What is a healthy asian seasoning that's low in sodium?

Question

All soy sauces and tamari sauces (even reduced sodium) have really high levels anyway... what is a healthy and delicious substitutions

Answer 1

Try Mrs Dash's Salt free seasonings.  They are powders, and come in different varieties.

Answer 2

try some of the powders...ginger and curry work well for me, nutmeg, cumin are good too, but more subtle

Answer 3

Practically all commercially prepared sauces have a fair bit of sodium in it, which is the trade-off for convenience. The few with lower salt content could be sweet & sour, plum, chilli & lemon sauces. Besides sauces, many other Asian ingredients are also salted or preserved eg. black beans, salted fish, salted eggs, preserved veggies, salted hams etc. For dishes where such ingredients are integral to the taste, you can't quite run from it but simply use less.

Nicky's answer is on the right path as many Asian dishes rely on fresh herbs & naturally salt-free spices to boost the flavour. Since you should be aiming for alternatives that are healthier overall & not just low-sodium, note most dishes only require a dash or less of sesame oil and you can use low-fat milk or soy milk to substitute in part for coconut milk (which is high in saturated fat). And there's more to Asian fresh herbs & aromatic veggies: what about lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots (small red/purple onions), curry leaf, laksa leaf, Chinese mushrooms, pandan leaf, tamarind, lotus root etc. Many foods are also wrapped with certain leaves to cook, which imparts a distinctive aroma: banana, pandan, coconut, lotus leaves.

Dried spices & ingredients are also very useful: cinnamon bark, cloves, ground coriander, cumin, 5-spice powder, Sichuan pepper, star anise, palm sugar, dried seaweed, soybeans, dried scallops, dried shrimps, dried mandarin orange peel, dried red dates, Chinese tea leaves etc.

Don't forget for things like rice vinegar & rice wine, there's many different sorts with different tastes. Another area to experiment could be the use of common Asian fruits in your cooking if available & not just for desserts: mango, lychee, longan, mangosteen, jackfruit, pomelo, coconut water or juice, pineapple, starfruit, Chinese or Korean pears etc.

You can also prepare stocks that are intense in flavour even without salt & can be frozen in small amounts for use in stir-frys & to enhance taste of soups & stews. Typically the standard Chinese stock uses whole chickens (old hens if possible), chicken & pork bones, dried seafood like scallops & squid, spring onions, ginger etc. Some also use dried soybeans, dried anchovies, addition of rice wine or even cognac; different Asian cooks have their preferences & family recipes.

So, Asian cooking is not just built around soy, fish or oyster sauces. There's plenty of ways to have rich Asian tastes without preserving your inner organs through excessive salt.

Answer 4

ginger, chili paste, chili oil, sesame oil, cilantro, lime, garlic, scallions, chives, white pepper, rice wine vinegar, rice wine, sherry, coconut milk, currry, basil, basic arromatic veggies (onions, carrots, celery) and stocks (fish, veggie, chicken).

One of my favorite sauces is General's: Make a mixture of rice wine vinegar (2Tb), sherry (3Tb), chicken stock (1/4 C), a little soy and sugar to taste and a heaping Tb of Cornstarch together (should be cold not heated) In a sauce pan, sautee garlic (1 clove), scallions (2-whites and greens), fresh grated ginger (1 tsp) and some red pepper flakes or red chili pods in sesame or olive oil. Before the garlic browns add the mixture and stir constantly as sauce returns to boil and thickens. If becomes too thick thin out sauce with chicken stock or water.

The sauce is fantastic it's the closest aproximation I've come up with, soy sauce is an intrinsic part of the flavor so add a little or salt substitute. Asian cooking likes to incorporate salty, sour, sweet, savory and bitter elements into their dishes.