Preferred brand of soy sauce

[jrcrunch]

what is your preferred brand of soy sauce for cooking and dipping? 

 

the brands i only know are yamasa and kikkoman. which among the 2 you prefer more? i havent seen yamasa being sold in my neighborhood but which among the 2 is cheaper

[Hassouni]

The made in Japan Kikkoman. Specifically this one, which doesn't have any bogus ingredients: http://www.amazon.com/Kikkoman-Marudaizu-Sauce-33-8-Ounce-Bottles/dp/B0046GHL9W

[Shel_B]

Neither of the OP's suggestions are sauces that I use.  Actually, I don't have a favorite as I've not yet found a sauce that I like, although I've not looked very much or very hard.'  Maybe I'll find a good suggestion here.  This came up before ...

[Shel_B]

The made in Japan Kikkoman. Specifically this one, which doesn't have any bogus ingredients: http://www.amazon.com/Kikkoman-Marudaizu-Sauce-33-8-Ounce-Bottles/dp/B0046GHL9W

 

This looks like a much better price:  http://www.efooddepot.com/products/kikkoman/35098/kikkoman_marudaizu_shoyu_(whole_beans_soy_sauce)__hypen__33_dot_8fl_oz.html

[weinoo]

I think it's about the same price - the Amazon price is for 3 bottles.

[Blether]

I buy that exact same Kikkoman sauce, though it's expensive compared to their ordinary stuff. It's "tokusen maru-daizu shoyu", i.e. "Special Select", made only from whole soy beans.  It has a lot more flavour than the everyday varieties.

[Hassouni]

Yeah I mean I don't buy on Amazon, I just go to H Mart, where they have a huge array of Japanese stuff. The link was just to provide a reference to the specific one I use.

 

I also use usukuchi soy sauce, which is much lighter in color, but if anything stronger tasting (and certainly saltier) - it's used in light colored dishes.  I used to have the Kikkoman one, but then I found one whose bill of ingredients seemed even better, so I got that. 

 

When I cooked a lot more Chinese food, I had Pearl River Bridge dark and superior light soy sauces, which I thought were excellent.

[Hassouni]

I buy that exact same Kikkoman sauce, though it's expensive compared to their ordinary stuff. It's "tokusen maru-daizu shoyu", i.e. "Special Select", made only from whole soy beans.  It has a lot more flavour than the everyday varieties.

 

It's still not that much more, it's like...$9 for a litre compared to $7 or something

[patrickamory]

I use Pearl River light soy sauce for most Chinese dishes.

 

Like Hassouni, I also have bought usukuchi, the labeling is all in Japanese so I don't know the brand, but it's absolutely delicious and I've used it in Momofuku recipes calling for it, for instance.

[huiray]

Let's see... I took a quick inventory of the soy sauces and soy sauce -based sauces I have on hand.**

 

1) Kikkoman Marudaizu Soy Sauce (Japan) - the one referred to in the posts above.

2) Standard Kikkoman Soy Sauce (USA).

3) Yamasa (Red Label) (Japan).

4) Kimlan Aged Soy Sauce (Taiwan).

5) Kimlan Sang Chau Grade A (Taiwan).

6) Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce (China/Guangzhou).

7) Yuet Heung Yuen (YHY) Superior Dark Soy Sauce (China/Guangzhou).

8) Wei Chuan Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce with Hokkaido Kelp Flavor (Taiwan).

9) Higeta Honzen Soy Sauce (Japan).

10) San-J Tamari (USA).

 

And the soy-sauce based ones:

11) Kikkoman Hon Tsuyu (Japan).

12) Assi Soba Shoyu (Japan).

13) Kikkoman Ponzu Sauce (with lemon/orange) (Japan)

14) Kikkoman Ponzu Sauce (with lime) (Japan).

15) Otafuku Ponzu Sauce (with lemon, sudachi, yukou, yuzu, daidai orange) (Japan).

 

The ones I have large cans of are (2) and (6) even though I don't use (6) *that* often.  The ones I use on a regular basis are probably (2), (4), (5), (6), (13), (14).  The most expensive one I have is probably (9) and I actually do like it quite a bit - definitely for dipping, though, and not for cooking as its subtlety (to my taste) is wasted/lost when banged around with other stuff in cooking.  I am also fond of (8) but use it sparingly in cooking, otherwise for dipping, of course, or blending with a few other selected sauces.

