How to Put Your Leftover Soy Sauce Packets to Good Use

How to squeeze the last penny out of your soy sauce packets!

When you eat at Chinese restaurants, what do you do with your leftover soy sauce packets? If you are on a budget and pinching every penny like I am, these tips can add a little zest to your meals and help you save some money just by saving your leftover soy sauce packets!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Leftover soy sauce packets
• Refrigerator
• Zip lock bag or jar
• Cooking utensils as needed
• Oven, stove or microwave
• Other condiments
• Rice, noodle dishes or other oriental dishes

1. 
    
   Use Leftover Soy Sauce Packets in Oriental Dishes

   Use Your Leftover Soy Sauce Packets When You Fix Chinese and Other Oriental Dishes - If you have been saving your soy sauce packages, you may not have to buy any soy sauce next time you cook Chinese food!

2. 
    
   Sprinkle Leftover Soy Sauce in Salads

   Sprinkle Your Leftover Soy Sauce in Salads. Add some soy sauce to an oriental salad or a cucumber salad for some additional flavor, or mix your leftover soy sauce with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, dijon mustard, and ginger powder for a salad dressing on an oriental salad. You can also mix your extra soy sauce with rice wine, sesame oil, lime, sugar, and chili flakes for a tasty and healthy cucumber salad.

3. Add Your Leftover Soy Sauce to Heat-and-Serve Chinese Noodles - These instant Chinese noodle dishes available at your local grocery store taste much better with your leftover soy sauce on them. Nissan makes a couple of instant noodle dish as does Thai Kitchen.

4. Add Your Leftover Soy Sauce to Instant Chinese Rice Dishes - I like adding soy sauce to Chinese rice dishes (Betty Crocker makes a nice instant vegetable rice dish), but I also enjoy adding leftover soy sauce to other rice dishes for a slightly different flavor.

5. Use Your Leftover Soy Sauce in Soup - Soy sauce mixed in with certain soups adds a delicious flavor to it. Add it to egg flower soup, hot and sour soup, miso soup, Ramen noodles, etc. for some extra flavor!

6. Use Your Leftover Soy Sauce in Marinades - Soy sauce marinade adds a nice flavor to chicken, pork and beef. Soy sauce is also good added to marinate salmon fillets. Two or 3 packets of leftover soy sauce added to water, rice vinegar, Chinese rice cooking wine, a dash of sugar, and Asian chili garlic sauce with a little cornstarch added as a thickener makes a basic stir-fry sauce.

7. Use Your Leftover Soy Sauce in Bar-B-Cue Sauce, Baked Bean, Etc. - Use your leftover soy sauce anywhere else you might want a hint of soy sauce flavor.

8. You Might Be Eligible for Food Stamps - If you are unemployed or laid off, and you are having to turn to tips like these to save money. You might qualify for food stamps. If you live in Tennessee check out the article on "How to Apply for Food Stamps in Tennessee" listed in the Related Articles.

Tips & Warnings

• Store Your Leftover Soy Sauce Packets in the Refrigerator - I store my leftover soy packets in their original packages in a jar or zip-lock bag in the fridge. I think they will keep much longer this way.
• Write the date you got your soy sauce packets on your zip-lock bag before putting it in the refrigerator.
• According to the Kikkoman Company, their bottled soy sauce will keep for several months if stored in the refrigerator after opening.
• The Kari-Out Company, for instance, sells Panda Brand Low Sodium Gluten Free Soy Sauce, a gluten-free low-sodium soy sauce in packages specifically for Asian restaurants.
• Leave me a comment and let me know any other ways you think of to use your leftover soy sauce packets!
• Read the soy sauce packet ingredients. Some soy sauce packets contain very little soy sauce. Some packets are loaded with salt and msg.
• Don't leave your leftover soy sauce packets in the refrigerator indefinitely.
• © 2009 Kathryn E. Darden.

Resources

• How to Put Your Leftover Taco Sauce Packets to Good Use
• How to Put Your Leftover Tomato Juice or V8 to Good Use
• How to Apply for Food Stamps in Tennessee

[athome]

on 3/26/2009 I have a whole drawer full of soy sauce packets thanks for the great ideas.

[3-Point]

on 3/20/2009 Thanks for these tips. Usually, I throw them away; but now I'll use them as you suggested.

[tundranut]

on 3/18/2009 Very fun and creative ways to use every last drop of soy sauce. Now to those other ingredients, the tomato and v8! Thanks. 5*

[blonde-doc]

on 3/18/2009 Now I feel bad that I've been tossing these for years! Thanks for sharing some great tips!

[totalreviewguy]

on 3/17/2009 We all have these soy packets lying around. You asked for a new idea? You could just drink the soy sauce straight from the packet or put it on the rocks... or not!