The market · Seasonings and ferments · East Asia, Southeast Asia
Soy sauce
Brewed from soybeans, wheat, salt and koji mould — salt and savour in one bottle.
salty · savoury · fermented
What to do with it
Kenji Hara's Sourdough, 100% ryeSoy sauce would give it depthIbu Sari's Beef rendangSoy sauce would give it depthAna Etxarri's ChawanmushiSoy sauce would season itRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleSoy sauce would give it depth
JavaneseNasi gorengYesterday's rice fried with shallot, garlic, chilli and shrimp paste, darkened with kecap manis and topped with a fried egg.No one here has made it yetJavaneseLumpia SemarangSpring rolls filled with bamboo shoot, egg and prawn, fried or left soft, with a thick sweet garlic sauce and whole spring onion.No one here has made it yetVietnameseCao lầuFirm, yellowish noodles with slices of soy-braised pork, crisp squares of fried noodle dough and herbs, in just a spoonful of rich broth.No one here has made it yetFilipinoAdoboChicken or pork braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay and black pepper until the sauce is dark and glossy.No one here has made it yetFilipinoPancit cantonThick egg noodles stir-fried with pork, chicken, prawns and vegetables in soy and stock, with calamansi to squeeze over.No one here has made it yetFilipinoLumpiaSpring rolls — most often thin, tight cigars of seasoned pork, fried crisp and dipped in sweet chilli sauce.No one here has made it yetFilipinoSisigPig's face and ears boiled, grilled and chopped fine with onion, chilli and calamansi, served on a sizzling iron plate.No one here has made it yet
JapaneseOyakodonChicken and onion simmered in sweet dashi and soy, bound with barely set egg and slid over a bowl of rice.No one here has made it yetJapaneseTonkotsu ramenThin, straight noodles in a cloudy, creamy pork-bone broth, with slices of chāshū, red pickled ginger and spring onion.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yet
KoreanBulgogiThin slices of beef marinated in soy, sugar, pear, garlic and sesame, then grilled or seared fast.No one here has made it yet
KoreanJapchaeGlass noodles of sweet potato starch, tossed with beef, mushrooms and vegetables — each cooked separately — in soy, sugar and sesame oil.No one here has made it yetKoreanKongnamul gukbapRice in a clear, hot soup of soybean sprouts and anchovy stock, with an egg — Jeonju's morning bowl, and its cure for the night before.No one here has made it yetKoreanGogi guksuThick wheat noodles in a rich, cloudy pork-bone broth, under thick slices of boiled pork — Jeju's noodle soup, once made for feasts.No one here has made it yetKoreanDakgalbiChicken in a gochujang marinade, stir-fried at the table on a wide iron pan with cabbage, sweet potato, rice cakes and perilla — and rice fried in what's left.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeKöttbullarSmall meatballs of beef and pork with onion and milk-soaked breadcrumbs, browned in butter and served with cream sauce, lingonberries and potatoes.No one here has made it yetJamaicanJerk chickenChicken steeped in a hot, fragrant paste of scotch bonnet, allspice, spring onion and thyme, then smoked slowly over pimento wood.No one here has made it yet
PeruvianLomo saltadoStrips of beef stir-fried in a wok with onion, tomato, soy and vinegar, served with chips and rice.No one here has made it yet
JapaneseOyakodonChicken and onion simmered in sweet dashi and soy, bound with barely set egg and slid over a bowl of rice.No one here has made it yetJapaneseTonkotsu ramenThin, straight noodles in a cloudy, creamy pork-bone broth, with slices of chāshū, red pickled ginger and spring onion.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yetKoreanBulgogiThin slices of beef marinated in soy, sugar, pear, garlic and sesame, then grilled or seared fast.No one here has made it yetKoreanJapchaeGlass noodles of sweet potato starch, tossed with beef, mushrooms and vegetables — each cooked separately — in soy, sugar and sesame oil.No one here has made it yetKoreanKongnamul gukbapRice in a clear, hot soup of soybean sprouts and anchovy stock, with an egg — Jeonju's morning bowl, and its cure for the night before.No one here has made it yetKoreanGogi guksuThick wheat noodles in a rich, cloudy pork-bone broth, under thick slices of boiled pork — Jeju's noodle soup, once made for feasts.No one here has made it yetKoreanDakgalbiChicken in a gochujang marinade, stir-fried at the table on a wide iron pan with cabbage, sweet potato, rice cakes and perilla — and rice fried in what's left.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeKöttbullarSmall meatballs of beef and pork with onion and milk-soaked breadcrumbs, browned in butter and served with cream sauce, lingonberries and potatoes.No one here has made it yetJamaicanJerk chickenChicken steeped in a hot, fragrant paste of scotch bonnet, allspice, spring onion and thyme, then smoked slowly over pimento wood.No one here has made it yetPeruvianLomo saltadoStrips of beef stir-fried in a wok with onion, tomato, soy and vinegar, served with chips and rice.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Chinese light
- Thin, salty — the everyday one.
- Japanese (koikuchi)
- Rounder and a little sweeter.
- Tamari
- Little or no wheat; thicker.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Asian grocers. Look for 'naturally brewed' on the label.
- Worth knowing
- Japanese and Chinese soy aren't quite interchangeable; use what the dish comes from.
Kitchens that keep it in
The Philippines — more than seven thousand islands between the South China Sea and the PacificFilipinoSour, salty and a little sweet — vinegar and calamansi, fish sauce and shrimp paste, rice at every meal and pork cooked every way.10 classicsKoreaKoreanA cooking of ferments — kimchi and the jang pastes — with rice, soup and a table of small side dishes at every meal.11 classicsPeru — the Pacific coast, the Andes and the AmazonPeruvianAndean potatoes, maize and chillies, met by Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese cooks — and a coast that eats its fish raw in lime.10 classics