda will work in its place? Thanks!
Hi Lena,
You could try Swerve (the brown one, since this uses brown sugar) – it’s a cup-for-cup replacement for sugar and doesn’t have any weird aftertaste.
I used swerve brown sugar substitute. Its great!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out.
I doubt you’d like my tofu marinade to make tofu taste like actual beef. I call it my pseudo-beef sauce. It does involve low sodium soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and rice vinegar.
Thank you for this!
I was recently diagnosed with PH. That means NO SALT for me anymore. Heartbreaking as I am a Filipina and practically every recipe I make involves soya. Def worth a try. Will let you know how it works out. Thanks in advance for at least giving me some hope.
I’m trying to cut out sodium it is in everything
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Can you confirm the serving size the nutritional information is based on? I may just be missing it – has 1 cup above recipe, but that sounds like too much for a serving. Thanks!
The “serving” part on this recipe just shows how much this recipe makes (1 cup total). The nutrition facts are calculated for the entire cup. How much you consume as a serving for this recipe will vary based on the recipe you use it in or if you use it as a dipping sauce, etc.