 

 

** NOTE that I excluded the various soy bean pastes and thick sauces, some of which are used for dipping as well as for cooking also, like fermented black bean/soy bean sauce, fermented (Teochew) yellow salted soy beans, Szechuanese chili/soy bean/broad bean pastes, Cantonese soy bean pastes/sauces, etc etc.  I suspect you are asking about the free-pouring water-like soy sauces, yes?

[liuzhou]

Oh good. We are no longer limited to Japan. My experience and knowledge, such as it is, is all China based

 

My routine brand is this one:

 

Or as a dark version; same brand:

 

 

The brand is by far the most popular locally. It is from Foshan in Guangdong province. I won't say it's 3-star rated,  but it's a reasonable quality at a reasonable price

 

But my utmost favourite is this "white" soy sauce, also from Guangdong (Guangzhou) but more difficult to find:

 

 

I love it with fish - from steamed seabass to sashimi.

[Smithy]

What is the white soy sauce like, liuzhou? I've never heard of it.

[lindag]

I've been using 'sweet' soy sauce recently on some dishes. I'd never heard of it before but it is really good.

[budrichard]

There are as many types of soy sauce (shoyu in Japan) as there are cuisines.

I use a soy sauce from the country whose cuisine I am preparing.

Most notably, Pearl River for Chinese, an organic Korean for Korean cooking and for Japanese we use organic aged in cedar vat Japanese shoyu for sushi/sashimi and Kikkomen reduced sodium US or Japanese for dishes.(Note Japanese Kikkomen sold in the USA has alcohol added as a preservative).

The cedar vat aged shoyu is VERY expensive and hard to find. I get it at Mitsuwa Chicago when it's in stock.-Dick

[liuzhou]

 

What is the white soy sauce like, liuzhou? I've never heard of it.

 

It has the typical soy sauce taste but without any heavy caramelised overtones, is fairly mild and less saline than regular soy sauce. It also seems to me to have a slight citrus note, which is probably why I like to use it with fish.

It isn't exactly white; more a light golden yellow, and is available both in China and in Japan, if not elsewhere. 

 

 

I've been using 'sweet' soy sauce recently on some dishes. I'd never heard of it before but it is really good.

 

Do you mean Kepis Manis, the Indonesian sweet soy sauce? Or something else?

[huiray]

I use a soy sauce from the country whose cuisine I am preparing.

 

 

I, on the other hand, mix-and-match to my heart's content, so long as it does not actually conflict with what is being cooked.  :-) 

[budrichard]

budrichard, on 18 Apr 2014 - 09:55 AM, said:

I use a soy sauce from the country whose cuisine I am preparing.

I, on the other hand, mix-and-match to my heart's content, so long as it does not actually conflict with what is being cooked. :-)

And your point is?

Edited April 18, 2014 by budrichard (log)

[huiray]

budrichard, on 18 Apr 2014 - 09:55 AM, said:

I use a soy sauce from the country whose cuisine I am preparing.

I, on the other hand, mix-and-match to my heart's content, so long as it does not actually conflict with what is being cooked. :-)

And your point is?

 

That I do not feel compelled to use the sauce assigned by name to a particular SE Asian/E Asian cuisine and no other.  That a similar sauce may well serve in its stead.  That there is nothing magical about using a specific Thai sauce for a Thai dish when the equivalent Vietnamese sauce would do as well.  And so o n and so forth.

 

Extrapolating this further, I don't feel that there is a single sauce for making Szechuanese MaPo Tofu, as, one example.  One may have preferences, but that is not to say that ONLY ONE type of sauce is usable for making the dish. 

 

So ditto for soy sauces.  There is no REQUIREMENT that one be wedded to a SPECIFIC brand or type of soy sauce for a specific dish.  Perhaps the TRADITIONAL rendition of a dish may call for a particular brand of soy sauce or whatever, but that does not mean that it is incomprehensible that another soy sauce may be used in its stead.

[Hassouni]

I interchange too, but in general I find that SE Asian ones are much closer to the major Chinese ones than Japanese is to either. As or Korean soy sauces, I've never tried one, but I know that fish sauce is often suggested as a substitute, so I gather it must be quite different. 

