Can very small children drench their noodles in soy sauce?

March 12, 2015 1:25 PM

I have a three-and-a-half-year-old that thinks noodles are the condiment, and ultra-strong soy sauce the main dish. We give her something like a tablespoon full or two of it with her noodles. The thing is, soy sauce is alcoholic.

The specific brand we have doesn't mention a percentage but I've seen 2% by content mentioned.

Should we not be giving this to our 3 1/2 year old? We have noodles maybe once every week or so. And her little brother (18 months) now wants to copy her and have lots of SOOOORSEEEEE, is this definitely a bad idea?

posted by ianso to Food & Drink (25 answers total)

Best answer: I'd worry more about the sodium content than the alcohol. Kikkoman (to pick a random, well-known brand) shows 920 mg of sodium per serving, a serving being 1 TB, and 920 mg being 38% of the Daily Value based on a 2000-calorie diet. Your kids are probably eating fewer calories than that.
posted by rtha at 1:32 PM on March 12, 2015 [47 favorites]

I also would worry more about the sodium. I would consider a little subterfuge: water down the soy sauce. Add some colouring to dissimulate. Or (this would not reduce the sodium as much) water it down with some low-sodium chicken broth. That would give them the umami they may be looking for but with less salt.

If you are worried about alcohol you can reduce it by heating, I would think. Heat the soy sauce to evaporate it. If you put it on the noodles before heating (i.e. put on noodles, put noodles in microwave) I would think the more dispersed surface area would extra super duper ensure everything had evaporated.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:38 PM on March 12, 2015

You can dilute the soy sauce with water or vinegar or broth, since I agree that that's a lot of sodium, but I would totally not be worrying about the alcohol. Diluting it is a good idea if she'll go for it. My mom is such a salt addict that she salts her pizza; not healthy.....

(Soy sauce with vinegar is also delicious, FYI)
posted by chocotaco at 1:40 PM on March 12, 2015

As a child, I ate white rice with soy sauce and chile oil almost every day for a snack when I was 5 until about 12. I agree that the salt is way more of a concern than any alcohol content. Use the light version (Green top for Kikkoman).
posted by 724A at 1:44 PM on March 12, 2015 [2 favorites]

my baby sister loved soy sauce as a tot. I recall my mom gave her a little pool of it to use, and that was all she had. She moved on to eating hot dogs right out of the packaging.
posted by parmanparman at 1:44 PM on March 12, 2015 [2 favorites]

Don't forget the low salt option (I personally can't taste the difference).
posted by janey47 at 1:45 PM on March 12, 2015 [10 favorites]

I wouldn't hesitate to do this. Sodium could be a concern, but only if she's also drinking the sauce that falls to the bottom of the bowl or plate. Generously coating noodles wouldn't concern me. 1-2% alcohol in a couple of tablespoons is nothing I'd even register.

I ate lots and lots of strange condiments along with food as a kid (bowls of ketchup with rice mixed in was a fave). It was a stage.
posted by quince at 1:45 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you are worried about alcohol you can reduce it by heating, I would think.

No, you can't really, not by much anyway…and most certainly not without concentrating the existing sodium to insanely unpalatable levels. Those guidelines on the wikipedia page are also similarly close to what the department of ag. guidelines are.
posted by furnace.heart at 1:47 PM on March 12, 2015 [5 favorites]

I am not concerned about the sodium or alcohol content. My Japanese tots have been eating food full of soy sauce forever, as has about half the planet. I have never heard a Japanese parent express concerns about either the salt or alcohol content of soy sauce. I bet many would be surprised to learn that soy sauce is alcoholic.

The thing that strikes me is that it's a bit off to me to eat noodles with just soy sauce because that is generally not a thing that is done (it's just not palatable because of the soy sauce's strong taste). Noodles are generally eaten in broth or a condiment called (men)tsuyu. You might try preparing broth or mentsuyu instead if you want to present a more palatable (and authentic, if that matters to you) option. Otherwise, I think it's fine if your daughter wants to eat this way.
posted by Tanizaki at 1:57 PM on March 12, 2015 [17 favorites]

Bragg's Liquid Aminos is unfermented and thus alcohol-free, but tastes like soy sauce. The sodium content is similar, however, so it should still be used in moderation. But check it out, it comes in a fun little spray bottle! Kids often love weird spray-on condiments, and it will be really really hard to spray out a tablespoon's worth.

You can also mix soy sauce with lemon juice or vinegar for less sodium and a different flavor, or experiment with different condiments. She might really like furikake, for example. I was a soy sauce drinker, but I also went through a phase where I put Mrs. Dash (salt free!) on everything.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:58 PM on March 12, 2015 [6 favorites]

I'm not sure we're fully understanding the concern, if your child is consuming a tablespoon of soy sauce a week and that is 2% alcohol that means a consumption of one third of one gram of alcohol a week, surely that is no concern.

If the concern is actually around salt is there a reason for that concern? Is salt consumption in children a bad thing? I have not heard of such.
posted by Cosine at 2:23 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Some kids really crave salt. I restrict the amounts for the children I'm caring for, and I use a thin soy sauce: Healthy Boy Brand from Thailand. Mixing with lemon juice seems like a good idea to me, I'm going to try it soon.
The reason I'm restricting it is not so much immediate health issues, I think those are negligible. But I want them to learn to taste more subtle flavors and enjoy different foods, so they can appreciate other tastes than fast-food tastes when they grow up. Because then it becomes a health issue.
It's normal to restrict children' sugar intake, and it should be just as normal to restrict the salt.
posted by mumimor at 2:24 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is salt consumption in children a bad thing? I have not heard of such.

