This is a deep dive into the world of soy sauces, an addition to the larger spices, sauces and supplies section. Part 1 on Soy Sauce covers where Soy Sauce came from, and variations in China, Japan and Korea. Part 2 Covers Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines, as well as briefly touching on "Swiss" Maggi sauce
 |
| From Left: Pearl River Light Soy / Mushroom Dark. Amoy First Extract Light Soy, LKK Premium Dark, Kimlan Dark, Shinhe light dipping, Kwong Cheong Thye Thick Dark soy / Tigerbrand Thick Dark Soy, Kikkoman Seafood Soy, Amoy Claypot Rice Sweet Light Soy, ABC Kecap manis, ABC Kecap Pedas. A Snapshot of my constantly evolving soy sauce collection |
For more content, support the blog and become a Patron!
酱油 SOY SAUCE 豉油
The absolute workhorse of Chinese and Asian cuisine, this is a fermented sauce made predominantly with soy beans, wheat/barley and salt. It likely originated as a type of 醢/醓 or 酱 "jiang", or sauce/paste made with salted matured meat/fish/soy that likely predates the early Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE).
Another variation are fermented soy nuggets, or 豆豉 "dou chi". This is still a commonly used ingredient today - Pearl River Bridge Preserved Beans / LKK Bean sauce
The earliest use of the words 酱油 "jiangyou" - was in 史記 Shiji, 太史公書 Records of the Grand Historian in B.C. 86. It is likely that vegetarian soy sauce was popularized the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), when Buddhism (and vegetarianism) became popular in China.
In Southern China, it's referred to as 豉油 - "chiyou", pronounced "sihyàuh" in Cantonese, and "siyou" or "see-ew" in Fujian/Teochew dialects. The word 油 "you" commonly used to refer to any thick liquid, like an oil or liquid sauce.
Outside of China, first mentions of a liquid soy sauce appeared in Korea in AD 683 and in Japan in AD 775.Soy sauce is also brewed in many SE Asian countries, with increasing variations appearing the further you go from China.
The historical way to make soy sauce was to mix boiled / mashed beans with salt and water, then to let it ferment for a month before straining the liquid out and using it.
This mold is then killed off in the next step, when salt is added. Enzymes survive, which continue to break down starches and soy proteins into sugars and glutamates. Other salt tolerant microbes thrive, particularly yeast, ferments sugars in the mash creating alcohol, and lactobacilli which converts some of this alcohol into lactic acid (the same process that makes vinegar). The alcohol also combines with other organic compounds to create flavorful esters (the predominant flavors of clear spirits like baijiu, sake, shoju, pisco etc).
The longer the ferment, the richer the flavor of the sauce. Most sauces are fermented for around 3-6 months, but some premium soy sauces are aged for much longer. Traditional Chinese Soy sauce is made with just soy beans (wheat is sometimes used to help molding), but there are modern (and most Japanese soy sauces) which are flavored with some grain products (usually wheat / barley). Traditional Soy sauces are also made giant vats under the sun, which may contribute the the low temperature maillard / caramelization.
A dark liquid is extracted from the soy bean paste, and may be further aged before bottling as soy sauce. Additional salt water (or previously extracted soy sauce) may be added to the paste, for secondary and third extractions. Sometimes additives such as wheat, sugar or molasses are also added at this stage. The eventual fermented bean paste can be used for other sauces, or as animal feed.
It is a highly complex fermented process, and there are many soy sauces, differentiated by the ingredients, which extract they are formed from, differences in extraction method and any additives used.
I cover some various regional types of soy sauce and their differences, and certain popular blends.
CHINESE SOY SAUCES
The usual types of chinese soy sauce are light and dark soy, popular in sourthern China. Northern China may just use generic soy sauces, which are similar to light soy. Historically, southern soy sauces (Fujian / Amoy) were renowned, but soy sauces were often made in-house, or in small batches.
Light soy sauce is now differentiated by premium / normal, which depend on how much of the "first extract" they use, as the soy mash is usually re-used for more extractions. Many previously "restaurant style" blended / flavored soy sauces have now hit the market as well.
