Some of the things readily available in the UK were both light and dark soy-sauces - but I don't see those in Big C or Tesco Lotus or even Makro so either I'm missing something or it isn't sold here?

 

Can anyone help please - if they sell in any of those places post an image so I and my wife can look and buy?

 

Also - that sweet Lee Kum Kee pork sauce?

 

We live in the Khlong Sam Wa Tawan Ok area, between Lam Luk Ka and Minburi roughly.

 

We love some Chinese foods although my beloved is Thai, we used to cook in the UK but foolishly although I sent out 5kg bulk cans of Hoi Sin thinking it might be hard to find I never thought to send out a few gallons of soy. I guess I just assumed that, sandwiched between Myunmar, Kampuchea and China they just had to have it here!

You're missing something.  All supermarkets sell three types of soy sauce here, light, dark salty and dark sweet (kecap manis), plus oddities such as mushroom soy sauce.  Have a look at Big C's website, you'll see them all.

 

http://www.bigc.co.th/food/cooking-ingredients/soy-sauce-soy-bean-paste.html

 

Kikkoman is probably closest to what you've been using in the UK for Chinese cookery.

 

As for Lee Kum Kee sauces (ridiculously overpriced in my opinion) you can find a range at both Villa and TOPS.  Can't comment specifically on the pork sauce, unless you mean char siu sauce, in which case they both stock it.

Many thanks Oxx - memory failed at the point of the Char Sui name, that was the one. We used to buy a carton at a time mail-order from the Chinese Supermarkets in the UK unless we could get out to See Woo in Reading.

 

That Big C link shows loads on the English version pages, that's the gem, really, because I cannot speak or read Thai and my wife cannot translate "Pearl River Bridge dark soy sauce" either. But they do an alternative - Healthy Boy too.

 

Great - thank you.

kikkoman fer dark soy sauce fer cooking purposes...can't go wrong, I always got a liter bottle on hand for stir fries and whatever...but I've been using it fer 40 years and can't get useta anything else and there are loads of different brands, seems like each asian country has their preferred brand...and kikkoman is relatively expensive...

 

never saw kecap manis used in anything but malay/indonesian food...sweet and syrupy...

6 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

never saw kecap manis used in anything but malay/indonesian food...sweet and syrupy...

 

It's a traditional ingredient in phat sii iw and in some dipping sauces.