Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Soy Sauce – different types, when to use what, best substitutes Recipe
Right here’s a easy rationalization of the distinction between the three essential sorts of soy sauce (mild, darkish and regular). The three golden guidelines to recollect are:
-
You may interchange mild soy sauce and all goal soy sauce in recipes;
-
If a recipe simply says “soy sauce”, use an all goal soy sauce OR mild soy sauce; and
-
NEVER use darkish soy sauce until a recipe particularly requires it. It’s overpoweringly robust.
Additionally see Asian market procuring listing.
The mains sorts of soy sauce are:
-
Gentle soy sauce
-
Darkish soy sauce
-
Soy sauce (all goal, “regular” or “customary” soy sauce”) – when bottles are merely labelled “soy sauce”. Not mild, darkish, candy, mushroom or some other sort of soy sauce. I’m going to discuss with this as “all goal soy sauce” on this submit, to keep away from confusion.
You may interchange mild soy sauce and all goal soy sauce in recipes. However you will need to NEVER use darkish soy sauce until a recipe requires it – it is rather robust and can overpower the dish!
Right here’s the principle distinction between every of them:
-
Gentle soy sauce (7.2% sodium) – provides salt to a dish however doesn’t stain noodles a deep mahogany color nor does it add a lot “soy flavour”
-
Darkish soy sauce (9.3% sodium) – should extra intense in flavour and saltiness, noodles change into a stunning darkish color
-
All goal soy sauce (7% sodium) – just about mild sauce however barely extra soy flavour. It gained’t stain noodles with color.
Sodium percentages is the salt % in every sort of soy sauce, and is a sign solely as they differ between manufacturers. The principle takeaway right here is that darkish soy is saltier than mild and all goal.
Soy Sauce Trivia! Although darkish soy sauce has extra salt it in that mild soy sauce, mild soy sauce tastes saltier. It is because darkish soy sauce has a a lot stronger soy flavour which overpowers the salty flavour.
What this implies – many recipes name for a mix of darkish soy sauce and lightweight sauce to get the appropriate stability of flavour, color and saltiness. For those who solely use darkish soy sauce, the sauce flavour is manner too robust. For those who simply use mild soy sauce, the sauce will probably be salty, however not very flavourful. So I exploit darkish soy sauce to color sauces/noodles and for flavour, then prime up the saltiness utilizing mild soy sauce which provides saltiness, a little bit little bit of flavour, and never a lot color.
-
Darkish soy sauce is used for color and flavour – it provides a terrific mahogany stain to something it is available in contact with, from the Lo Mein noodles pictured above to the darkish, spicy Sichuan sauce of Kung Pao Chicken, Thai Basil Chicken and Pad See Ew (Thai Stir Fried Noodles).
-
Gentle and all goal soy sauce is used if you need to add soy sauce seasoning (salt) to dishes with out overwhelming it with robust soy flavour or making the dish a darkish color. So it’s a deliberate alternative for recipes like Chow Mein (pictured above), including flavour into clear Chinese language soup broths (like this Chinese language noodle soup), holding the rice color white(ish) for Fried Rice, or if you need a clear sauce for stir fries like Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry) or Cashew Chicken.
-
Mixture of darkish and soy is used to create a stability of flavour, salt and color. You add a little bit of darkish soy for the flavour and color, then use mild soy so as to add extra saltiness to a dish with out overwhelming it with soy flavour. Examples: San Choy Bow (Chinese language Lettuce Wraps), Scorching and Bitter Soup, Thai Drunken Noodles.
-
Dipping sauce – use mild or all goal soy sauce. Don’t use darkish soy sauce – too robust! Issues to dip:
-
Salad dressings – mild or all goal soy sauce. It might be very uncommon to make use of darkish soy sauce. Asian salads to strive:
Soy Sauce is NOT gluten-free
Opposite to well-liked perception, most soy sauces are NOT gluten-free. It is because most are made partially from wheat. The excellent news is nonetheless that gluten-free choices can be found.
-
Tamari – This can be a wealthy form of Japanese soy sauce that’s historically made solely from soy beans. Some manufacturers should still embrace a small quantity of wheat nonetheless, so at all times test the label.
-
Gluten-free soy sauce – Specifically formulated for gluten-intolerant shoppers, this sort of soy sauce is broadly accessible at on a regular basis grocery shops. Main manufacturers like Kikkoman and Lee Kum Kee all supply gluten-free soy sauces.
Different sorts of soy sauce varieties
Different sorts of soy sauce varieties that aren’t as generally utilized in my recipes embrace:
-
Kecap Manis – This can be a candy Indonesian soy sauce that has a syrupy fidelity. Provides sweetness, stains with color and provides soy flavour. Used within the following recipes:
-
Mushroom soy sauce – It’s like all goal soy sauce with the addition of earthy mushroom flavour. It’s truly a great substitute for darkish soy sauce as a result of it has extra flavour than mild and all goal soy sauce.
-
Tamari – As talked about above, it is a particular form of Japanese soy that additionally occurs to be gluten-free. This soy sauce is wealthy, darkish, and barely thicker than mild or darkish soy. It’s used for cooking however can also be nice for dipping, particularly sashimi.
And there you’ve it! My soy sauce crash course which I’m sharing to accompany my “What to purchase from Asian Grocery Shops Information”. (6 sauces = 45+ recipes!)
Hope you discover it helpful!
Did You Make This Recipe?
How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @PenciDesign.
