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Soy sauce originated in China 2,500 years ago, spreading to East and Southeast Asia.² Like many salty condiments, soy sauce was probably originally a way to stretch salt, historically an expensive commodity. The recipe for Chinese soy sauce, 酱油 jiàngyóu, originally included fermented fish as well as soybeans.³

Records of the Dutch East India Company list soy sauce as a commodity in 1737, when seventy-five large barrels were shipped from Dejima, Japan to Batavia (present-day Jakarta) on the island of Java. Thirty-five barrels from that shipment were shipped to the Netherlands.⁴

In the 18th century, Isaac Titsingh published accounts of brewing soy sauce shōyu in Japan. Although earlier descriptions of soy sauce had disseminated in the West, this was among the earliest to focus specifically on the brewing of the Japanese version.⁵

By the mid-19th century, Japanese "shōyu" gradually disappeared from European market and "soy sauce" became synonymous with the Chinese product, because "shōyu" was more expensive. Europeans were unable to make soy sauce because they did not understand the function of kōji.⁶

Production

Traditional

Traditional soy sauces are made by mixing the soybeans and grain with cultures such as Aspergillus oryzae and other related microorganisms and/or yeast. Historically, soy sauces were fermented under natural conditions, such as in giant urns and under the sun, which was believed to contribute additional flavors. Today, most of the produced for trade sauces are instead fermented in clean machine-assisted environments. Some soy sauces made in the Japanese way or styled after them contain nearly fifty percent wheat, or in the case of a few specialties more wheat than soy. All varieties of soy sauce are salty, earthy, brownish liquids intended to season food while cooking or at the table. Soy sauce has a distinct basic taste called umami (旨味^?, literally "delicious taste") in Japanese. Umami was identified as a basic taste in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University. The free glutamates occurring naturally in soy sauces give it this taste quality.

Acid-hydrolyzed vegetable protein

Low quality brands of soy sauce are often made from acid hydrolyzed soy protein instead of brewed with a traditional culture. This chemical soy sauce production method doesn't require experienced craftsmanship or expensive aging to produce.^{citation needed} Synthesized soy sauces do not have the full flavor, aroma, or texture of brewed soy sauces and may be darkened with caramel coloring. They are derogatorily called Chemical Soy Sauce ("化學醬油" in Chinese), but despite this name are a widely used type because they are inexpensive^{citation needed}. The clear plastic packets of dark sauce common with Chinese-style take out food are typically a hydrolyzed vegetable protein formula. La Choy were an early North American producer of this type of artificial soy sauce with corn syrup and caramel color. In a surprising twist some higher quality hydrolyzed vegetable protein products with no added salt, sugar or colorings are sold as low-sodium soy sauce alternatives called "liquid aminos" in health food stores, similar to the way salt substitutes are used.

Some of the low quality types of soy sauces have high levels of the potentially cancer causing chemicals 3-MCPD (3-chloro-1,2-propanediol) and 1,3-DCP (1,3-dichloro-2-propanol), both belonging to a group of chemicals known as chloropropanols.⁷ 3-MCDP and 1,3-DCP are usually produced by adding acid hydrolysed vegetable protein to accelerate soy source production. Other sources are acid hydrolysis of some or all of the soy bean or wheat and the toasting of the wheat component.

Types

Soy sauce has been integrated into the traditional cuisines of many East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. Soy sauce is widely used as a particularly important flavoring in Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Chinese cuisine. Despite their rather similar appearance, soy sauces produced in different cultures and regions are different in taste, consistency, fragrance and saltiness. Soy sauce retains its quality longer when kept away from direct sunlight.

Chinese soy sauce

In traditional Chinese cooking, these soy sauces were employed in strategic ways to achieve a flavour and colour for the dish.

Another type, thick soy sauce (醬油膏 jiàngyóugāo), is a dark soy sauce that has been thickened with starch and sugar. It is occasionally flavored with MSG. This sauce is not usually used directly in cooking but more often as a dipping sauce or poured on food as a flavorful addition.