Major brands used in Hong Kong are Lee Kum Kee, Amoy, Koon Chun and Pearl River Bridge. Almost all commercial soy sauce is pasteurized, rendering the enzymes and probiotics dead.
 |
| Pear River Super Fine Light Soy |
- 生抽 LIGHT SOY SAUCE (COOKING)
This is the liquid that comes from fermented mash, with little or no additional processing (the major brands are usually pasteurized). The name "生抽" translates to "Raw extract", and is minimally processed. It's a very fresh salty flavor, a little sourness and some complexity. It's used instead of salt in many Asian recipes. Many Northern Chinese soy sauce brands only come in this default style.
This is the cheap stuff that is used to braise foods in the Hong Shao Rou (Red Braised Pork, 红烧肉) method, or to poach food, like in Soy Sauce Chicken. Also used instead of salt in many starchy dishes like soy sauce fried rice, or soy sauce noodles. Many restaurants also use this as a base for their house dipping sauce.
There are different names for this, mostly for marketing purposes. Many sauces may also be blended from extracts of various ages / quality.
Amoy Light Soy - Amazon
LKK Light Soy - Amazon / Bulk
Amoy Reduced Salt - Amazon
Koon Chun Light Soy -Amazon - Hong Kong Brand
Kim Lan Soy Sauce - Amazon (I like this as it has no preservatives)
生抽 LIGHT SOY SAUCE
(DIPPING / 特级 PREMIUM / 头抽 FIRST EXTRACT)
 |
| Amoy First Exract Light |
This is the first extraction from the fermented soy, and has more intense, fresher flavor. It's usually used as a dipping sauce, particularly with delicately flavored foods.
Second extractions are sometimes labeled as "Gold" soy sauce. Subsequent extracts may be sold as "Silver", or just named soy sauce.
Amoy First Extract - Amazon
Pearl River Bridge Golden label - Amazon
Kimlan Sang Chau Grade A Light Soy Sauce - Amazon
Kimlan Aged Soy Sauce - Amazon
LKK Premium Sang Chau - Amazon / Bulk
雙老頭抽 / 雙釀頭抽 DOUBLE FERMENTED SOY SAUCE
Instead of adding salt water to the cooked soy beans after the first fermentation, previous soy sauce extracts are used. This gives the soy sauce a slightly richer flavor and darker flavors, but loses the freshness of a "first extract". This is also normally used as a dipping sauce, particularly with meats or hot pot.
 |
| Pearl River Mushroom Dark Soy |
This is light soy sauce with caramel added to it. It's usually made after the third extraction from the fermented soy, and has less glutamates, but there's a different richness from the caramel flavor.
Traditionally, it was made by additionally aging first extract soy sauce under the sun. The sauce would thicken as water was evaporated, and salt crystals would be removed, leading to a supposedly richer and more mellow soy sauce. I'm looking for a bottle to sample.
This is also used to give foods a rich color in Chinese cooking. The caramel makes the soy sauce less sweet, although it may have a similar salinity level to "light" soy sauce.
This is usually used alongside the light soy sauce in cooking to add a deeper caramel flavor and darker color to many dishes. I prefer to use this instead of light soy for my soy braised dishes, as I feel it adds more flavor to the recipe.
I enjoy using mushroom flavored dark soy, which feels slightly richer in flavor. I'm also a big fan of LKK's premium dark soy sauce, that is significantly less salty than other dark soys.
LKK's Premium Dark Soy - Amazon - This is what I generally use at home.
Amoy Dark Soy - Amazon
SWEET THICK DARK SOY SAUCE
CHICKEN RICE SOY SAUCE / SOY SAUCE FOR HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE
 |
| Tiger Brand |
 |
| Kwong Cheong Thye |
This is a god tier sauce that I've rarely seen outside of Singapore / SE Asia, and is a thick goopy black sauce that's a mixture of caramel/molasses and soy sauce. It has the dark, slightly bitter undertones of caramel, as well as the rich umami saltiness of a dark soy sauce.
