Light soy, dark soy, tamari
Soy sauce is fermented for months from soybeans, usually wheat, salt and a mold culture. Light soy is thin and salty, and it's the one for seasoning. Dark soy is thicker and darker, often sweetened with molasses or caramel, and it's mostly for color.
Tamari is wheat-light soy sauce
Tamari is a Japanese-style soy sauce made with little or no wheat. It tastes rounder and a bit thicker than light soy. Many tamari are gluten-free, but not all, so read the label. Swap it one for one in most dishes and taste for salt.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
A braise needs deep mahogany color but not much extra salt. Which bottle helps most?
Dark soy sauce. It's thick and dark, so a little colors the braise while light soy handles salt.
True or false: Cooks use dark soy sauce mainly for color, not as the main salty seasoning.
True. Cooks use dark soy mainly for color and mild sweetness, while light soy does the seasoning.
What went wrong? You want a pale, clear noodle broth, so you season it with dark soy. The broth turns muddy brown and still tastes flat.
Dark soy colors more than it seasons, so light soy was needed. Light soy adds salt and savory flavor without staining the broth.
Fill the blank: Dark soy sauce is used mostly for ___, while light soy sauce seasons.
Dark soy sauce is used mostly for color, while light soy sauce seasons. Its thick, dark body tints sauces and braises.
Your stir-fry sauce tastes right but looks pale. What is the smallest fix?
Add a small splash of dark soy sauce. It deepens the color, and light soy already covers the salt.