Japanese soy sauce

Buddhist monks introduced soy sauce into Japan in the 7th century, where it is known as shoyu (醤油 shōyu^?)⁸⁹. The Japanese word tamari is derived from the verb tamaru that signifies "to accumulate", referring to the fact that tamari was traditionally a liquid byproduct produced during the fermentation of miso. Japan is the leading producer of tamari.^{citation needed}

Shōyu is traditionally divided into five main categories depending on differences in their ingredients and method of production. Most, but not all Japanese soy sauces include wheat as a primary ingredient, which tends to give them a slightly sweeter taste than their Chinese counterparts. They also tend towards an alcoholic sherry-like flavor, sometimes enhanced by the addition of small amounts of alcohol as a natural preservative. The widely varying flavors of these soy sauces are not always interchangeable, some recipes only call for one type or the other much like a white wine can't replace a red's flavor or beef stock does not produce the same results as fish stock.

All of these varieties are sold in the marketplace in three different grades according to how they were produced:

All the varieties and grades may be sold according to three official levels of quality:¹¹

Indonesian soy sauce

In Indonesia, soy sauce is known as kecap (also ketjap or kicap), which is a catch-all term for fermented sauces. According to one theory, the English word "ketchup" is derived from this word. Five main varieties of Indonesian kecap exist:

Malaysian soy sauce

In Singapore and Malaysia, soy sauce in general is dòuyóu (豆油); dark soy sauce is called jiàngyóu (醬油) and light soy sauce is jiàngqīng (醬清). Angmo daoiu (紅毛豆油, lit. "foreigners' soy sauce") is the Hokkien name for Worcestershire sauce.

Malaysia, which has language and cultural links with Indonesia, uses the word 'kicap' for soy sauce. Kicap is traditionally of two types: kicap lemak and kicap cair. Kicap lemak is similar to kecap manis but with very much less sugar while kicap cair is the Malaysian equivalent of kecap asin.

Korean soy sauce

Korean soy sauce, (called Joseon ganjang, 조선간장, in Korean) is a byproduct of the production of doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste). Joseon ganjang, thin and dark brown in color, is made entirely of soy and brine, and has a saltiness that varies according to the producer. Wide scale use of Joseon ganjang has been somewhat superseded by cheaper factory-made Japanese style soy sauce, called waeganjang (hangul: 왜간장/倭간장). According to the 2001 national food consumption survey in Korea, traditional fermented ganjang comprised only 1.4% of soy sauce purchases.¹²

Taiwanese soy sauce

The history of soy sauce making in Taiwan can be traced back to southeastern China, in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Taiwanese soy sauce is perhaps most markedly known for its black bean variant, known as black bean soy sauce (黑豆蔭油). Most major soy sauce makers in Taiwan such as KimLan (金蘭), WanJaShan (萬家香), President-Kikkoman (統萬) make exclusive soybean and wheat soy sauce. A few other makers such as WuanChuang (丸莊), O'Long (黑龍), TaTung (大同) and RueiChun (瑞春) make black bean soy sauce, which takes longer to produce (about 6 months).

Vietnamese soy sauce

Vietnamese soy sauce is called xì dầu derived from Cantonese name 豉油, nước tương, or sometimes simply tương.

Philippine soy sauce

A type of soy sauce based product which is a popular condiment in the Philippines is called toyo, usually found alongside other sauces such as fish sauce (patis) and sugar cane vinegar (suka). The flavor of Philippine soy sauce is a combination of ingredients made from soybeans, wheat, salt, and caramel, is interestingly milder compared to its Asian counterparts—possibly an adaptation to the demands of the Filipino palate and its cuisine. It is thinner in texture and has a saltier taste compared to its Southeast Asian counterparts, much more similar to the Japanese shōyu. It is used as a staple condiment to flavor many cooked dishes and as a marinade during cooking, it is also a table condiment, and is usually mixed and served with calamansi, a small Asian citrus-lime.

Nutrition

Soy sauce does not contain a level of the beneficial isoflavones associated with other soy products such as tofu or edamame¹⁶. It can also be very salty, having a salt content of between 14%–18%, so it may not be a suitable condiment for people on a low sodium diet. Low-sodium soy sauces are produced, but it is difficult to make soy sauce without using some quantity of salt as an antimicrobial agent.¹⁷

Carcinogen contamination

Allergies

Most varieties of soy sauce also contain wheat. Individuals with a wheat allergy, Celiac disease, or a gluten intolerance should avoid soy sauce that is made with wheat.^[1] However, some naturally brewed soy sauces, made with wheat, may be tolerated by gluten intolerant individuals, because gluten are no longer detectable.^[2]

Contents

History