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Today I wanted to try Dr. Michael Greger’s Umami Sauce from his new How Not to Die Cookbook! I am a huge fan of this evidence-based diet and I’ll be testing out several of his recipes in future posts.
Umami (/uˈmɑːmi/), or savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). It has been described as “brothy” or “meaty”.
It is said that people taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamate. Glutamate is commonly added to some foods in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Since umami has its own receptors rather than arising out of a combination of the traditionally recognized taste receptors, scientists now consider umami to be a distinct taste. This sauce would be used in place of soy sauce.
My spin on another recipe from the book is this Vegan Tempeh Umami Bowl. It was delicious!
To vegetable broth, I added date nectar (also know as date syrup) as our sweetener.
Freshly minced garlic is a must!
And one of my new favorites is freshly grated ginger. Using the back of a spoon is the simplest way to peel fresh ginger. Then, using a microplane, just grate it right into your recipe!
Another important ingredient is blackstrap molasses. Make sure it’s organic and unsulphured.
Last but certainly not least is Organic White Miso paste. You can find this in natural food markets like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, etc. Miso is basically just a fermented soy bean ground into a paste.
This sauce was really flavorful and again, a great substitute for soy sauce in any recipe. Dr. Greger’s book recommends making a larger batch and freezing into an ice cube tray. Just pull out as many cubes as you’d like for your next recipe!
Products used to make this recipe:
Vegan Umami Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 c Vegetable Broth
- 1 tsp Garlic minced
- 1 tsp Ginger grated
- 1 tbl Blackstrap Molasses
- 1 1/2 tsp Date Syrup or date sugar
- 1/2 tsp Tomato Paste
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp)
- 1 1/2 tsp White Miso Paste blend with water to loosen
- 2 tbsp Water
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice (original recipe calls for blended lemon)
- 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
Instructions
- Blend the white miso paste with the 2 tbsp of water to loosen it up.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, add the broth and all remaining ingredients (including the miso/water blend).
- Heat and whisk until thoroughly combined, allowing the flavors time to meld.
- Freeze into individual ice cube trays or use immediately for a soy-sauce like flavor.
One comment
I have the recipe book also and made this today. I thought the sauce was bland. Any suggestions for how to spice it up a little bit?