The soy sauce artisans making the Chinese condiment with a dash of attitude
Two craft soy sauce makers in Sweden and Australia are turning away from ‘boring’ mass production methods to make the condiment in new ways
For many people of the Asian diaspora, food provides a tangible link to heritage that can sometimes feel distant. Soy sauce is one of the best examples.
Ramona Lee – also known as “The Soy Sauce Lady” – and Mike Fung of Cinwaan Soy Sauce are hand-crafting the liquid gold in rainy Sweden and sun-drenched Australia, respectively.
“I grew up with dinners at my grandparents’ in Chinatown. [We’d have] big banquet dinners at Chinese restaurants … huge dinners with lobster and shrimp, and these big whole steamed fish would come out onto the table. But my sister and I, all we would do is order bowls of rice and eat it with soy sauce,” she says with a laugh.