The LKK version is brewed with wheat flour, which likely increases the caramel.
The LKK version is brewed with wheat flour, which likely increases the caramel.
It's my go to sauce for any boiled meats (like Bak Kut Teh), or as an enhancer to cold shredded chicken. I cannot find anything like this on amazon, and I've written to "Tiger Brand" who say they don't sell it overseas.
Kwong Cheong Thye is also a delicious brand, and can now be found on amazon. LKK also makes a Hainanese Chicken Soy Sauce which is fairly good (although I find it a little too sweet). Tai Hua also has a slightly sweeter flavor, like LKK. My family tends to prefer a sweeter flavor, whilst I prefer the slightly richer, and slightly bitter flavor of the first two brands.
Tai Hua Chicken Rice Soy Sauce - Amazon
The closest I can mimic it is to mix "Kecap Manis" with Light and Dark soy sauce, on a 2:1:1 ratio, but try to get the brewed stuff if you can.
OTHER SOY SAUCES : Restaurants have traditionally had their own blend of sauces used for cooking, and recently the sauce makers are recreating these for home use.
SEAFOOD SOY SAUCE - This is usually a premium light soy sauce, with some seafood flavors added, in the form of fish sauce or abalone sauce. It's designed for use as a finishing sauce with Chinese style steamed fish, and is a little lighter and sweeter than normal soy sauce. Make your own by cooking light soy sauce with sugar, scallions and ginger. Pour some over your steamed fish, but reserve a little as a dipping sauce. Add a piece of sliced chili in the dipping sauce for a hint of heat.
LKK Seafood Soy - Amazon
DIMSUM SOY SAUCE - This is another sweetened (with sugar) soy sauce, that's goes well with dim sum. I make my own by heating up light soy sauce with sugar, with a touch of oyster & worcestershire sauce.
CLAYPOT RICE SOY / SWEET SOY SAUCE - This is yet another sweetened soy sauce, usually used with clay pot rice. It's a little sweeter than the dimsum soy sauce, and I'll make my own by cooking in a little soy sauce with brown sugar.
JAPANESE SOY SAUCES : Shoyu
Soy Sauce was likely to have been introduced to Japan around AD 552, when Buddhism was introduced to Japan (leading to a law for people not to eat 4 legged animals). The liquid that was extracted from this mushy fermented bean paste "jiang" was called shoyu, and the remaining paste became miso. Most miso is sold unpasteurized and should have live cultures and enzymes, which we can use as a probiotic, or to marinate meat.
One story of the popularization of miso / shoyu is attributed to a Japanese Zen monk who studied in China (Jīnshān sì 金山寺/Kinzanji, the Temple of the Golden Mountain), and taught people how to make fermented bean paste as well as Buddhism. One story says that he used a very wet recipe, so he could siphon off extra liquid to use as sauce. This liquid was called tamari 溜まり醤油, or the liquid run off from making jiang.
The Japanese pronunciation of Shoyu is similar to the modern Fujian / Teochew name for soy sauce, "siyou" or "see-ew", which may be derived from an ancient Chinese dialect. The English word for Soy Beans (which were only discovered by the West in the 1600's) stems from this.
It wasn't until the 1640s, when soy sauce makers in Choshi added roasted wheat to the recipe, and differentiated it from normal tamari by calling it shoyu, or koikuchi (dark mouth) shoyu to emphasize it's darker color. This higher wheat mixture means the final product has a slightly higher (2.5% abv) alcohol content than regular soy sauce. Koikuchi Shoyu currently accounts for around 80% of the Japanese market.
By the 1700s, miso making and shoyu recipes had somewhat standardized into two different recipes, with miso being made from soybeans, salt and water, and shoyu having the addition of roasted wheat. After being infected with koji, the soybean & wheat mixture was incubated for 5 days before salt (22-23%) was added to it. This is fermented in three batches, for 1 to 3 years.
