The market · Seasonings and ferments · East Asia
Dark soy
Soy sauce aged longer and thickened with caramel or molasses — for colour and sweetness more than salt.
caramel · molasses-like · salty
What to do with it
ThaiPad kaphraoMinced pork or chicken stir-fried hard with garlic, bird's eye chilli and holy basil, over rice with a crisp fried egg.No one here has made it yet
ThaiKhao man gaiPoached chicken on rice cooked in the chicken's fat and stock, with a sharp sauce of fermented soybean, ginger, garlic and chilli.No one here has made it yetMalaysianChar kway teowFlat rice noodles fried hard in lard over fierce heat with prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, egg, bean sprouts and chives.No one here has made it yetMalaysianAyam pongtehA Nyonya braise of chicken and potato with fermented soybean paste, shallots, garlic and gula melaka — salty, sweet and dark.No one here has made it yetCantoneseChar siuStrips of pork shoulder in a sweet soy marinade, roasted hot and glazed until the edges char.No one here has made it yetTeochewTeochew braised gooseA whole goose simmered in a dark, spiced master stock of soy, galangal and rock sugar, sliced thin and served with garlic vinegar.No one here has made it yetTeochewKway chapWide, flat rice sheets in a dark soy broth, with a plate of braised pork, offal, tofu and eggs from the lou pot.No one here has made it yetShandongDezhou braised chickenA whole chicken, legs tucked in, glazed and fried golden, then braised for hours in a spiced soy stock until the meat falls from the bone.No one here has made it yetShandongNine-turn intestinesShort lengths of pork intestine, cleaned, blanched, fried and then braised down in sugar, vinegar and soy until glossy — sweet, sour, salty, peppery and faintly bitter at once.No one here has made it yetShandongScallion-braised sea cucumberSoaked dried sea cucumber braised in stock and soy with spring onions fried slowly to gold, until it's soft, glossy and full of scallion.No one here has made it yetHuaiyangWuxi spare ribsPork ribs braised slowly in soy, rice wine and plenty of sugar until they're falling-tender and coated in a dark, sticky, sweet glaze.No one here has made it yetShanghaineseRed-braised porkCubes of pork belly braised in Shaoxing wine, dark soy and rock sugar until the sauce reduces to a sticky, mahogany glaze.No one here has made it yetShanghaineseScallion oil noodlesThin wheat noodles tossed in oil in which spring onions have been fried slowly until dark and crisp, with dark soy and sugar.No one here has made it yetShanghaineseShanghai smoked fishThick slices of carp, marinated, fried until crisp, then plunged into a sweet, spiced soy syrup and served cold — 'smoked' in name only.No one here has made it yetZhejiangDongpo porkThick squares of pork belly, tied with string and braised slowly in Shaoxing wine, soy and sugar until the fat trembles.No one here has made it yetFujianBak changA pyramid of soy-darkened sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves round braised pork belly, mushroom, chestnut and salted egg yolk.No one here has made it yetAnhuiStinky mandarin fishA whole mandarin fish, lightly salted and left for days until it smells, then fried and braised with pork, bamboo shoots and chilli.No one here has made it yetAnhuiHuizhou one-potA deep iron pot layered with bamboo shoots, pork, fried tofu, egg dumplings and greens, simmered slowly and brought to the table whole.No one here has made it yetYunnanErkuaiCakes of steamed, pounded rice, sliced and stir-fried with pork and greens, grilled on the street with sauces, or cut into noodles for soup.No one here has made it yet
SichuanTwice-cooked porkPork belly simmered whole, sliced thin, then stir-fried until the edges curl, with chilli bean paste and green garlic or leeks.No one here has made it yetIf you can't find it
Chinese grocers; it's thicker and darker than light soy.
- The same, with a little molasses or dark brown sugarYou lose some of the colour and the gloss.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Chinese grocers.
- Worth knowing
- The glossy mahogany of red-braised pork comes from this. A teaspoon colours a pot.
Kitchens that keep it in
Guangdong and Hong Kong, southern ChinaCantoneseThe cooking of Guangzhou and Hong Kong: very fresh things cooked briefly and seasoned lightly, so they taste of themselves.11 classicsChaoshan, the far east of Guangdong, southern ChinaTeochewThe cooking of Chaozhou and Shantou on the coast of eastern Guangdong: seafood, clear broths and slow master-stock braises, each dish with its own little dip.7 classicsHunan province, south-central ChinaHunanHot and sour and smoky: fresh and salted chillies rather than Sichuan's numbing pepper, with smoked meats from the hearth and a fierce, quick wok.7 classicsShandong province, on China's east coastShandongThe oldest of China's great regional kitchens and the root of northern banquet cooking: clear and milky stocks, fierce quick frying, Yellow Sea seafood, and scallions by the armful.7 classicsJiangsu province and the lower Yangtze, eastern ChinaHuaiyangDelicate and exact: fine knife work, clear stocks and a gentle sweetness, cooked to bring out an ingredient's own flavour rather than to cover it.7 classicsShanghai, on the Yangtze delta, eastern ChinaShanghaineseSweet, dark and glossy: a port city's home cooking, red-braised in soy, sugar and Shaoxing wine, with soup dumplings, cold 'drunken' dishes and hairy crab in autumn.7 classicsZhejiang province, eastern ChinaZhejiangFresh, mellow and gently sweet: lake fish and river shrimp, young bamboo, cured ham and a good deal of Shaoxing wine, cooked to taste of themselves.7 classicsAnhui province, eastern ChinaAnhuiMountain cooking from old Huizhou: bamboo shoots, mushrooms and cured things, braised long and dark, with a taste for the fermented — stinky fish and hairy tofu.8 classicsJapanJapaneseA cooking of restraint and season, built on dashi — and on letting one ingredient taste as much of itself as it can.10 classics · 2 cooked here