We don’t mean to be snobby, but using Japanese soy in a Chinese dish or Chinese soy in a Japanese dish will yield different flavors! In ancient times, soy sauce was called sauce juice. The term Soy Sauce first occurred in Zun Sheng Ben Jian by Gao Lian of Ming Dynasty as "when it is used, pour a bowl of oil, and then add soy sauce, vinegar and some sugar…" The most common types available in the U.S. are Japanese and Chinese. However, we’ve also included some common Southeast Asian kinds: Examples of Chinese light soy sauce products on the market are Kimlan Soy Sauce, Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Haitian Superior Light Soy Sauce, and Wan Ja Shan Soy Sauce. In the photo below, see the bottles for these different brands. Some bottles say “light” while others don’t.

Selection tips: Imported Japanese and Korean soy sauce tends to taste the best. For example, Kikkoman soy sauce made in Japan tastes more refined than US-made Kikkoman. Excellent organic shoyu is also exported abroad. Raw, unpasteurized nama shoyu is fabulous too. Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce (Chinese): Dark soy sauce that has been flavored with mushrooms, used to add umami to dishes.Soy sauce is used in East and Southeast Asian cuisines. There are variations and while this article isn't exhaustive, I hope it covers a lot of territory for your needs. Here we go! Regular Soy Sauce Chemical Soy Sauce (i.e. fake soy sauce): Not naturally brewed or fermented; made with a chemical process involving hydrolyzing soy protein (hard to explain what that is without a chemistry degree), corn syrup and caramel coloring. You’re more likely to find these at regular supermarkets than in Asian stores. Don’t buy them! Gluten-free La Choy soy sauce is readily available at many supermarkets and its flavor is like a cross between regular soy sauce and Maggi seasoning sauce (see below). We’ll also focus on light soy sauce, a term we use interchangeably with “soy sauce” or “regular soy sauce” in our recipes. It’s the type we turn to most often in our pantry, with the most versatility when it comes to Chinese cooking. What Is Soy Sauce?

Mix with additional ingredients like sesame oil, chili oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger to create customized dipping sauces. In this article, we’ll talk about the many different types available today, geographic origin, and differences! Low Sodium Soy Sauce: Regular brewed soy sauce with about 40% of the salt removed, depending on the brand. La Choy is an example of a chemical soy sauce. As you can see from the list of ingredients, this is not a naturally brewed sauce. The ingredients in a naturally brewed soy should be: water, soybeans, salt, and wheat.Light Soy Sauce (Japanese): Unlike Chinese Light Soy Sauce (which is used all the time in Chinese cooking), Japanese cooks generally use Japanese Light Soy sparingly. It’s thinner than the more common Japanese Dark Soy Sauce, with a saltier flavor, and it seasons foods without changing the color. Dilute your concentrated soy sauce proportionally with a 1:6 ratio of water, and voila, you have yourself some regular liquid soy sauce! Mix with a 1:6 ratio of waterto dilute it into a regular or light soy sauce substitute. This allows control over the saltiness level.