Your Soy Sauce Marinade Isn't Complete Without One Sweet Extra

Whipping up a soy sauce marinade is like concocting a potion — decant a little of this and a dash of that from a selection of glass bottles and create a lip-smacking elixir to tenderize and flavor chicken, beef, tofu and more. However, there's one trick you might not have considered that can transform your umami marinade into a truly magical showstopper; adding a splash of apple juice.

While it may sound odd to incorporate apple juice into a marinade, it makes perfect sense when you consider other Asian style marinades that counterbalance the inherent saltiness of soy with a considered sweet element. For example, honey, brown sugar, or sweet chili is often combined with soy sauce to make a sticky, salty marinade for chicken. However, unlike brown sugar, which provides a deep caramel note to soy marinades, or sweet chili, which amps up the heat, fresh apple juice lends it a brighter character, looser consistency and fruity aroma.

To make your marinade add a small splash of apple juice to your base of soy sauce and give it a taste — it should be salty and sweet but also tart and fragrant from the fresh juice. While you may prefer to allow its apple-y fragrance to shine on it own, you could elevate your marinade with more aromatics, like minced garlic, sesame oil, and fresh chili to lend it complexity and heat. As with all marinades, it should have an intense, concentrated character so it can permeate the protein.

A soy and apple juice marinate works particularly well with pork. Classically served alongside pork chops, fruity apple sauce cuts through the savoriness of the fatty meat, lending it a welcome acidic note and heaps of texture. Using the juice in a marinate, however, tenderizes the pork before its cooked and keeps it succulent once fried. While apples are less acidic than lemons, they do have a low pH, which denatures the protein and creates little entryways for seasoning and sauces on the surface. This tenderizing quality works with other meats too, such as chicken and shrimp. 

Countering the salty character of soy with sweet additions is such a classic move in Asian cookery that its given rise to a pre-sweetened variety of soy sauce, known as kecap manis. The soy provides heaps of savory, umami flavor, courtesy of its high levels of glutamic acid and the brown sugar brings sweetness and color. With so many varieties of soy sauce available these days, you can easily experiment with creating a personalized apple-soy marinade that tickles your taste buds by adding in warming ginger or fierce cracked black pepper. Keep a stash of your marinade in the fridge in a jam jar and you can simply give it a shake to reincorporate the settled ingredients before pouring it over your meat and veggies whenever you're ready to cook.