These three batches of soy sauce are blended to form the final mixture. One blend seems to be around 5 parts from the 1st year, 2 parts from the 2nd year, and 1 part from the 3rd year. The first year is supposed to have a strong flavor, 2nd year has aroma, and 3rd year has color. The final mixture is then pressed extract 生醤油 nama-shoyu / kijoyu - raw shoyu (although it seems that commercial nama-shoyu might also be pasteurized).
This is then heat treated and allowed to rest in a clarification tank, to allow sediments to settle, and oils to rise to the top. This process is repeated several times. which further darkens the shoyu before bottling.
As in China, miso and soy sauce making were often made at home, but the pressing process made it more efficient for small villages or towns to have their own specialized artisans. In modern Japan, many modern innovations have been used to decrease the fermentation / brewing time. These include milling the soybeans / wheat to speed up the initial molding process, using de-fatted soybeans, and chemical processes such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP - sometimes labeled as soya bouillon base).
Post WWII Japan saw a sharp increase in chemical soy sauce, which often used other ingredients other than soy beans. Semichemical shoyu, where a mixture of normal soy sauce were also popular, as were quick fermented shoyu. Blended soy sauces with the different aged mashes were discontinued. These modern shoyu lacked the natural protection of traditional yeast, and preservatives or extra alcohol was needed to maintain the quality.
As modernization overtook Japan, concrete vats, mechanical steamers / mixers, and cultured bacteria/ molds replaced cedar vats and stirring, increasing efficiency and production. Most shoyu no longer used chemical processes, but de-fatted soy beans remained popular. Note that there aren't first / second extracts - shoyu is pressed out of the soy mash.
A note Tamari - In the 1960's, the term "tamari" was pushed as a term to mean "naturally fermented" soy sauce, to differentiate it from the chemical "HVP" soy sauce. The Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) recognizes 6 types of Shoyu, listed below, and there are different grades (special 特級 tokkyu / first grade１級, ikkyuu/ normal 標準, hyoujun), which have various requirements on color, nitrogen levels (higher is better) etc.
Modern Japanese soy sauce can be made either "naturally fermented" ( tennen jozo ), without additives, except for alcohol, fermented (honjozo), where preservatives are allowed, semichemical (shinshiki/kongo-jozo) where hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) from defatted soybeans are used, and mixed with regular shoyu, and chemical mixed process (aminosan kongo) where's it's just straight HVP.
濃口醤油 Koikuchi (Thick / Dark Tasting) Shoyu - Common Shoyu
This accounts for around 80% of Japan's Shoyu consumption, and is usually naturally fermented, with defatted soybeans, wheat, salt and water. This is your generic soy sauce that's used all over Japan, as a dipping sauce, an ingredient and a base for other sauces. It's usually at 16% salinity.
There are variations with low salt, or dehydrated (usually for instant ramen).
Kikkoman Red Cap - Amazon Bulk - Standard generic mass produced Japanese Soy sauce.
Marunaka Shoyu - Amazon - Artisanal, soy sauce
淡口醤油 Usukuchi (Light tasting) Light Shoyu
This is a lighter colored and less salty version popular in the the Kansai Region (Kyoto/ Osaka). Traditionally, soybean cooking liquid and sake was added to the fermented bean mash before pressing.
Modern versions are made in a similar fashion to Koikuchi Shoyu, but with less /shorter fermentation, roasting the wheat less, and adding 甘酒, a fermented rice alcohol "Amazake" to the fermented bean mash before pressing. It's saltier than Koikuchi Shoyu at around 18-19% salinity
It's a lighter colored, amber liquid that's popular as an ingredient in soups / simmering sauce (dashi, sake, soy sauce, mirin), egg dishes and as a dipping sauce for sashimi.
Kikkoman Usukushi Soy Sauce - Amazon
Higashimaru Usukuchi Soy Sauce - Amazon
たまり醤油 / 溜まり醤油 Tamari shoyu (Pooled)
This is regular soy sauce that's made mainly (100-80%) with soy beans (in Japan, the koji mold is usually cultivated on wheat, but there's no actual limitation on the amount of wheat allowed) . There are gluten free versions where presumably the koji is cultivated on soy beans like normal soy sauce, and wheat is not used. It has a richer, deeper umami flavor and darker color than Koikuchi Shoyu, but without the esthers and slight tang, due to the lower alcohol content. Salinity amounts can vary, but is usually at 16%.
