How to Choose The Right Japanese Soy Sauce

During your grocery shopping in the nearest Asian supermarket, you might find multiple choices of Japanese soy sauce. Thin, thick, tamari, it can be very confusing. So, how do you choose the best Japanese soy sauce?

Well, It depends on what kind of flavor profile you’re looking for and what kind of cooking you’re making.

If you want to experiment with Japanese cooking, we recommend you to use Japanese soy sauce. Japanese soy sauce has special characteristics that make them one of a kind. They tend to be a tad bit sweeter compared to Chinese soy sauce. They also come in many varieties so you can choose the right one to match your cooking ingredients.

Soy sauce is a staple seasoning in Japan and many asian countries. As you know, nearly all Japanese cuisine uses soy sauce as a taste defining condiments along with mirin and sake. Cooking Japanese food without soy sauce is almost like cooking italian food without olive oil. That is why it’s important to know which Japanese soy sauce works best for your cooking. Some recipes call for light soy sauce, some call for dark soy sauce, and some recipes are best made with tamari sauce.

Now, if you’re ready to take a shot at Japanese cooking (or just want to cook with Japanese soy sauce in general), you might want to know about what kind of Japanese soy sauce is best for your recipe.

Types of Japanese Sauce

Before choosing the right Japanese soy sauce, we need to understand different types of Japanese soy sauce and what makes each of them unique. Most people would think that Japanese soy sauce comes in one type, but turns out there are more than you thought.

White Soy Sauce ・ Shiro

Color: clear light yellow
Ingredients: Wheat percentage is higher than the soybean

Though it has the thinnest color, shiro soy sauce is the most salty type of all Japanese soy sauce.

Thin Soy Sauce ・ Usukuchi

Color: clear burnt orange or clear brown
Ingredients: 50% soybeans 50% wheat

This soy sauce also will not add much color to the cooking. Usukuchi soy sauce have saltier taste than thick soy sauce. Very popular in Kansai region like Osaka or Kyoto.

Sweet Soy Sauce ・ Amakuchi

Color: dark brown, sometimes clear dark brown
Ingredients: Soybean, wheat, sweetening, vegetable protein

It has a sweet taste, but unlike Southeast Asian sweet soy sauce, amakuchi soy sauce still have the sharp flavor of Japanese soy sauce.

Thick Soy Sauce ・ Koikuchi

Color: Dark brown
Ingredients: 50% soybeans 50% wheat

This soy sauce is an all purpose sauce. When someone says Japanese soy sauce, usually this type is the one that comes to mind. Koikuchi soy sauce is a very versatile condiment because the taste goes well with almost anything.

Saishikomi Soy Sauce

Color: Dark Brown
Ingredients: double amount of 50% soybeans and 50% wheat

Saishikomi soy sauce goes through a long brewing process. Because of that, it has great umami flavor. This type is also more fragrant than Tamari.

Saishikomi means re-brew. Shikomi is the process where the salted water is added to the soy solution (moromi). During shikomi process, saishikomi soy sauce is brewed not with salted water, but with an already finished soy sauce batch. Hence, the rich flavor.

Tamari Soy Sauce

Color: Dark brown to black
Ingredients: soybeans with less to no wheat

Tamari sauce has been gaining popularity lately because it can be a great alternative for people who cannot tolerate wheat products. Some even say that this type is healthier than regular soy sauce because it contains less sodium and more protein.

Brewed for a long time, tamari has a thick and complex flavor profile. It also has a prominent umami.

How To Choose The Right Japanese Soy Sauce

Tips On Choosing A Good Soy Sauce

The best soy sauces are usually the ones that have been fermented for two years or longer. The maturation of soy sauce give so much dimension and complexity to its taste. When soy sauce is brewed naturally, it will have a pleasant umami flavor, not just sharp saltiness.

Each soy sauce is different, so one type of soy sauce might suites your ingredients better than the other. For choosing the right soy sauce according to your cooking, you can read the details on the next part.

Pairing Japanese Soy Sauce With Your Cooking

When you cook, it’s always good to make sure that your soy sauce is suitable for your ingredients.

Good pairing of soy sauce will not only add flavor to your dish but also enhance the natural taste of the ingredient itself. Here is the guide to choose the best soy sauce for your cooking.

