11041 Salty, Dark, Distinctive Fri Apr 11 14:55:00 -0700 2008 http://www.chow.com/stories/11041 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:55:00 GMT All soy sauces are not equal All soy sauces are not created equal. http://www.chow.com Tara Shioya 6 Feature 1

Soy sauces are made from the same basic ingredients, following the same basic process. And yet celebrity chef Ming Tsai says, “Different soy sauces have very different flavors and uses.”

Light soy sauces work best for dishes that require the distinctive flavor of soy sauce but not its color. Dark soy sauces add richness and intense flavor and color to simmered and braised dishes. And then, within light and dark choices, there are numerous flavor nuances.

Soy sauce is made by cooking and mixing whole soybeans or defatted soy meal with a roasted grain (usually wheat, sometimes barley or rice), then adding koji, a starter mold, to this mixture.

After the mold is left to grow and spread for a few days, yeast and salted water are added to create a mash called moromi, which is fermented for anywhere from a few days to several years. The brown liquid that is extruded from the mash, filtered (usually), pasteurized, and then bottled is soy sauce.

But variations in fermentation methods and timing, plus the proportions, quality, and nature of the ingredients, produce a range of soy sauces, each with its own distinctive flavor, color, and consistency. For example, mass-produced soy sauce tends to have a slightly alcoholic taste because it’s fermented using machine-controlled techniques (i.e., in underground fermentation holding tanks rather than outdoors in large urns, under the sun).

Probably the most critical difference is between naturally and artificially brewed soy sauces. Naturally brewed soy sauces use real soybeans, while artificially brewed soy sauces (La Choy brand, for example) use hydrolyzed vegetable or soy protein with caramel coloring and often corn syrup for color and flavor. Naturally brewed soy sauces have robust flavors that can include smoky, sweet, and earthy tastes, while artificially brewed soy sauces typically taste burnt, sweet, or just simply fake.

Some chefs claim that choosing the proper soy sauce can make or break a recipe, adding just the right flavor, color, or umami, the infamous fifth taste.

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Salty, Dark, Distinctive (cont.)

The main types of soy sauce are those from China and Japan, but Malaysia, Indonesia , and other Asian countries have their own uniquely flavored soy sauces too.

Here’s a brief guide to the varieties. All of these are generally available in specialty Asian grocery stores.

Chinese Soy Sauce


Lauchou and shengchou

There are two main types of Chinese soy sauce: light (shengchou) and dark (lauchou). Light soy sauce is thin and light brown (the light does not refer to salt content). It’s commonly used for dipping or in everyday cooking. Dark soy sauce is more viscous and darker brown. Flavored with bead molasses (similar to light molasses), it is used for braises or other dishes where deep flavor and color are desired.

“Chinese-style soy sauces unlock their potential when heated, releasing flavor and aroma, and blending with the ingredients,” says Greg Haradiran, an associate brand manager with leading Chinese soy sauce manufacturer Lee Kum Kee.

Chef Tsai favors dark Chinese soy sauce for its color, deep flavor, and saltiness when he prepares a red roast duck or pork shoulder. He uses a small amount of the very pungent mushroom-flavored soy sauce in his mushroom consommé to give it “one more level of mushroominess.”

Japanese Soy Sauce

Japanese soy sauces, or shoyu, are typically sweeter than their Chinese counterparts because they contain more wheat (generally, Japanese soy sauces use a soybean-wheat ratio of 60-40, while the soybean-wheat ratio for Chinese soy sauces is 70-30). “Japanese soy sauces have more delicate, refined, and generally less overpowering flavors,” says Haradiran. There are five main types of shoyu:

Koikuchi (dark): The most commonly used soy sauce in Japanese cooking, made with roughly equal proportions of soybeans and wheat.

Usukuchi (light): Saltier and lighter than koikuchi, an all-purpose soy sauce used for dishes where the dark color of regular shoyu would make them look unappetizing.

Tamari: Typically darker and richer-tasting than koikuchi, made with soybeans and little or no wheat.

Shiro (literally, “white”): Mostly wheat, little soybeans, used to add flavor without altering the color of a dish.

Saishikomi: Twice-brewed, very dark and very flavorful, used with sushi and sashimi.


Saishikomi, koikuchi, usukuchi, tamari, shiro

Shoyu is further categorized by grade according to how it is produced (the highest contains 100 percent naturally fermented product) and quality; honzen shoyu is premium shoyu favored by high-end Japanese kaiseki restaurants. Most home cooks could use any of these types interchangeably—except saishikomi, because it’s thicker and more intensely flavored than the others—adjusting for taste as needed.

Other Soy Sauces


Kecap manis

Chinese mushroom soy sauce (made with straw mushrooms) is a good way to enhance flavor in vegetarian cooking. Indonesian kecap manis is a sweet, dark, and thick soy sauce made with palm sugar and star anise (kecap asin is a thick and salty version). In Malaysian cooking, kicap lemak tastes like a less sweet version of Indonesian kecap manis, while kicap cair is very similar to the thick and salty Indonesian kecap asin. Hawaiian shoyu contains wheat, soybeans, caramel coloring, and sugar, and is used by island locals on everything from scrambled eggs to saimin.

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