This is also very good for some sushi / sashimi, and great for making sauces involving sake (e.g. teriyaki, yakiniku sauce etc).
再仕込み醤油 Saishikomi shoyu /saisei / kanro shoyu - (Double fermented)
Instead of using salt water with the fermented bean/wheat mash, previously extracted (but unpasteurized) soy sauce is used. It used to be known as Kanro (rich dew) shoyu, but is now called saishikomi (re-fermented) or saisei (remade) shoyu. It's less salty, and much richer in color and flavor than the other soy sauces, with a rounder, sweeter flavor. Previously this was rather rare, but is said to be gaining popularity.
I would use it as a dipping sauce, particularly with richer flavored sashimi or shabu shabu.
白醤油 Shiro shoyu (White)
This is the opposite of Tamari, and made mostly with wheat (2 parts soybeans to 8 parts wheat) and fermented for a shorter time (1-3 months). It's much milder in flavor, but saltier and sweeter than other shoyu.
Also used in egg dishes like chawamushi, or some light colored soups.
生揚醤油 Kiage / なましょうゆ Nama-Shoyu
"Raw" Shoyu - Shoyu that has not been heat treated. This is usually sold as an industrial product, as it has a short shelf life due to the presence of live yeasts and bacteria. There seem to be other products also named Kaige Shoyu, which indicate 生醤油（なましょうゆ nama shōyu) a restaurant use version, which is treated at a low temperature to pasteurize the microorganisms.
丸大豆 Marudaizu Shoyu (Whole Soy beans)
This is a "new" category (that's not yet recognized by the Japanese Agricultural Standard) which is a high quality soy sauce that's made with whole beans, with a richer flavor than those made with defatted soy beans.
Takesan Kishibori Shoyu - Amazon - One of the BEST Japanese shoyu, made with whole soy beans, wheat, water and salt. reviews
甘口醤油Amakuchi Shoyu (Sweet Soy Sauce)
This is a sweet soy sauce that's meant to be slightly sweeter than regular soy sauce. They are usually made with chemical / semichemical shoyu, mixed with caramel and sweeteners. Some examples use artificial sweeteners or licorice.
Ponzu Sauce / Yuzu Soy Sauce (Citrus flavored sauce)
Special mention to this flavored sauce, made with Yuzu juice. Similar to SE Asian dipping sauces with calamansi, this uses Japanese Yuzu for a light citrus flavor. Great as a dipping sauce for delicately flavored sushi or light ramen.
Choko yuzu soy sauce Kakepon - Amazon
Kikkoman Ponzu - Amaazon
간장 KOREAN GANJANG
Korean ganjang, is very complex, having both traditional / historical roots, as well as a post-WWII modernization process similar to that of Japan. However, in rural Korea, home-made methods are still popular.
Korea's traditional process is slightly different from that of China and Japan. A dried brick of soybeans is used, called "메주meju". This is to Korean soy sauce / bean paste what koji is to the Japanese. It's made by cooking soybeans, then wrapping them up in straw and hanging it to dry. This leads to a very different group of microbes in the starter from Chinese and Japanese soy sauce, which is made from Aspergillus oryzae, and grown in a way to minimize other microbes. Korean meju has a significantly larger variety of microbes, leading to a different type of flavor from Chinese or Japanese soy sauces.
To make ganjang, or Korean Soy Sauce "Joseon-Ganjang" 조선간장 , meju is re-hydrated with brine, and left for a period of time to age. Then the solids are strained out to make doenjang (bean paste), and the liquid is further aged to make ganjang. One article I read, has the author visiting a soy sauce master who has 30-year old aged ganjang. Traditionally made ganjang is usually depicted as "guk-ganjang" - or soy sauce for soups, as it is light in color, salty and complex in flavor.
