Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark Soy Sauce, 500 ml

Product Information

After the liberation of China, Chinese government wanted to make soy sauce more popular and common in people’s daily life. The Government organized a lot of well-known workshops and experts together and invested a large amount to build soy sauce factories. The traditional technology has improved to produce much better soy sauce with large quantity. From then on, Chinese Soy Sauce becomes famous in the whole world. Dilute your concentrated soy sauce proportionally with a 1:6 ratio of water, and voila, you have yourself some regular liquid soy sauce! For the most part, Japanese and Korean soy sauces are interchangeable. They are both darker and slightly sweeter than Chinese-style light soy sauce.

Soy sauce is used in East and Southeast Asian cuisines. There are variations and while this article isn't exhaustive, I hope it covers a lot of territory for your needs. Here we go! Regular Soy Sauce Sweet Soy Sauce/Kecap Manis (Indonesian): A sweetened, seasoned variety from Indonesia that’s flavored with sugar, galangal, and other aromatics. It’s the go-to seasoning for Indonesian cooking. The most common types available in the U.S. are Japanese and Chinese. However, we’ve also included some common Southeast Asian kinds:

In summary, concentrated soy sauce improves production efficiency, standardized flavors, and product innovation for food manufacturers. Its flexibility and intensity make it an ideal ingredient for industrial applications. Think of it like first pressed olive oil. It’s the oil extracted from the very first pressing of the olives, making it higher quality and more pure than subsequent pressings. It's hard to buy soy sauce at an Asian market because there are so many. At regular supermarkets, the brands are limited but you may be confused by shoyu, tamari, light soy sauce, and low-sodium soy sauce. Then there are gluten-free and soy sauce-like condiments.

General rule of thumb: if it is a Chinese brand of naturally brewed soy, and it does not say “dark” on it, it is light soy! The flavor of low-sodium is different than that of regular (light/thin) soy sauce. In my recipes, simply cut the regular soy sauce used by one-third (33%) or one-quarter (25%); add water to make up the difference. If you're used to the flavor of low-sodium soy sauce, use it! Dark Soy Sauce This is not an exhaustive list. We took a look at the products readily available in our local Chinese supermarkets, but we certainly did not cover all types available in Asia, in countries like the Philippines, Korea , etc. where this ingredient is just as important. Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce (Chinese): Dark soy sauce that has been flavored with mushrooms, used to add umami to dishes.To maximize shelf life, concentrated soy sauce should be stored in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. Like many condiments, light and heat can cause the flavors to degrade over time. An ideal storage location is a kitchen cabinet or pantry. Mix with spices and sweeteners as a glaze or dipping sauce base for meats and dumplings. Solidified Soy Sauce: Dark Soy Sauce (Japanese): Used more often than Japanese light soy sauce. Kikkoman’s All-purpose Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce is a Japanese dark variety. Don’t confuse Japanese dark soy sauce with Chinese Dark Soy Sauce! Mix with additional ingredients like sesame oil, chili oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger to create customized dipping sauces. Examples of Chinese light soy sauce products on the market are Kimlan Soy Sauce, Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Haitian Superior Light Soy Sauce, and Wan Ja Shan Soy Sauce. In the photo below, see the bottles for these different brands. Some bottles say “light” while others don’t.

At a Japanese market, you’ll see light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu) which is not low sodium, but rather light in color. In fact, Japanese light soy sauce is saltier than its dark counterpart. There are also high-end shoyu for sushi too, such as the little squat bottle in the photo. The concentration of flavors during this simmering process gives concentrated soy sauce a much bolder, richer taste compared to its regular counterpart. The flavors of roasted soybeans, toasted wheat, yeast, and salt are amplified and condensed into every drop. Just a small amount of concentrated soy sauce can provide a huge boost of savory depth to dishes. Types of Pearlriverbridge’s Concentrated Soy Sauce Dark soy sauce (lao chou in Mandarin; hac xi dau in Vietnamese) is mostly used to impart a rich mahogany color to foods. It is typically added during cooking. Soy sauce sounds like a simple ingredient, and for the most part, it is. However, there are many types. Below are brief descriptions of some of the most common varieties you’re likely to find at your local Asian market. Concentrated Soy Sauce(Paste form), which holds a richness distilled from soybeans that’s hard to match.Store it in a cool, dry, dark place like your pantry or cupboard. No need to refrigerate. Substitutions On our blog, “Light Soy Sauce” does NOT refer to low sodium, which can be especially confusing, since some brands like Kikkoman and La Choy have applied the word “light” or “lite” to their low sodium products in the past. Add a teaspoon or two directly to soups, braises, or stir-fries right at the end for a mega punch of umami flavor. A little bit goes a long way.