How To Use Soy Sauce
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Soy sauce is an incredibly versatile ingredient that adds flavor to a wide variety of dishes. You can use soy sauce as a condiment for many different meals, or you can cook with soy sauce to give make your food even more delicious. Its easy to get your moneys worth when you pick up a bottle of soy sauce at the supermarket!
How To Make My Soy Sauce Alternative Recipe
Making a homemade sub for soy sauce is way easier than you may think! Just be sure to have a clean jar or bottle for storage before beginning.
- Add all of your ingredients to a saucepan, leaving out the salt and sesame oil for now.
- Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add the salt and sesame oil , and stir until its mixed well.
- Let your soy sauce cool, then place it in an airtight container and store it for up to a week. You can even freeze it for later use.
Soy Sauce 3 Main Types
The mains types of soy sauce are:
Light soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Soy sauce when bottles are simply labelled soy sauce. Not light, dark, sweet, mushroom or any other type of soy sauce. Im going to refer to this as all purpose soy sauce in this post, to avoid confusion.
You can interchange light soy sauce and all purpose soy sauce in recipes. But you must NEVER use dark soy sauce unless a recipe calls for it it is very strong and will overpower the dish!
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What Type Of Fermentation Occurs In Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is manufactured by a two-stage fermentation process in which one or more fungal species are grown on an equal mixture of ground soybean. The starter used in the manufacture of soy sauce is grown on a mixture of soybeans, cracked wheat and wheat bran. This mixture is inoculated with spores of A.
The Diary Of How To Make Soy Sauce At Home From Start To Finish

dry them by a heater
find a place to hang them to dry
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How To Make Vegan Oyster Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce Vs Soy Sauce Differences
The primary difference between soy and teriyaki sauce is the ingredients that they contain. What many dont realize is that soy sauce is the base of teriyaki sauce. However, as you will learn while trying the two, that does not mean that they taste the same.
Soy sauce in itself is a salty flavor. It is derived from the soybean and is mixed with water to get the correct consistency. Although it starts as a paste, it becomes quite thin through the process of creation. The addition of salt creates the signature taste that you associate with soy sauce.
Teriyaki sauce takes the soy sauce base creation and adds more ingredients into it. The exact ingredients can vary by region or even chef but typically includes brown sugar, ginger, and garlic.
With the addition of the extra ingredients, the taste of teriyaki sauce comes across as sweet, compared to the salty nature of the soy sauce.
Even though a cursory look at both soy sauce and teriyaki sauce give the impression that they are of similar consistencies, it isnt true. Soy sauce is thin due to the addition of water. However, teriyaki sauce is a thicker consistency due to the addition of more ingredients.
The color between the two products remains similar but also has subtle differences. The differences will depend on the type of ingredients within the teriyaki sauce itself and the quantity.
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Can I Substitute Teriyaki Sauce For Soy Sauce In Fried Rice
Teriyaki sauce is not a good replacement for soy sauce unless youre preparing a recipe that includes ginger and sugar or honey, in which case teriyaki sauce may make an acceptable substitute. Otherwise, teriyaki sauce is too sweet and thick to replace soy sauce without affecting the taste of the recipe significantly.
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Let It Dress Up Potatoes
Potatoes are the ultimate side dish to enhance a meal, and nothing punches up potatoes quite like soy sauce. Simmer cubed Yukon Gold potatoes in soy sauce with a bit of sugar and spices like chili pepper flakes to make the perfect accent dish. The soy sauce and spices infuse the potatoes with flavor while they soften and get a nice crisp from the skillet. Be sure to stir the potatoes occasionally throughout the cooking process so they dont stick to the pan.
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But First What Is Soy Sauce
Chinese in origin, the salty brown liquid known as shoyu is actually made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grains, brine and a mold called kji.
Traditional soy sauce takes months to make. First, soybeans are soaked and cooked, and wheat is roasted and crushed. Then the mixture is inoculated with kji, mixed with brine and left to brew. The liquid is pressed from the solids, pasteurized and bottled, and voilà, it finally ends up on your table. Depending on the country and region of origin, soy sauce can taste different from bottle to bottle, and there are endless varieties and flavors.
Soy Sauce Substitute: How To Make Homemade Soy Sauce Substitute
Soy sauce substitute
Making a soy sauce substitute is not that difficult, this is a simple DIY that can be fixed in 25 minutes on your stovetop. Soy sauce substitute can also be used for fried rice, sauces, stir-fries, and noodle recipes just like your regular store-bought soy sauce.
Basically, soy sauce is a liquid condiment used by the Chinese to flavor food, it is mostly used in marinades, stir-fries, and sauces. Traditionally, soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans paste, water, barley, brine, and mold. You can use soy sauce directly as a dip, and as an alternative for salt in cooking.
There are different varieties of soy sauce out there that vary in taste, texture, and strength of flavor which post a serious health concern to the consumers. however, if you must avoid all products that contain soy proteins, you should opt for soy sauce substitute which is similar in taste and appearance just like the one above.
You can always make your own soy sauce substitute which is better than store-bought counterpart produced from unknown sources.
See the video below how this sauce is made:
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Second Round Of Warming
Arrange and spread the soybeans on a baking tray. Leave them inside the oven and attach a small cloth at the oven door to prevent water droplets from forming. You do not need to turn the oven on. For the second round of warming, keep the temperature above 40 for 6 hours. Usually, it takes approximately 45 hours from the start of first warming to the completion of shoyu koji.
The optimal temperature for koji starter to propagate is at 35-40. Depending on the season, temperature of the room, and the amount of koji starter being used, conditions may differ. Please set the temperature of fermentation device between 32-42, and keep watch.
How To Make Soy Sauce Substitute At Home

