Soy Sauce 101: All Types of Soy Sauce Explained

At our shop, hardly a day goes by without someone standing in front of the soy sauce shelf and asking which bottle they actually need. We understand why: behind that one word are dozens of sauces, from thin, light Chinese soy sauce to Japanese shoyu, Korean soup soy sauce and syrupy kecap manis, and they’re rarely interchangeable. In this guide, we list all the types, with a bottle from our shop for each one, so you’ll know which soy sauce to use for your dish from now on. These are the bottles people in China, Korea and Indonesia pick up at their own supermarkets, from Pearl River Bridge and Lee Kum Kee to Sempio and ABC. To find out which other bottles belong in a Chinese pantry, read Chinese Kitchen 101.

What is soy sauce and how is it made?

Soy sauce is a salty, dark sauce made from fermented soybeans, usually with wheat, salt and water. The soybeans are cooked and mixed with roasted wheat, then koji is added: a fungus (Aspergillus oryzae) that breaks down proteins and starches. The mixture matures in brine for months and is then pressed. This maturation produces the deep, savory flavor that makes soy sauce one of the best-known sources of umami.

The sauce originated in China and traveled from there to Japan, Korea and the rest of Asia, where each country developed its own version.

Naturally brewed or quick-made

Alongside brewed soy sauce, there is soy sauce made quickly by breaking down soy protein with acid instead of fermenting it. This is faster, but the flavor is flatter. If the label says naturally brewed, the sauce is fermented; if you see hydrolyzed soy protein in the ingredients, it has been made (at least in part) using the quick method.

All types of soy sauce at a glance

The main types of soy sauce are Chinese light and dark soy sauce, Japanese koikuchi, usukuchi, tamari and shiro, and Korean guk-ganjang and jin-ganjang, with Indonesian ketjap as the sweet outlier. Below, you can see them side by side, with a bottle from our shop wherever possible.

Chinese light soy sauce China · 生抽Thin and salty, for seasoningChinese dark soy sauce China · 老抽Thick and mildly sweet, mainly for colorSuperior light ChinaRounder in flavor, for dippingMushroom soy ChinaDark soy sauce with mushroom extractKoikuchi Japan · 濃口The everyday Japanese soy sauce

淡口

Usukuchi Japan · 淡口Lighter in color, but saltier

Tamari Japan · たまりFull-bodied and deep, with little or no wheat

白

Shiro Japan · 白醤油Almost transparent, mild and slightly sweet

Guk-ganjang Korea · 국간장Salty soup soy sauce, for soup and namulJin-ganjang Korea · 진간장For marinades, braises and bulgogiKetjap manis IndonesiaSyrupy and sweet from palm sugarKetjap asin IndonesiaThin and salty

Chinese soy sauce: light, dark, superior and mushroom

In Chinese cooking, you use two types of soy sauce side by side: light soy sauce for flavor and dark soy sauce for color.

Light soy sauce (生抽)

Light soy sauce is thin, clear reddish-brown and mainly salty, making it the bottle you reach for to season a dish. The word “light” refers to the color and body, not the saltiness: light soy sauce is actually saltier than dark soy sauce. A reliable choice is Pearl River Bridge Light Soy Sauce, while those looking for a rounder flavor can pick up Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce.

Dark soy sauce (老抽)

Dark soy sauce matures longer and often has a little molasses or sugar added, making it thicker, darker and milder in flavor. You use it mainly for color and depth: a small splash gives braised meat, fried rice and noodles the glossy mahogany color you know from a good Chinese restaurant, while the saltiness comes from the light soy sauce. Try it in beef chow fun with Pearl River Bridge Dark Soy Sauce.

Superior and premium

Many bottles use words like superior, premium or gold label. These aren’t separate types, but names brands use for their better soy sauce, which usually tastes a little rounder and less sharp than the regular version. This kind of bottle is best enjoyed over steamed fish or in a dipping sauce. We stock Pearl River Bridge Gold Label and Lee Kum Kee Double Deluxe, among others.

Mushroom soy

Mushroom soy is dark soy sauce with mushroom extract added, giving it an extra earthy, savory note. You use it in the same way as regular dark soy sauce, especially in braises and vegetarian dishes. Try Pearl River Bridge Mushroom Soy Sauce or Lee Kum Kee Mushroom Soy Sauce. Find all our Chinese bottles together in the Chinese sauces and seasonings collection.

Japanese soy sauce: koikuchi, usukuchi, tamari and shiro

Japanese soy sauce, shoyu, is usually brewed with roughly equal amounts of wheat and soybeans, making it milder, slightly sweeter and more fragrant than Chinese light soy sauce. The types differ mainly in the ratio of soy to wheat and how long they are aged.

