Orange soy sauce is a type of reduction or marinade which combines Asian soy sauce with orange juice and, sometimes, other seasonings. Simple to make, orange soy sauce uses relatively few ingredients and requires minimal steps in its creation. When made as a reduction, it often tops cooked pork chops or fish. It can also be used as a tasty marinade for chicken or another meat.
Normally, fresh orange juice is used for orange soy sauce. Although orange juice and soy sauce are the only necessary ingredients, other seasonings are often included. Orange zest is frequently added to strengthen to orange flavor, and herbs such as garlic or thyme may be included as well. Chicken broth can be added to sauces paired with chicken, and often when paired with pork chops, the cooked meat juices are added to the sauce as well.
When used as a marinade, the chosen ingredients are simply whisked together. The meat can be covered in the mixture and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. The marinade is then discarded, and the meat cooked. Chicken is the most common meat marinaded in orange soy sauce.
Usually, however, the sauce is made into a reduction. A reduction simmers a mixture, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate to create a thicker, more flavorful sauce. When creating an orange soy sauce reduction, the ingredients are simply mixed together, brought to a boil, and then simmered until about half of the liquid has evaporated. Longer simmering times create thicker sauces and increase the concentration of flavor. Cornstarch or flour may also be added to thicken the sauce.
Orange soy sauce may be poured over any meat but is most often used on fish, particularly tuna steaks and shark steaks, as well as pork chops. When pork chops are the meat choice, often the chops are pan-fried first, and then the sauce is cooked in the same pan. Alternatively, the juice created from baked or fried chops can be mixed into the sauce as it cooks. Orange soy sauce is not usually paired with red meat.
In Japan, a popular soy sauce producing company, Cheerio, created an orange soy sauce product that was actually simply orange juice disguised as soy sauce, called Nanchatte soy sauce. Marketed as a gag drink targeted toward children, the spoof sauce was designed to make adults or other children believe the child was actually drinking straight soy sauce. Nanchatte is a Japanese slang term meaning "just kidding."