Ingredient: Soy sauce
Category: Dressings & condiments
Season: All
Soy sauce (US) or soya sauce (Commonwealth) is a fermented sauce made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and salt.
The sauce, originating in China, is used widely in East and Southeast Asian cuisines and appears in some Western cuisine dishes.
For cooks who care about quality the best soy sauce is made in Japan, where it is naturally fermented from wheat, soya beans, salt and water (the only ingredients that should appear on the label)
Types
Soy sauce originated in ancient China and has since been integrated into the traditional cuisines of many East Asian and South East Asian cultures.
Soy sauce is widely used as a particularly important flavouring in : Korean, Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese cuisine.
However, it is important to note that despite its rather similar appearance, soy sauces produced in different cultures and regions are very different in taste, consistency, fragrance and saltiness . As such, it may not be appropriate to substitute soy sauces of one culture or region for another.
Chinese soy sauce
Chinese soy sauce (jiàngyóu/chǐyóu) is primarily made from soybeans, with relatively low amounts of other grains.
There are two main varieties:
Light or fresh soy sauce ("shēngchōu"):
A thin (as in non-viscous), opaque, dark brown soy sauce, is the main soy sauce used for seasoning, since it is saltier, but it also adds flavour.
Since it is lighter in colour, it does not greatly affect the colour of the dish.
The light soy sauce made from the first pressing of the soybeans is called tóuchōu, which can be loosely translated as first soy sauce or referred to as premium light soy sauce.
Touchōu is sold at a premium because, like extra virgin olive oil, the flavour of the first pressing is considered superior.
An additional classification of light soy sauce, shuānghuáng, is double-fermented to add further complexity to the flavour.
These latter two more delicate types are usually for dipping.
Dark/old soy sauce ("lǎochōu”)
A darker and slightly thicker soy sauce that is aged longer and contains added molasses, to give it its distinctive appearance.
This variety is mainly used during cooking, since its flavour develops under heating.
It has a richer, slightly sweeter, and less salty flavour than light soy sauce.
Dark soy sauce is partly used to add colour and flavour to a dish.
In traditional Chinese cooking, one of the two types, or a mixture of both, is employed to achieve a particular flavour and colour for the dish.
Other types:
Thick soy sauce ("jiàngyóugāo"):
Dark soy sauce has been thickened with starch and sugar.
It is also occasionally flavoured with MSG.
This sauce is not usually used directly in cooking, but more often as a dipping sauce or poured on food as a flavourful addition.
Dark soy paste (huángjiàn):
Although not really a soy sauce, it is another salty soy product.
It is one of the main ingredients in a dish called zhajiang mian (lit. "Fried paste noodles").
In Singapore and Malaysia, soy sauce in general is dòuyóu (dark soy sauce is called jiàngyóu and light soy sauce is jiàngqīng.
Angmoh tauyew lit. "foreigners' soy sauce" is the Hokkien name for Worcestershire sauce.
Indonesian soy sauce
Kecap manis Indonesian thick and sweet soy sauce is nearly as thick as molasses.
In Indonesia, soy sauce is known as kecap (or ketjap) (a catchall term for fermented sauces) from which according to one theory the English word "ketchup" is derived.
Two main varieties exist:
Kecap asin
Salty soy sauce, which is very similar to Chinese light soy sauce, but usually somewhat thicker and has a stronger flavour; it can be replaced by light Chinese soy sauce in recipes.
Kecap manis
Sweet soy sauce has a thick, almost syrupy consistency and a pronounced sweet, treacle-like flavour, due to generous addition of palm sugar.
It is a unique variety; in a pinch, molasses may replace it, with a little vegetable stock stirred in.
Kecap inggris ("English fermented sauce"), or saus inggris ("English sauce") is the Indonesian name for Worcestershire sauce.
Kecap Ikan is Indonesian fish sauce
Malaysian soy sauce
Malaysia, which has cultural links with Indonesia , uses the word 'kicap' for soy sauce.
Kicap is traditionally of two types: kicap lemak and kicap cair .
Kicap lemak is similar to kecap manis , but with very much less sugar while kicap cair is the Malaysian equivalent of kecap asin.
However the Indonesian style kecap manis , has now its Malaysian equivalents, due to the increasing number of Malay producers in what used to be a Chinese dominated industry.
Kicap is an important condiment in Malay and Malaysian Chinese cuisine .
Kicap has also entered the Malaysian Indian cuisine .
A popular dish is the Indian Muslim 'daging masak hitam' , which is basically beef or mutton stewed in a sweet spicy kicap-based sauce.
Some people add some kicap to their rice and curry , to spice up the meal.
Many Malaysian children's favourite dish is rice with kicap and fried eggs .
Japanese soy sauce
Japanese soy sauce or shō-yu, is traditionally divided into 5 main categories depending on differences in their ingredients and method of production.
Japanese soy sauces include wheat as a primary ingredient, this tends to give them a slightly sweeter taste than their Chinese counterparts.
They also have an alcoholic sherry-like flavour.
Japanese and Chinese soy sauces are not really interchangeable.
In recipes, Chinese dark soy sauce comes closer to the Japanese sauce in overall flavour, but not in the intensity of the flavour or the texture.
