A comprehensive guide to Soy Sauce — Everything you need to know, from history and production to variations. How to choose, store and use different soy sauces.
Great information! I remember several articles directing those in search of “gluten-free” to “just use tamari”, but your suggestion to instead find gluten-free, lighter sauces, makes far more sense in terms of flavour.
Of course, we can say you could replace regular soy sauce with tamari, but its flavor profile will be noticeably different.
Also, for highly gluten-intolerant people I would avoid suggesting tamari out of the box. Unless differently specified, there could still be a few wheat traces due to production methods. Better be sure!
Wonderful and super informative article! Thank you. I've got a confession to make. I prefer the Kikkoman Less Salt version. I find the regular one way too salty... Am I sinning? Hahahah
Everybody has its own taste and I know some people preferring the less salty soy sauce. I guess it's all a matter of how you perceive saltiness (some of these people just don't like extra salty food) and how you use the sauce :)
Pure umami! All these fermented products have umami produced during the fermentation process. So many fermented things out there bring food to life! Fish sauce is missing from the list, too ;)
Wow, what a fabulous piece on Soy Sauce, it must have taken you forever to put this together. Well done! I normally use Kikkoman for regular use, but do have their Light Soy also, plus Tamari for variation, and of course Gluten free just in case and with that, honestly I can’t taste the difference.
If this is the first piece in this new section, I’m going to love reading the rest. Thank you for this detailed explainer, I generally tend to use dark soy and tamari interchangeably in my cooking. Didn’t know about soy glazed salmon, I’ve just got some salmon defrosting on my counter so I think I must make that now
I have also encountered a dessert soy sauce that tastes rather like the glaze on mitarashi dango. It’s great on plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream.
Wow! I just read a recipe for a soy sauce caramel, I wonder if that could be it?
Guess I'll have to study about this one, too. Thanks!
Gosh feels good to have some of my long-standing culinary puzzlements finally explained here! Your writing has a beautiful and savorable flavor too
Thank you! That's one of the best feedback and compliments I received so far - ◡ -
Terrific post. Very informative! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Thank you Mary!
Great information! I remember several articles directing those in search of “gluten-free” to “just use tamari”, but your suggestion to instead find gluten-free, lighter sauces, makes far more sense in terms of flavour.
Thanks!
Yes, I find some online suggestions misleading.
Of course, we can say you could replace regular soy sauce with tamari, but its flavor profile will be noticeably different.
Also, for highly gluten-intolerant people I would avoid suggesting tamari out of the box. Unless differently specified, there could still be a few wheat traces due to production methods. Better be sure!
You went all in on the soy sauce! Thank you for the in depth dive, and a good one for the start of the pantry list.
Thank you Otis :)
Wonderful and super informative article! Thank you. I've got a confession to make. I prefer the Kikkoman Less Salt version. I find the regular one way too salty... Am I sinning? Hahahah
Hahahaha that's fine!
Everybody has its own taste and I know some people preferring the less salty soy sauce. I guess it's all a matter of how you perceive saltiness (some of these people just don't like extra salty food) and how you use the sauce :)
Yes, for me, I don't mind cooking with the regular one, but for dipping it's too much. Maybe it's because I already put enough salt in the food.
fascinating thanks!
Thank you Alex!
Wow! Most informative! Thanks so much. Looking forward to your next post.
Thank you as always Celia - ◡ -
Thanks for a great explanation.
I've learned so much! I never would have guessed that light soy sauce is saltier. I always assumed it was a more diluted version.
Very good article, but you should check the meaning of the word 'notorious'. It has a negative connotation in English.
Oops. Fixed it, thank you!
Knowing myself, I'll probably fall into the same mistake again :)
I've always loved soy sauce and often cook with it. Thank you for featuring it!
Thank you Alyssa!
Thanks for your article.
Love soy sauce, shoyu, tamari, Bragg's amino acids, coconut aminos. What did I leave out?
Pure umami! All these fermented products have umami produced during the fermentation process. So many fermented things out there bring food to life! Fish sauce is missing from the list, too ;)
Wow, what a fabulous piece on Soy Sauce, it must have taken you forever to put this together. Well done! I normally use Kikkoman for regular use, but do have their Light Soy also, plus Tamari for variation, and of course Gluten free just in case and with that, honestly I can’t taste the difference.
Thanks as always Sally!
I admit it, this took me a while to write down! But every comment here makes it worth the effort - ◡ -
If this is the first piece in this new section, I’m going to love reading the rest. Thank you for this detailed explainer, I generally tend to use dark soy and tamari interchangeably in my cooking. Didn’t know about soy glazed salmon, I’ve just got some salmon defrosting on my counter so I think I must make that now
Thank you Perzen! Did you like the salmon?
I did! It came out fab, and I paired it with some kaffir lime and coconut rice and stir fried veges. Thank you for the inspiration