Apart from traditional soy sauce, modern Korea also has Japanese style soy sauce - "Wae-ganjang" (왜간장), made in the modern Japanese manner. This is likely due to the time that Japan had annexed Korea (1910 - 1945), and brought many of their products and manufacturing processes over. One of the largest soy sauce brands in Korea, Monggo, was originally a Yamada owned factory. As in Japan, there are the naturally brewed types "Yangjo Ganjang(양조간장), chemically made types, and blends of the two. These are used usually for dipping sauces or marinating food.
There's also Mat-ganjang, or flavored soy sauce, that's made by cooking soy sauce with various aromatics. These are usually used for stir frying or braising foods. Store bought brands may contain additional sweeteners.
Korean Soy Sauces also have an interesting piece of additional information, T.N.(Total Nitrogen), ranging from below 1% to ~1.8%. This is an indication of how well the soy beans were broken down during the fermentation process, and directly impacts the umami flavor of the soy sauce. The higher the percentage, the stronger the umami flavor.
(Part 2)
RECIPES - (more coming)
红烧 - Where ingredients are cooked in soy sauce, sugar and water (with various aromatics)
Further Reading
Soy Beans
Soy Sauce
Flavor and Fortune - Interesting article with some tasting notes.
Malafoods -better breakdown of popular brands. One of the best guides I've seen covering most soy sauces.
Localiz - Hong Kong "craft" soy sauce
Soyinfocenter - Very detailed guide and orgins and etymology.
Soy Story The History of the Soybean - Stephen Jack
Product / Brand websites
Chinese
Japanese
Korean
Daesang (Chung Jung Won)
Monggo Foods
Obok Foods
Japanese Shoyu
Korean Ganjang
Kikkoman's article - detailing traditional soy sauce making
Saw your blog from Reddit. This was such a thorough post on soy sauces. I just started immersing myself in Asian-inspired cuisine and this is tremendously helpful in understanding recipes and flavor profiles. Plus the history and science is fun too! Excellent job!
ReplyDeleteCome here from reddit as well. This is a well researched post and a great read! Soy sauce is a very broad subject with a very long history, I am sure a lot of effort went into this. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteBeing someone that can't read chinese or korean, it would be a nice touch to include some romanization to it eg: なましょうゆ (na ma shō yu).
It would also be great if it include personal experience on using different shoyu in different ways like I prefer to use koikuchi for grilling and making my own shoyu for sashimi dip by mixing koikuchi, usukuchi, dashi, sake and mirin.
Lastly, not to nitpick but I noticed some typo on the pasteurization on the nama shoyu (pasteurized instead of pastuerized) and defatted soy beans but in the next column de-fatted was used. Not sure if that is intentional.
Cheers!
Thank you for reading, the corrections, and the suggestions! I will definitely try to add some of my experience in using different shoyus. I've actually tried many different ways, and often it depends on my mood. Different sashimi goes well with a different dipping sauce. Something fatty and heavy flavored might want a more robust sauce, whereas a light flavored fish would pair better with the sauce that you use.
DeleteI'm gonna pick the brains of the next sushi chef I have drinks with, as I'm not anywhere close to being as knowledgeable about this as I want to be.
I read your blog it was very useful. I request you to provide the blog related to oriental sauce.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post! I love soy sauce, but I had never considered that there is a variety of versions or styles of the stuff. I just grab one off the shelf at the store. I'm interested in trying different ones now. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI read your Blog that was very useful for me. I requesting you to provide the information about oriental sauce, stir fry sauce in Malaysia, Black pepper sauces, Sambal sotong etc.
ReplyDeleteWhaehomul_yoNorth Las Vegas Ana Brown https://wakelet.com/wake/9fmQwncldR-xxaKuw49Mw
ReplyDeleteabomuntran
crysinne-ko-Pittsburgh Jayson Sandell Recover My Files
ReplyDeleteWinamp Pro
ScreenHunter Pro
fthehmuncakal
I read your blog it was very useful. I request you to provide the blog related to black pepper sauces, instant noodles in Malaysia and sos lada hitam
ReplyDelete