Soy Sauce to Avoid

Soy sauce comes in many forms, especially outside Japan. If you happen to be choosing between many soy sauces, just remember to never use chemically brewed soy sauce. They usually don’t taste very good. Aside from the questionable ingredients, chemically brewed soy sauce is usually artificially salty.

To identify which soy sauce is chemically made or not, you can check out the ingredients on the packaging. Natural-brew soy sauce is mainly made from soybeans, wheat, salt, and water. If you found corn syrup or food coloring on the ingredients, it should be a noticeable red flag.

Recipes That Uses Soy Sauce

First time cooking Japanese food? Don’t worry, you can use these recipes as a guide or inspiration for your next cooking.

Nikujaga (Stewed Beef And Potato)

If you're familiar with Japanese cuisines, you've probably heard about this dish before. Nikujaga is a simple yet tasty heartwarming dish that's great to eat during cold weather. For this recipe, we will use thin soy sauce (usukuchi soy sauce). If you don't have sliced beef, you can replace it with sliced pork.

Ingredients2Servings

Cooking Time30Minutes

Ingredients

Thin Beef Slices

150g

Potatoes

2

Carrots

1

Onion

1

Konyaku Noodles

80g

Snap Peas

8 Pieces

Usukuchi Thin Soy Sauce

2 tbsp

Sugar

1 tbsp

Cooking Sake

2 tbsp

Dashi Stock
(You can also use store bought dashi powder mixed with water or use your favorite kind of stock.)

100ml

Vegetable Oil

½ tbsp

Steps

1

Cut potatoes and carrot into bite sized pieces (about 1 inch)

2

Cut onion into 4 wedges

3

Remove the string part from pea pods

4

Cut konyaku into small pieces and hard boil it for 1 minute

5

Heat oil on the frying pan and start cooking the beef slices until brown. After it’s done, pick up meat and leave it on a tray. We don’t want to overcook the beef.

6

With the oil and the meat grease still on the frying pan, add potatoes and carrots on the fry pan and stir fry until the ingredients is half cooked.

7

Add onion and konyaku. Continue to stir fry until all ingredients are coated with oil

8

Put the cooked sliced beef back to the frying pan and mix with all ingredients

9

Add dashi stock, sugar, sake, soy sauce. Mix well and close the fry pan with a lid. Let it simmer for 10 minutes or until the potato is soft. After that add the snap peas

10

Let the nikujaga simmer again for about 2 minutes before serving

Japanese Chicken Wings

Looking for new ways to spice up your chicken wings? Try cooking it with Japanese style! You can also add your own twist by adding chili powder to make it spicier, or you can stick with the sweet and savory classic. This recipe can use koikuci, saishikomi, or tamari soy sauce.

Ingredients2Servings

Cooking Time25Minutes

Ingredients

Chicken Wings

6 Pieces

Salt

¼ tsp

Pepper

¼ tsp

Potato Starch

4 tbsp

Oil

For frying

Soy Sauce

4 tbsp

Cooking Sake

2 tbsp

Mirin

2 tbsp

Sugar

1½ tbsp

Ginger

1cm grated

Toasted Sesame Seeds

For garnish

Steps

1

Turn on the stove and heat the oil until about 150-160˚C

2

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge with potato starch until all surface is covered

3

Fry the chicken wings until crispy and golden brown. After done, set the wings aside

4

Make the chicken wing glaze by mixing soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar in a small bowl

5

Heat a frying pan, toss the fried chicken wings and the glaze mix, make sure the wings are coated with the glaze

6

Stir until the sauce simmer and thicken

7

Chicken wings are ready to be served. You can garnish them with toasted sesame seeds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recommended Products For Soy Sauce

Hatsukari Soy Sauce 200ml Product of Matsumoto Craft Soy Sauce Factory

Hatrsukari Soy Sauce is a saishikomi soy sauce that has been aged for 2 years and made using the best local ingredients like soybeans and wheat. It is a masterpiece product that has a great umami and residual sweetness.

Price: $4.46

View Product

Hatsukari Soy Sauce 1000ml Product of Matsumoto Craft Soy Sauce Factory

Hatsukari soy sauce also comes in 1 liter size.

Price: $7.03

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Tenpokura Soy Sauce 1000ml Product of Matsumoto Craft Soy Sauce Factory

Tenpokura soy sauce is a naturally brewed saishikomi soy sauce that has been aged for 1 year. This soy sauce is very versatile. It can be used as a cooking ingredient or as an additional condiment.

Price: $5.05

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