Too much sodium is bad, and can be lethal. Small bodies are especially vulnerable just because they're small. Depending on how much sodium they consume the rest of the time, I'd consider watering it down. Vinegar is a great idea if they like the taste. It'll be shelf stable.

That amount of alcohol is nothing to worry about.
posted by stellathon at 2:57 PM on March 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

FWIW, I don't think the alcohol content is dangerous for either child.

I was given watered-down wine starting at age two, and it was watered down less and less until I was drinking full wine/champagne/etc in my late "tweens." (I'm in my late twenties now). That was the convention for my family (French), and there haven't been any health effects from the practice for anyone I know of -- either as a child or now.

Though times have changed and it seems old fashioned now, many of my friends were also given (very) small amounts of liquor as babies/small children to help with teething, etc. No one has had any health effects from that that I know of, either.

I've never heard that giving such small amounts of alcohol to a child has an impact on their health one way or another tbh.
posted by rue72 at 3:00 PM on March 12, 2015

Best answer: I come from a food culture in which soy sauce is a staple ... and your question sounded odd to me. First of all, I'd never thought of the alcohol content of soy sauce, and I usually have at least two different kinds of soy sauce on hand (although none are the low sodium variety) and use them regularly when cooking Korean, Chinese, and Japanese dishes. Second, as Tanizaki points out above, pouring soy sauce on noodles is generally not a thing that is done, whether in Japanese cooking as he points out, or Korean cooking, which is my home cooking. You dip things into soy sauce, or add it to broth or sauce, and in Korean cuisine you don't pour it directly onto rice or noodles.

So, I wouldn't worry about the alcohol content of soy sauce, but I would be a bit concerned about the sodium content, and consider alternative ways to present it to your daughter. Given her age, she might not be able to handle dipping noodles in mentsuyu herself, but it's worth trying. Or steer her away from soy sauce, maybe toss the noodles with sesame oil and add a couple of drops of soy sauce.
posted by needled at 3:24 PM on March 12, 2015

There's definitely some question about salt, but that'd be my concern, long before any alcohol. Like Metroid Baby I came in to suggest Bragg's, but looking at the nutrition facts it seems like it's got more salt per volume than some random soy sauce labels I found on the web.

So, given that, how about other ways to punch up the umami? Saute down some mushrooms? Nutritional yeast? Hit your local Asian grocery for MSG powder or similar? Float the noodles in a miso broth?
posted by straw at 3:26 PM on March 12, 2015

Should try to get her hooked on ketjap manis instead - it's sweeter (and saltier imo) and also much thicker, so you can use just a small amount to coat noodles.
posted by mythical anthropomorphic amphibian at 3:46 PM on March 12, 2015

Nthing everyone that the alcohol is really nothing to worry about, and even the sodium is not that big a deal, though you might look for lower sodium versions. There are some nice low/reduced sodium soy sauces. You can also be on the lookout for soy sauces marked as halal, since they will be alcohol free (if you have any markets catering to Muslims, you could ask them).

I also like this suggestion from needled: maybe toss the noodles with sesame oil and add a couple of drops of soy sauce.
posted by gudrun at 3:57 PM on March 12, 2015

If you are worried about alcohol you can reduce it by heating, I would think. Heat the soy sauce to evaporate it.

Be aware that reduction will increase the sodium concentration. Cut the reduction with water.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 4:41 PM on March 12, 2015

I had a kid who would sneak into the kitchen to drink Vietnamese fish sauce straight from the bottle as a toddler. He is healthy and fine now, and we just put the sauce on a higher shelf for a while. Plenty of kids in Asia drink lots of soy sauce, just get a low-sodium variation and look for other naturally salty-sour foods that she might like too.
posted by viggorlijah at 6:24 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

We use a kitchen spray bottle for soy sauce which seems to decrease the actual amount our soy sauce addicted kids use while increasing surface noodle coverage.
posted by a22lamia at 7:42 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Definitely get a low-sodium version. It tastes the same.

Consider making a simple sauce from garlic, sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili sauce. It will probably satisfy her craving for flavor, with much less soy sauce per serving.

I don't think you want to go the MSG powder route, though nutritional yeast and mushrooms are a good idea.
posted by redlines at 9:33 AM on March 13, 2015

Best answer: I was that kid and sodium absolutely is the problem here. Start weening her off of soy sauce soup and you'll be doing her a favor; my sodium intake as an adult is still pretty bad.

When I am being good about sodium, it only takes a couple weeks for my taste buds to adjust and start rejecting super-salty tastes.

Low sodium soy sauce is a start, although it's still crazy high in sodium. I get weird looks because I water down my low sodium soy sauce at sushi places sometimes.

Benihana-style ginger sauce is super yummy on noodles and easy to make with a food processor. There's a lot of soy sauce in there, too, but you can up the other ingredients and it's still good. The recipes that I see online seem to use too little ginger.

Rice vinegar is another way to cut soy sauce.

Skipping soy sauce and using rice seasoning is another way to go although that's more of a grown-up taste.
posted by Skwirl at 2:17 PM on March 13, 2015

Water it down. Maybe a spinkle of sugar or vinegar.
posted by captaincrouton at 2:57 PM on March 13, 2015

Response by poster: Thank you everybody for the answers! The salt thing was an eye-opener, and it's always interesting to learn more about other cuisines :-)
posted by ianso at 6:29 AM on March 16, 2015