Soy sauce is a condiment composed mainly of four ingredients: soy, wheat, salt and water. There are many different types of soy sauce, but the two most common are light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. On the Japanese side, you’ll find what’s known as tamari sauce.
If you’re following one of my Japanese recipes and have some on hand, use it, but otherwise dark soy sauce or thick soy sauce will suffice as a substitute.
First of all, how is it made?
While it’s possible to make quick, inexpensive soy sauce using a chemical process, real soy sauce is cooked, fermented and processed over many months. Soybeans, wheat and water are macerated into a puree and then fermented for a few days with a specific type of mushroom. The resulting “shoyu koji” is mixed with brine and fermented again for several months. Once sufficiently fermented, the shoyu koji is pressed to produce raw soy sauce. Finally, the raw soy sauce is cooked to adjust color, flavor and aroma.
So, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce (and all the others) are all based on the same manufacturing process, the difference is given during the process in addition.
Light soy sauce (生抽)
When you see one of my recipes (or any other Chinese recipe) that calls for soy sauce, unless it specifically states another type of soy sauce, it means “light soy sauce”.
Light soy sauce has a salty taste and a fairly fine, light-brown, opaque texture. Light soy sauce is not the same as reduced-salt soy sauce or other products that may also carry labels such as “light” or “light”.
The Chinese and Taiwanese generally use light soy sauce for dipping sauces, marinades, vinaigrettes and stir-fry recipes. Light soy sauce is used to enhance the flavor of any dish. But light soy sauce on its own can be very strong and salty, so adding a little dark soy sauce can give the perfect color and seasoning. Buy light soy sauce here on Amazon.
Dark or thick soy sauce (老抽)
Dark soy sauce ferments longer than light soy sauce, and is often mixed with molasses or caramel and a little cornstarch. The resulting sauce is much darker than light soy sauce. The texture is thicker and it tastes less salty but sweeter than light soy sauce.
The Chinese and Taiwanese generally use thick soy sauce in stews such as red pork. Dark soy sauce gives the dish a beautiful caramel color and adds a touch of sweetness.
Please don’t use too much dark soy sauce in dips, dressings or stews, as this can turn your ingredients dark brown and frankly, from experience I can tell you that this is unappetizing. Buy dark soy sauce here on Amazon.
Where can I buy soy sauce?
Light soy sauce can be found in most “ordinary” supermarkets. In fact, it’s the same salty soy sauce you find everywhere.
Where it gets tricky is with dark soy sauce. In fact, I’ve already mentioned Amazonbut unfortunately it’s rarely found in normal supermarkets. On the other hand, you can find it with 100% certainty in any Asian store.
What is sweet soy sauce?
To be honest. I rarely use it, there are sweet soy sauces in Japan or Indonesia, but they’re made for it. Here, it’s usually industrial crap with no depth of flavor. In most cases, it’s better to add sugar manually to salted soy sauce.
That’s one of the most frequently asked questions on my Instagram, so I hope you’ll now be able to make my recipes with peace of mind!
Speaking of my instagram, feel free to follow me there: go to instagram