Koikuchi (濃口)

Koikuchi is the standard dark shoyu, and when a Japanese recipe simply calls for soy sauce, this is the kind it means. You can use it for almost anything, from sushi to braised dishes like nikujaga, and at the table. The best-known brand is Kikkoman Soy Sauce, with Yamasa Soy Sauce as another great choice. For something special, try Kikkoman Tokusen Marudaizu Shoyu, brewed with whole soybeans. Kikkoman comes from a Japanese brewery, and these are the same bottles you’ll find in Japanese supermarkets.

Usukuchi (淡口)

Usukuchi is lighter in color than koikuchi, but saltier. It comes from the Kansai region around Osaka and Kyoto, and is used in clear broths, braised vegetables and egg dishes where you want to preserve the ingredients’ color. We don’t currently stock usukuchi.

Tamari (たまり)

Tamari is made primarily with soybeans and little or no wheat, and therefore tastes thicker, fuller and less aromatic than koikuchi. Originally, it was the sauce that was left over from making miso. People who cook gluten-free often choose it, but not every tamari is wheat-free, so read the label. Kikkoman Tamari is gluten-free and available in a large bottle and as a smaller 250 ml bottle. You can read more about that family in Miso 101.

Shiro (白)

Shiro shoyu is the opposite of tamari: it is made primarily with wheat and little soy, and is therefore almost golden yellow, mild and slightly sweet. You use it when the color of a dish really matters, such as in clear soups and tamagoyaki. We also do not have shiro in stock at the moment.

In addition to pure soy sauces, Japan also has sauces based on shoyu, such as ponzu with citrus and tsuyu with dashi. The entire range is in Japanese soy sauce.

Korean soy sauce: guk-ganjang and jin-ganjang

In Korea, soy sauce is called ganjang, and the two types you encounter most often are guk-ganjang for soup and jin-ganjang for almost everything else.

Guk-ganjang (국간장)

Guk-ganjang, also known as Joseon ganjang, is the traditional Korean soy sauce, made from fermented blocks of soybeans without wheat, like doenjang. It is lighter but saltier than jin-ganjang, and you use it in soup so that the broth does not darken, and in vegetable side dishes such as sigeumchi namul. A good bottle to start with is Sempio Chosun Soy Sauce For Soup.

Jin-ganjang (진간장)

Jin-ganjang is darker, sweeter and milder than guk-ganjang, and the soy sauce in most modern Korean recipes, from marinades to bulgogi and japchae. With us you will find Sempio Jin S and Sempio Jin Gold. In addition, there is yangjo ganjang, naturally brewed soy sauce that you mainly use for dipping sauces and raw dishes, such as Sempio Naturally Brewed 501. More Korean sauces can be found in Korean sauces and flavorings.

Ketjap: the Indonesian soy sauce

Ketjap is the Indonesian soy sauce, and the sweet ketjap manis is actually its own category: thick, syrupy and sweet due to the palm sugar. So you cannot simply substitute it for Chinese or Japanese soy sauce. Ketjap manis belongs in nasi goreng and in the Surinamese bami, and a trusted choice is ABC Ketjap Manis. Ketjap asin is the salty, thin variant that comes closest to light soy sauce, for example ABC Ketjap Asin.

Recipes with soy sauce

You can best taste the difference by cooking with it. These five recipes each show a different soy sauce.

Soy chickenChicken drumsticks poached in light and dark soy sauce, the two in one pan.Hong shao rouPork belly that gets its deep color from dark soy sauce.Gyu donBeef and onion in dashi, koikuchi and mirin, over a bowl of rice.PonzuMake your own citrus soy sauce, fresh as a dip or dressing.BulgogiBeef marinated in soy sauce, pear and garlic, briefly fried.

Which soy sauce do you choose?

Store soy sauce cool and dark and follow the advice on the label after opening, because many manufacturers recommend putting the bottle in the refrigerator then. You can find all the bottles together on our Soy Sauce page, and the rest of the Chinese cuisine on China. Also read Oyster Sauce 101.

Frequently asked questions

You use soy sauce so often that you hardly think about it anymore, while behind every bottle hides its own cuisine. Feel free to start with one or two bottles, cook a few familiar dishes with them and then taste how differently the same dish tastes with a koikuchi, a superior light or a jin-ganjang. And if you are still hesitating in front of the shelf in Amsterdam, just ask us, because we are happy to help you find the bottle that suits your cuisine, and for the rest of the Chinese basics you can always go to Chinese cuisine 101.