Soy sauce (American English) or soya sauce (British English) is a fermentsauce, made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and sea salt (US will use NaCl unless otherwise stated). Commonly used in Asian cuisine, and in some Western cuisine dishes, especially Worcestershire sauce or :de:Maggi. Authentic soy sauces are fermented with ''kōji'' ((麹) - the mold ''Aspergillus oryzae''), wheat, and other related microorganisms.
Virtually all soy sauce has some alcohol added during bottling to aid as a preservative for shipping and sale. For this reason, soy sauce should always be kept refrigerated and out of direct light, due to ''spoilage''.
Although there are many types of soy sauce, all are salty and earthy-tasting brownish liquids used to season food while cooking or at the table. Although it originated in China, it is used in various cuisines across Asia. In particular, it is an important flavoring in Japanese cuisine. However, Chinese and Japan soy sauces are substantially different, and it is rarely appropriate to substitute one for the other.
== Chinese Soy Sauce ==
The Chinese soy sauces are primarily made from soybean, with relatively low amounts of other grains. There are three main varieties:
*''shēngchōu'' (生抽) Light/fresh soy sauce - a thin, clear, light brown sauce. It is the main soy used for cooking, as its lighter color does not greatly affect the colour of the dish.
*''lǎochōu'' (老抽) Dark/old soy sauce - a dark, thick soy sauce, is aged longer and added with molasses to give it its distinctive look. This variety is mainly used as a table top seasoning, but is also used in cooking. It has a richer flavour than light soy sauce, but is less salty.
* Thick soy sauce - as its name implies, in Indochina this is known as kecap.
== Japanese Soy Sauce ==
The Japanese soy sauce, or ''shō-yu'' (しょうゆ, or 醤油, 正油) - is traditionally divided into five main categories, depending on differences in their ingredients and method of production. Japanese soy sauces include wheat as a primary ingredient. This tends to give the Japanese varieties a slightly sweeter taste than the Chinese soy sauces.
* ''Koikuchi'' (濃口) - Originating in the Kanto region of Japan, its usage eventually spread all over Japan. Over 80% of the Japanese domestic soy sauce production is of "koikuchi", and can be considered the typical Japanese soy sauce. It is produced from roughly equal quantities of soybean and wheat. This variety is also implied as ''Kijōyu'' (生醤油) or ''namashōyu'' (生しょうゆ) when it is not pasteurized.
* ''Usukuchi'' (薄口) - Particular popular in the Kansai region of Japan, it is both saltier and lighter in color than "koikuchi". The lighter color arises from the usage of amazake (a sweet liquid made from fermented rice) in its production.
* ''Tamari'' (たまり) - Produced mainly in the Chubu region of Japan, "tamari" is produced mainly from soybean, with only a small amount of wheat. Consequently, it is much darker in appearance and richer in flavour than "koikuchi". It is the "original" Japanese soy sauce, as its recipe is closest to the soy sauce originally introduced to Japan from China. Technically, this variety is known as ''miso-damari'' (味噌溜り), as this is the liquid that runs off miso as it Aging_barrel.
* ''Shiro'' (白, white) - A very light colored soy sauce. In contrast to "tamari" soy sauce, "shiro" soy sauce uses mostly wheat, and very little soybean, lending it a light appearance and sweet taste. More common in the Kansai region to highlight the appearances of food, for example sashimi.
* ''Saishikomi'' (再仕込) - This variety is brewed in soy sauce instead of salt water. Consequently, it is much darker than "koikuchi", and has a much stronger and richer flavour. Historically, this type was known as ''kanro'' (甘露) as it was made for the emperor and he liked his ''sweet dew''.
*''genen'' (減塩) - Low-salt soy sauces also exist, but is not considered to be a separate variety of soy sauce, since the reduction in salt content is a process performed outside of the standard process of producing soy sauce.:
*''amakuchi'' (甘口) - Commonly called "Hawaiian Soy Sauce"' in the US, is a variant of "koikuchi" soy sauce.:
All of these varieties are sold in the marketplace in three different grades according to how they were produced:
*''honjōzō hōshiki'' (本醸造 方式) - Contains 100% narurally fermented product.
