A Guide to My Favorite Soy Sauces and How to Use Them
I go through a lot of soy sauce. It is by far one of the most used ingredients in my kitchen, and I like to have a few good quality varieties in my arsenal to pick from depending on what I’m cooking. I’ve always been passionate about spreading the word that one should have more than just a big jug of the cheapest soy sauce at their disposal, especially if it functions as a primary flavor in your cooking. Just like with ingredients like olive oil, vinegars, and spices, there is a complex range of flavors, textures, and quality when it comes to soy sauce, and we deserve to be cooking with the good stuff.
I grew up watching my family cook with Lee Kum Kee sauces my whole life and now they are staples in my own kitchen. Along with the classics, Lee Kum Kee sent me a few of their specialty soy sauces, some that I hadn’t tried yet but will be new staples in my pantry.I had myself a little soy sauce tasting at home and it was so much fun (and delicious)!
So, what is soy sauce?
It is a savory liquid byproduct made from fermented soybeans, roasted wheat, salt, and water. The fermentation process varies between varieties. In most Asian grocery stores you’ll find primarily Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean soy sauces. Lee Kum Kee’s line of soy sauces is of the Chinese variety and made with carefully selected and harvested non-GMO soybeans, and are combined with wheat and salt at a later stage for fermentation. Each of their soy sauces carries its own “personality,” balanced in saltiness and umami, with profiles ranging from light and refreshing to richly aromatic or possessing a lingering depth. Here are a few I love to cook with.
Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce //
This is my daily all-purpose soy sauce. Sometimes I’ll refer to this as regular or light soy sauce to differentiate it from dark soy sauce. Many recipe developers have a standard salt, like Diamond Crystal or Morton’s, that they stick to when working. When I develop recipes, this is the soy sauce I consistently use while testing. It provides a delicious salty baseline for dishes without overpowering them.
Tasting notes: clean, briney, mellow
Recipes I would use this for:
Lee Kum Kee Dark Soy Sauce //
I reach for dark soy sauce while cooking to add caramel notes and a darker color to my braises and noodles. I also personally love to use dark soy sauce for dipping. Dark soy sauce is typically thicker, with a viscous texture and tastes sweeter from the addition of sugar or molasses. Many recipes call for adding dark soy sauce as a finishing touch or to add a dark red hue to dishes like red braised pork. Still use it sparingly because the color is pretty potent, like ink!
Tasting notes: molasses, earthy, coffee
Recipes I would use this for:
Lee Kum Kee First Draw Soy Sauce //
This variety is new to me and wow do I love it. Made from the first draw of the multi-fermentation brewing process and aged 3-6 months, this soy sauce is known for its rich, earthy aroma and flavor of fermented soy, and is best used when the soy sauce itself is meant to be tasted. I would reserve this very special soy sauce for when you really want the soy sauce flavor to shine without having to use too much of it or use it as a final drizzle to tie a meal together.
Tasting notes: bright, light, a little nutty
Recipes I would use this for:
Lee Kum Kee Seasoned Soy Sauce for Seafood //
Crafted specifically for seafood, most commonly used for steamed fish. It delivers a slightly sweet, bright flavor balanced with umami, that doesn’t mask the flavor of fish and other seafoods. I would always see this bottle of soy sauce in my mom’s kitchen when she was preparing her famous dumpling dip. She considered the lighter, sweeter flavor of this soy sauce as the secret ingredient. When mixed with some vinegar, chili flakes, and sesame oil, it makes for the perfect accompaniment to dunk some fresh dumplings into.
Tasting notes: light, silky, crisp, a little sweet
Recipes I would use this for:
Lee Kum Kee Gluten Free Soy Sauce //
My sister-in-law is gluten intolerant, so my mom and I are always looking for gluten free alternatives for our favorite kitchen staples with gluten so that she and my brother can still enjoy the taste of our home cooking. Lee Kum Kee has consistently carried amazing gluten-free versions of oyster sauce, hoisin, and soy sauce that taste just as good as the versions with gluten. This gluten free soy sauce is crafted to deliver the same depth and authenticity as traditional soy sauce, fermented with corn starch instead of wheat, with no artificial preservatives added.
Tasting notes: mushrooms, seaweed, dried fruit
Recipes I would use this for:
All the recipes above!
Hope this inspires you to diversify your soy sauce collection and add more balanced and layered flavor to your cooking!