The Various Kinds Of Soy Sauce

Made from the soybean, soy sauce is one of the world’s most popular condiments and works well with a range of different cuisines. It tends to be fairly salty in taste, but the consistency of the sauce can depend on how it was made. It’s been consumed for hundreds of years, and is particularly popular within the country of Japan, where it is often served alongside dishes like sushi.

Traditionally, soy sauce took very long to make, and this is part of why it has always been so highly prized. Today, the method has adapted to modern technology, meaning that it’s much easier to make in shorter periods of time.

It also comes in a wide range of varieties, often tied to the region in which it comes from. Here we will explore some of the most common types of soy sauce in the world.

Dark Soy Sauce

Dark soy sauce is very common to find at the local supermarket, and generally tends to have a sweeter and richer flavour when compared to lighter soy sauce.

This is because it is aged for longer, and sweeteners are often added, such as molasses and caramel. It’s common to find dark soy sauce in Asian cooking, where it is paired along with light soy sauce to create a balance of flavours.

Light Soy Sauce

Light soy sauce is probably the most common type of sauce used in Chinese cooking but can be found throughout much of the world. In western countries, it’s usually identified as regular soy sauce found at the shops, and it’s what most people will have at home.

Light soy sauce generally has a lighter colour than others, but it also has quite a lot of sodium, making it fairly salty. For those that like soy sauce but are unable to consume too much salt, it’s possible to get low-sodium soy sauce quite easily.

Thick Soy Sauce

Often known as soy jam or soy paste is a soy sauce with a much thicker consistency that’s also often much sweeter than dark soy sauce. When making thick soy sauce, more sugar is added, as well as more wheat, and a starch thickener might be used to make it thicker. It’s not used in large amounts and will be added to fried rice dishes to give them a deeper flavour.

This kind of soy sauce can be more difficult to get a hold of at the shops, so it might be worth finding a recipe online and making at home in between games of real money blackjack NZ.

Tamari

Miso is a kind of sauce or soup that’s made in Japan, and tamari is a by-product of miso that the Japanese often make use of due to its strong flavour and colour.

There is usually no wheat in traditional tamari, making it a good alternative for those that can’t consume foods with gluten in them. It’s a great alternative to more traditional soy sauces, although it can also more difficult to find locally, so it’s best to look for it online if possible.