I use a lot of soy sauce and quickly went through the bottle I brought here (because I had an opened one left when I was packing). Thankfully, Kikkoman soy sauce is easy to find in Mexico.

In fact, it seems that Mexicans are as particular about soy sauce as I am. I overheard a couple arguing at Ley a couple of trips there ago. Another brand was on sale and much cheaper, so that’s what the husband wanted to buy. The wife insisted on Kikkoman! They could have been filming a commercial. They were cute. The wife won!

Mexican Kikkoman sauce soy tastes exactly like the Canadian and U.S. versions. But there is one notable difference that makes me wish I still had my Canadian bottle: the recipe on the back.

The label looks very similar to the one I’m used to, only it’s in Spanish instead of French and English. I really wish I’d gotten a comparison. The red strip at the top has text that says, “for all uses.”

Now, here’s the recipe, for beef fajitas. My first thought was, oh, Mexi-Asian fusion!

But look at the ingredients:

Beef, soy sauce, lemon or lime juice, onion, garlic, chiles, tortillas.

Soy sauce excepted, those are all ubiquitous Mexican ingredients. I can’t remember what the Canadian recipe was exactly, but it was definitely for an ‘Asian-inspired’ dish with ingredients many folks would have to go out and buy especially for the recipe.

Soy sauce is a savoury salty sauce, well suited to a variety of dishes, not just ‘Asian-inspired’ ones, something I know well, and yet I find myself humbled that I haven’t thought about adding it to the ‘Mexicany’ meals I make.

Tonight’s dinner was a chicken, rice, and veggie stir fry flavoured with soy sauce. I think I’ll add lime juice and jalapeños to the leftovers!