Koikuchi
Originating in the Kantō region, its usage eventually spread all over Japan.
Over 80% of the Japanese domestic soy sauce production is of koikuchi, it can be considered the typical Japanese soy sauce.
It is produced from roughly equal quantities of soybean and wheat.
This variety is also called kijōyu or namashōyu when it is not pasteurised .
Usukuchi
Particularly popular in the Kansai region of Japan, it is both saltier and lighter in colour than koikuchi.
The lighter colour arises from the usage of amazake, a sweet liquid made from fermented rice that is used in its production.
Tamari
Produced mainly in the Chūbu region of Japan, tamari is darker in appearance and richer in flavour than koikuchi.
It contains little or no wheat; wheat-free tamari is popular among people eating a wheat free diet.
It is the "original" Japanese soy sauce, as its recipe is closest to the soy sauce originally introduced to Japan from China.
Technically, this variety is known as miso-damari, as this is the liquid that runs off miso as it matures.
Shiro ( lit. "white")
A very light coloured soy sauce.
In contrast to "tamari" soy sauce, "shiro" soy sauce uses mostly wheat and very little soybean, lending it a light appearance and sweet taste.
It is more commonly used in the Kansai region, to highlight the appearances of food, for example sashimi.
Saishikomi (twice-brewed)
This variety substitutes previously made koikuchi for the brine normally used in the process. Consequently, it is much darker and more strongly flavoured.
This type is also known as kanro shoyu or "sweet shoyu".
Newer varieties of Japanese soy sauce include:
Gen'en
Low-salt soy sauces also exist, but are not considered to be a separate variety of soy sauce, since the reduction in salt content is a process performed outside of the standard manufacture of soy sauce.
Amakuchi
Called "Hawaiian soy sauce" in those few parts of the US familiar with it, this is a variant of "koikuchi" soy sauce.
All of these varieties are sold in the marketplace in three different grades according to how they were produced:
Honjōzō hōshiki - Contains 100% naturally fermented product.
Shinshiki hōshiki - Contains 30-50% naturally fermented product.
Tennen jōzō - Means no added ingredients except alcohol.
All the varieties and grades may be sold according to three official levels of quality:
Hyōjun - Standard pasteurised.
Tokkyū - Special quality, not pasteurised.
Tokusen - Premium quality, usually implies limited quantity.
Other terms unrelated to the three official levels of quality:
Hatsuakane - Refers to industrial grade used for flavouring, powder .
Chōtokusen - Used by marketers to imply the best.
Perhaps the most well known producer of Japanese soy sauce is the Kikkoman Corporation.
Korean soy sauce
Korean soy sauce, or Joseon ganjang is a by-product of the production of doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste).
Joseon ganjang, thin and dark brown in colour, is made entirely of soy and brine, and has a saltiness that varies according to the producer.
Wide scale use of Joseon ganjang has been somewhat superseded by cheaper factory-made Japanese style soy sauce, called waeganjang (hangul)
Taiwanese soy sauce
In Taiwan, only light soy sauce is used, this is referred to as jiangyou; the terms shengchou and laochou are not used.
In addition to soy sauce made from soybeans and wheat, there is a variety that is made from black beans.
Soy sauce made from black beans is generally more expensive, because it takes longer to make.
The history of soy sauce making in Taiwan can be traced back to south-eastern China, in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong.
The cultural and political separation between Taiwan and China since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, when China ceded Taiwan to Japan, had brought yet another unexpected evolution of soy sauce making in Taiwan.
Some of the top Taiwanese makers, such as Wan Ja Shan, Wei-Wong and Ve-Chung has since adopted the more sophisticated Japanese technology in making soy sauce for the domestic market and more recently foreign markets as well.
Vietnamese soy sauce
Vietnamese soy sauce is called xì dầu, nước tương, or sometimes simply tương.
Hawaiian shoyu
A unique type of soy sauce produced by Aloha Shoyu Company since 1946 is a special blend of soybeans, wheat, and salt, historically common among local Hawaii residents.
Hawaii residents rarely use the term "soy sauce," opting to use the Japanese loanword "shoyu" instead.
The Japanese word shōyu is pronounced like show you, Hawaii residents’ pronounce the word like shoi-yu.
Filipino soy sauce
A popular condiment in the Philippines, it is called toyo (pronounced TOH-yoh), and is usually found beside other sauces such as patis (fish sauce, pronounced pah-TEES) and suka (sugar cane vinegar, pronounced SOO-kah).
The flavour of Filipino soy sauce, made from soy beans, wheat, salt and caramel, is interestingly milder compared to its Asian neighbours, possibly an adaptation to the demands of the Filipino palate and its cuisine.
It is used as a staple condiment to flavour many cooked dishes and as a marinade during cooking.
As a table condiment toyo is usually mixed and served with kalamansi (a small Asian citrus-lime, pronounced kah-lah-mahn-SEE).
Popular Philippine brands are: Marca Piña, Silver Swan, Lauriat, Datu Puti, Toyomansi and UFC.
Soy Sauce and Allergies
Most varieties of soy sauce also contain wheat.
Individuals with wheat allergy, Celiac disease, or gluten intolerance should avoid this condiment and dishes seasoned with soy sauce |