*''shinshiki hōshiki'' (新式 方式) - Contains 30-50% naturally fermented product.
*''aminosanekikongō hōshiki'' (アミノ酸混合 方式)- Contains 0% fermented product; is a modified vegetable extract. This is referred to as "liquid aminos" in the US.
*''tennen jōzō'' (天然 醸造) - Means no added ingredients except alcohol.
All the varieties, and grades may be sold according to three official levels of quality:
*''hyōjun'' (標準) - Standard pasteurized.
*''tokkyū'' (特級) - Special quality, not pasteurized.
*''tokusen'' (特選) - Premium quality, usually infers limited quantity.
*''abuakane'' (初茜) - Refers to industrial grade used for flavoring, powder.:
*''chōtokusen'' (超特選) - Used by marketers to imply the best.:
One well-known producer of Japanese soy sauce is the Kikkoman Corporation.
== Health ==
Soy sauce contains a small amount of naturally occurring Monosodium glutamate. It can also be extremely edible salty, so it is not a suitable condiment for some people, and should generally be taken in moderation. Low-salt soy sauces are produced, but it is impossible to make soy sauce without using some quantity of salt.
== External links ==
* [http://japanweb.aboho.com/soy.htm About Soysauce]
* [http://www.kikkoman.com/ Kikkoman] - one of the world's leading producers of soy sauce. Primarily produces Japanese style soy sauce
* [http://www.san-j.com/pages/brewing.htm San-J] - Pictorial description of the brewing process at San-Jirushi site, another large producer.
Chinese cuisineCondimentsJapanese cuisineKorean cuisineSoy products
Soy sauce
I took the liberty of making some major changes to this page, though I am far from an authority on the subject. My changes are slightly biased towards both the Japanese and Chinese forms of the sauce, as opposed to any other types that may exist.
I decided to remove the external link regarding the japanese characters representing soy sauce, as the link really only has relevance to japanese language, as opposed to soy sauce. Here's the link, just in case:
[http://www.cjvlang.com/Writing/writsys/signs/shoyu.html Script]
In terms of improvements to this entry, I believe there is a need for more information about the usage of soy sauce outside of japanese/chinese cuisine.
:I'd also like to see how soy sauce is made. --User:Zandperl 04:50, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Also, the origin of the world "soy" doesn't really belong here, since we can point to soybeans as the primary component of soy sauce. This kind of etymology might belong in soybean, but even then, I wonder at its appropriateness here. Also, what does ?? mean?
The English language word "soy" came from the word "Soi" (そい) of the Satsuma Province dialect of Japanese Language.
A useful comparison for information on the Japanese sauces is [http://www.japanweb.co.uk/listing/soy.htm http://www.japanweb.co.uk/listing/soy.htm]. However, this was not used as a source (despite the similarities in the description of soy sauce varieties), as more accurate japanese resources were at hand.
There is also a need to cover the general production process of the sauce, so the variations can be discussed from the context of the standard procedure. There appears to be much more literature on the japanese process, so that is probably the best starting point.
User:Lenny-au
Can "Shōyu" be hypenated like this? (Shō-yu) - It says so in my Shonen Jump magazine. User:WhisperToMe 06:13, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)
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==Ketjap==
The Indonesian ''ketjap'' is not mentioned. It is used extensively in Indonesian cuisine. Anyone have more to add? User:Jfdwolff | User_talk:Jfdwolff 23:05, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)
: Isn't that more related to ketchup? --User:Menchi 23:55, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
==Kanji & Grading ==
;Ketchup & :th:ก้ได้โด are two different birds--can anyone type Thai.:
;Likewise I could have gone on to say how Worcestershire and Maggi don't use soy because these were imitations to suffice for the lack of shoyu in Europe at the time.:
;Just as there is a hundred ways to transliterate ketjap-so to with shou-yu.
Accursed romaji for text, we should use their phonetic alphabet しょうゆ.:
;Added more to Japanese Soy Sauce, Addition of alcohol as preservative, and gave a mention to kecap...I know there is Chinese for kecap, but to find it with Engrish.:
;My head is spinning now from keeping track of three character sets will post more on the recipe shortly.: User:Schlüggell 20:38, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)