 

In general I stick with the Japanese stuff, because by and large (and I'm sure I'll get lots of disagreement), the other seasonings are stronger in much Chinese, Thai, and Korean food and can hide the fact that the flavor profile of the soy sauce is not accurate, whereas in Japanese cuisine, seasonings are lighter and a lot is riding on the shoyu, so if I only have room for one type, Japanese it is.

[Jason Perlow]

The made in Japan Kikkoman. Specifically this one, which doesn't have any bogus ingredients: http://www.amazon.com/Kikkoman-Marudaizu-Sauce-33-8-Ounce-Bottles/dp/B0046GHL9W

 

That's a good one, as is the equivalent marudaizu Yamasa. I have also used Korean brand "whole bean" shoyus that are cheaper which are simply water, soybeans and salt in the ingredients. Key is not to have anything with alcohol in it.

 

San-J also makes some very nice Shoyus and Tamaris.

[Jaymes]

That I do not feel compelled to use the sauce assigned by name to a particular SE Asian/E Asian cuisine and no other.  That a similar sauce may well serve in its stead.  That there is nothing magical about using a specific Thai sauce for a Thai dish when the equivalent Vietnamese sauce would do as well.  And so o n and so forth.

 

Extrapolating this further, I don't feel that there is a single sauce for making Szechuanese MaPo Tofu, as, one example.  One may have preferences, but that is not to say that ONLY ONE type of sauce is usable for making the dish. 

 

So ditto for soy sauces.  There is no REQUIREMENT that one be wedded to a SPECIFIC brand or type of soy sauce for a specific dish.  Perhaps the TRADITIONAL rendition of a dish may call for a particular brand of soy sauce or whatever, but that does not mean that it is incomprehensible that another soy sauce may be used in its stead.

 

I don't really adhere to this totally, but I will say that I prefer to use a Korean soy sauce when I'm making bulgogi, or other Korean dishes. 

[budrichard]

"There is no REQUIREMENT that one be wedded to a SPECIFIC brand or type of soy sauce for a specific dish."

I NEVER SAID THERE WAS!

Now that we have a reply, we can get rid of the caps also.

You are reading conclusions into my Posts that are not there. Comment on what I actually Posted.

If you have another comment that my Post does not make or reference, don't quote my Post in your Post.

Quite simple.-Dick

[huiray]

"There is no REQUIREMENT that one be wedded to a SPECIFIC brand or type of soy sauce for a specific dish."

I NEVER SAID THERE WAS!

Now that we have a reply, we can get rid of the caps also.

You are reading conclusions into my Posts that are not there. Comment on what I actually Posted.

If you have another comment that my Post does not make or reference, don't quote my Post in your Post.

Quite simple.-Dick

 

You asked me what my point was.  I explained.  My explanation went beyond what you posted.  I specified that I was extrapolating from the initial point into related areas.  My comment about there being no requirement that one be wedded to a specific brand etc was under the rubric of that extrapolation, as it followed after I stated it.  You might want to get less huffy and read more carefully.

[Jason Perlow]

I don't really adhere to this totally, but I will say that I prefer to use a Korean soy sauce when I'm making bulgogi, or other Korean dishes. 

 

I have not found there to be a considerable difference in flavor profile between Japanese-made and Korean Shoyus, Particularly if we are talking the whole-bean kind. I will say the Korean ones tend to be cheaper and are generally a better value. I've used both interchangeably.

 

It doesn't really matter anymore, though. I don't live in Jersey or have regular access to Korean cooking ingredients now so I'd have to mail order them. So I buy what I can get at the Asian market here

 

Chinese soy sauces however, totally different animals and different uses.

[Kim Shook]

All my life I've used the grocery store versions of La Choy or Kikkoman.  Kikkoman was what was on the tables of every Chinese restaurant I ever ate at - even in Chinatown, DC.  It wasn't until I started reading about food in serious magazines and online that I even realized that, of course, there were differences in soy sauces, just like there are differences in the quality of all condiments.  But I never did anything about it until last week when my need for going to an Asian market coincided with running out of soy sauce.  So I did a little cellphone eG research standing in the sauce aisle (not as easy as it sounds) and came up with this:

How did I do?  And if I didn't do well, give me some advice so I can do better next time.

 

Edited November 4, 2020 by Kim Shook (log)