Contents
Soybeans and wheat fermented with Aspergillus oryzae mould and a salt brine, over months. It supplies salt and glutamate at once, which is why it seasons a cold dish more completely than salt alone.
Brewed versus chemical
Read the ingredient list. Traditionally brewed soy sauce lists soybeans, wheat, salt and water. "Chemical" or acid-hydrolysed soy sauce is made in days by boiling defatted soy meal in hydrochloric acid, then neutralising it, and usually declares hydrolysed vegetable protein, corn syrup and caramel colour. It is harsh and one-dimensional. The price gap is small and the quality gap is not.
Types
| Type | Character | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese koikuchi (Kikkoman-style) | Balanced, ~50 % wheat, aromatic | The default |
| Usukuchi (light) | Saltier, paler — lighter in colour, not in salt | When colour matters |
| Chinese light (生抽) | Saltier, thinner | Seasoning, dressings |
| Chinese dark (老抽) | Thicker, molasses, less salty | Colour in braises |
| Tamari | Little or no wheat, rounder | Usually gluten-free — check |
| Shoyu | Japanese generic term | — |
In cold food
Soy sauce is the salt in every East Asian dressing here. The base ratio worth memorising: 3 parts soy : 2 parts rice vinegar : 1 part toasted sesame oil, plus sugar, garlic and ginger to taste.
Because it is salty rather than merely savoury, season the rest of the bowl after the dressing, not before.
Gluten
Standard soy sauce contains wheat. Tamari is the usual gluten-free alternative, but not all tamari is wheat-free — the label is the only authority.
Keeping
Years unopened. Refrigerate after opening: it does not spoil, but the aroma compounds oxidise and flatten within a few months at room temperature.
Elsewhere on the site
Used in: cold soba bowl · poke bowl · cold rice bowl · banh mi · rice noodle bowl
Related: fish sauce · rice vinegar · toasted sesame oil · tofu · Glycine Max