Recipe: White soy "caviar" (pearls)

Another product that doesn't follow the usual formula for caviar is soy sauce.  I suspect its the salinity that affects the gelatin because the first time I made it, I used the usual formula, and it looked like it worked when I looked at the caviar through the oil, but when I strained it out, it all passed right through the chinois in a thick oily mess.  The solution was to use more agar agar and less gelatin and everything held together fine.  White soy sauce is a premuim product, so you definitely don't want to waste any on a recipe that won't hold together.  It also has the extra surprise in that you aren't only serving soy sauce as a caviar, but its also not black, rather its almost a light golden colour.  Aside from colour, it has a very refined flavour and is less salty than most other soy sauces.

You will need:

1L / 1qt                    canola or grapeseed oil

200ml / 6.76fl oz     white soy sauce

5g / 0.18oz               agar agar

1sheet                      gelatin

Method:

 - put the oil in a tall, thin cylinder and place in the freezer for a few hours before using

 - mix the agar and the soy sauce cold

 - soak the leaf of gelatin

 - bring the soy sauce and agar up to a simmer

 - drain and melt in the gelatin

 - let cool slightly, then pour into a squeeze bottle

 - pull the oil out of the freezer

 - drop the mixture from the bottle into the oil until it's finished

 - let everything set up for a few minutes

 - strain through a chinois or fine mesh sieve - let all excess oil drain off

 - store in a dry container until use