want to dilute Iron Chef sauce for lower sodium..

18 years ago

I don't guess "dilute" is the right word, maybe "stretch" the sauce with something that will lower the sodium content? I got a bottle of Iron Chef General Tso's sauce the other day. The bottle says to stir fry 1/2 pound of chicken thigh meat (I was going to use breast) and use 1/2 cup of the sauce. The sauce has 240 mg. sodium for a 2-tablespoon serving. It doesn't say how many servings the 1/2 pound of chicken with 1/2 cup of sauce would be. I'm thinking that 2 tablespoons isn't much sauce, so would there be something I could add to the sauce to stretch it, but it still taste good? I was planning to add vegetables to the chicken, too, and serve it with rice. One of the people I'm cooking for is on a sodium restricted, low fat diet. The sauce ingredients are sugar, naturally brewed soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, sea salt), water, vinegar, food starch (modified), tomato paste, fresh garlic, dried garlic, red peppers, expeller pressed soybean oil, dried miced onions and no msg. It actually says "miced" onions instead of "minced" on the label.

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Comments (4)

irislover7b
Original Author
18 years ago
I may have asked that first question prematurely. I just looked at the Iron Chef website and found this recipe. It's more or less what I was planning to do with the sauce. I'm not sure how to work water into the chicken with my hands until it's absorbed. The chicken I buy always seems plumped up with water anyway. The recipe says it makes 4 servings and there would be 2T of sauce in each serving, so the sodium content is easy to figure out. But the ingredients don't list ginger, and ginger is included in the instructions. So how much ginger would I use and should it be minced?

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced across grain in 1/4 inch strips
3 Tbsp water
1 Â 2 Tbs flour (or cornstarch)
1 lb stir fry vegetables
2 Tbsp oil
1 medium garlic clove, peeled, minced
8 Tbsp Iron Chef General TsoÂs sauce
Directions

Place chicken in small bowl. Add water Tbsp at a time working in with hands until water is absorbed into chcken. Sprinkle flour (or cornstarch) over chicken and work in with hands to coat all pieces.
Blanch Vegetables in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 2-3 min. drain and set aside.
Heat non-stick wok or large skillet on HIGH for 2 min. Add vegetable oil; swirl to coat pan (oil should smoke slightly)
Add chicken, garlic, and ginger. stir fry for 3 min.
Add Iron Chef sauce; stir fry for 2 min. Add vegetables and stir fry to heat through, 30 seconds
Remove from pan and serve over rice.
ritaotay
18 years ago
IrisLover, the 240 mg per serving isn't bad at all BUT you may want to check the sodium content of the chicken and the stir fry veggies... I find that most frozen mixed veggies have added salt and if the chicken you buy is 'plumped' it probably has added salt also...

Rita
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shambo
18 years ago
Iris, I use several of the Iron Chef sauces too. I've found them to be pretty low in sodium (all things considered) and tasty & convenient too. I usually dilute them a bit with low sodium chicken stock (either homemade of Pacific brand). The Orange Sauce/Glaze with Ginger only has 100 mg. sodium for 2 tbsp.

I never thought to look up a website, though. I'm glad you mentioned it. Now I'm going to have to check it out.

I usually marinate chicken (or pork) for a Chinese style dish with a couple of tablespoons of Angostura Soy Sauce (the lowest sodium content I've found so far), a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch, a dribble of toasted sesame oil & another dribble of hot chili oil. Perfect for stir frying with leftover rice.

Rita, you're so right about looking for the hidden sodium. I can't buy the bargain, value pack boneless & skinless chicken breasts because they're soaked in a saline solution. I buy Foster Farms (a California brand) and pay a good price and only get about 2-3 breasts per package.
Lars
18 years ago
I haven't had Iron Chef sauce, but I would probably dilute it with chili sauce. Here's my recipe for chili sauce (sometimes called "enchilada sauce"), but you can find adequate canned versions. The best canned ones do not have tomato in them, although I often do add tomato or tomato paste to them. However, I prefer to buy the pure chili sauce that has not been diluted with tomato, and then I can add the tomato myself, if I choose. I keep canned chili sauce on hand for emergencies, although I generally make my own and freeze part of it.

It sounds a bit like a teriyaki sauce. I avoid all sauces that have sugar as the first ingredient, and I tend not to buy any sweet sauces at all. The sugar would be the first thing I would want to dilute out. It sounds like it would be very compatible with chili sauce, however, which would help keep the flavor rich and complex.

Lars

want to dilute Iron Chef sauce for lower sodium..

Comments (4)

irislover7b
Original Author

ritaotay

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want to dilute Iron Chef sauce for lower sodium..

Comments (4)

irislover7bOriginal Author

ritaotay

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shambo

Lars

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irislover7b
Original Author