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How To Use Soy Sauce:
Soy sauce does double duty, acting as a seasoning while also adding layers of umami flavor. You can use it in any recipe that would benefit from a savory boost, from simple fried eggs and steamed rice to sautéed vegetables, soups, marinades, salad dressings and sauces. Here are a few of our favorite soy sauce applications:
If youre avoiding soy sauce for dietary reasons , dont worry. You can substitute other comparable ingredients. The following ten substitutes for soy sauce can be swapped with success, but keep in mind that they arent exact matches and might change the flavor of the final dish. We always recommend starting slow and tasting as you go for the best results.
Top Soy Sauce Substitutes
Finding the best substitute for soy sauce can be a daunting task. Will it taste just as good? And exactly what is a substitute for soy sauce?
Overwhelmed? Dont be! The best part is that if you dont find an alternative for sale that you like, you can just make your own! Put it in a handy mason jar and store it for later.
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Make Your Own Kecap Manis
Indonesian sweet soy sauce aka kecap manis is one of my most used sauces besides soy sauce and oyster sauce. These 3 sauces are a staple in my everyday Asian dishes. Stir fry, noodles, fried riceand believe it or not, my own concoction of Chinese stew .
Sowhats the difference between soy sauce and kecap manis?
The obvious difference is soy sauce is salty and with a consistency of water whereas kecap manis is sweeter and has the consistency resembling maple syrup. I use light soy sauce in replacement of salt and kecap manis for color and the sweetness, of course. I like to use these two sauces together to balance the savouriness and sweetness in my Asian dishes.
Im aware not everyone has a bottle of kecap manis in their kitchens and may not feel like getting a whole bottle for an one-off recipe or you simply want the satisfaction of making sauces at home.
Either way, I thought you may be interested to make this at home since its neither a difficult nor an expensive exercise. Enjoy!
What Ingredients Do You Need For Teriyaki Sauce
You only need five ingredients to make this homemade sauce. Heres the rundown:
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce Soy sauce adds color, lots of flavor, and seasoning to the sauce. Its salty and strong by itself, but when you mix it with the other ingredients, it tastes incredible.
- Sugar Regular granulated sugar is all you need to make teriyaki sauce. It balances the salt from the soy sauce and helps to make the sauce sweet and glossy. Other forms of sugar work, too. Brown sugar, coconut sugar, and even honey will work. Swapping for other forms of sugar will affect the taste of the sauce slightly and can taste sweeter . As an example, we recently made this sauce with honey and found it much sweeter than when we make it with regular sugar. This isnt necessarily a bad thing, just something to keep in mind when substituting other ingredients.
- Sake We dont cook too much with sake , but we love it when making homemade teriyaki. You dont need to break the bank when buying sake for this. Treat it the same as when using wine in cooking. Use something youd drink, but not something youd save for a special night. If you cannot find sake, there are some alternatives. Mirin is a sweeter version of sake. You can either swap it for the sake and leave the sugar amount as is or pull back on the amount of sugar slightly to accommodate the extra sweetness. Dry vermouth or dry sherry also work as a substitute.
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Creamy Asparagus And Pea Soup
On its own, a vegetable puree soup like pea soup can be a bit bland. This creamy asparagus and pea soup recipe solves that problem by adding San-J Tamari Soy Sauce to the broth, which gives the soup a savory, umami-rich flavor. While the soy sauce deepens the soups flavor, the star ingredients of asparagus, baby peas, leeks and lemon juice keep the soup tasting fresh and light overall.
Along with elevating the soups flavors, the soy sauce nicely complements the soups creamy texture, which comes from the incorporation of coconut milk. Beginning a dinner with this refreshing soup is a great way to set the tone for a delicious meal.
How Is Dark Soy Sauce Used
Its commonly used in braised/red-cooked dishes like Red Cooked Pork, or to achieve that tantalizing dark amber color in stir-fries like Beef & Broccoli or rice/noodle dishes like Supreme Soy Sauce Fried Rice and Cantonese Pan-fried Noodles.
You only need a teaspoon or two to take a dish from pale to amber brown. Taste often when adding more dark soy sauce, so you dont over-season your dish!
See the photo below of adding dark soy sauce to white rice
And what the rice looks like after its been stirred in :
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Soy Sauce Alternative Ingredients
Many of these ingredients are things that you already have in the pantry!
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons of your favorite vinegar
- 4 teaspoons blackstrap molasses or date sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- teaspoon black pepper
- teaspoon garlic powder
- teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce or sesame oil
Premade And Diy Soy Sauce Substitutes

Tamari is a popular gluten-free substitute for soy sauce. Like the latter, its made from fermented soybeans, but it provides darker color and richer flavor without the salt overload, for a more balanced taste . However, its composition makes it a no-go for those with soy allergies.
Worcestershire sauce is another possible replacement, adding umami with less salt, and zero gluten or soy but vegans, vegetarians, and those with seafood allergies will need to seek out a variety that holds the anchovies, a common Worcestershire component .
According to Healthline, aminos may prove healthier alternatives: Coconut aminos are a vegan option sans soy or gluten, while liquid aminos do contain soy but provide full flavor with less sodium as a bonus, both offer health-boosting amino acids.
Finally, Healthline notes, premade solutions like fish sauce, Maggi seasoning sauce, or Japanese shoyu sauce can be used in a pinch, though they may be more difficult to find Stateside outside of specialty or international markets.
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