Top 2 Easiest Soy Sauce Recipe To Try At Home

Soy sauce – it is not only a fantastic dipping sauce, but also a tasty condiment that brings wonderful flavor to tons of dishes, such as soy sauce chicken.

So, how do you create soy sauce at home? Let us show you the top soy sauce recipe that you can easily follow and make on your own.

Soy sauce is a liquid condiment produced through the soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and Aspergillus sojae molds or Aspergillus oryzae fermentation. For the taste, it usually contains a strong umami flavor.

For instance, Japanese typically mix soy sauce with ground wasabi to create a salty, spicy dipping sauce for sushi or sashimi.

Popular Types of Soy Sauces

Soy sauce has a wide variation based on its origins. Here, let’s have a glimpse on some popular traditional soy sauces.

Light Soy Sauce

First, let’s talk about the light soy sauce. Based on its name, we bet that you think light soy sauce is the least salty type of soy sauce, right?

The truth is that it typically has a pretty intense salty taste despite featuring a thin, light-brown color.

Dark Soy Sauce

The dark soy sauce has a much darker color, thicker texture due to the soybean’s longer fermentation process.

It also features a less salty yet a little more sweet taste as people add a little molasses or caramel and a bit of cornstarch into the sauce.

The intense flavor and dark color make dark soy sauce a secret ingredient to add the classic golden brown color to your dishes.

Thick Soy Sauce

What’s about thick soy sauce? It usually has a sweeter flavor and thicker texture than dark-colored soy sauce due to the higher amounts of molasses and starch.

White Soy Sauce

Another famous soy sauce is white soy sauce. So, what is white soy sauce? White soy sauce or Shiro is the famous Japanese soy sauce featuring pale color and delicate taste due to a higher wheat-to-soy ratio.

What is the difference between soy sauce and teriyaki sauce? You may wonder. The answer is that the soy sauce produces a saltier taste, while the teriyaki sauce comes with a sweeter flavor.

The Simplest Homemade Soy Sauce Recipe To Follow

Now, let us share with you two simple soy sauce recipes so that you can create your preferable condiment at home from the simple ingredients.

1. Japanese Soy Sauce

Sauce ingredients

16 ounces of soybeans (we suggest using the organic ones)
24 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
16 tablespoons of salt
16 cups of water

Instructions

Step 1: Soak the beans overnight, then drain them and add fresh water.
Step 2: Cook the soybeans by simmering them at medium heat for 1-½ hours. To reduce the cooking time, you can steam them in a pressure cooker.
Step 2: Add the cooked soybeans to a food processor and blend to a paste. Then, combine the bean paste with flour in a large bowl.
Step 3: Place the mixture on a clean surface and shape it into a log. After that, slice the log into thin pieces (about ¼ inch in thickness.)
Step 4: Arrange the slices on a moist paper towel, and cover it with another moist one. Don’t forget to cover in cling wrap and leave it there for 7 days for the mold to develop.
Step 5: Unwrap the mixture, arrange it on a baking sheet, and dry it in direct sunlight. Once dry, the soybean discs will turn brown – we call it the koji now.
Step 6: Pour water, salt in a large glass jar, and stir well. Then, add the koji and cover. The fermentation process can take up to 6 months, so be patient and stir the mixture daily.
Step 7: Strain the mixture with cheesecloth into small bottles once the slices have completely dissolved in salt water.

Now you have the fresh soy sauce to add extra flavors to any dishes you prefer.

2. Korean Soy Sauce

Sauce ingredients

6 cups of soybeans
4 cups of pink salt
Spring water
Charcoal, dried chilies, and dried jujubes

Instructions

Step 1: Soak the beans overnight, then rinse them thoroughly.
Step 2: Boil the water, and add the beans into the boiling water. Now, it’s time to cook the mixture on medium heat for a few hours.
Step 3: Strain the beans to get rid of excess water and let the beans cool.
Step 4: Use a food processor to blend the beans into paste.
Step 5: Divide the soybean paste into 4 portions and shape them into chunks.
Step 6: Lay the bean blocks on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them near the heater for around 3 days. If you don’t have a heater, you can lay them in the sunlight.
Step 7: Hang them to dry them inside out.
Step 8: Please take them down when you notice the fungi develop well.
Step 9: Gently scrub the fungi under running water and drain them.
Step 10: Prepare the salt water brine by mixing lukewarm water with salt.
Step 10: Pour the salt brine in the jar, then drop bean blocks into and top with charcoal, dried chilies, and jujubes. Subsequently, cover the jar with a cheesecloth.
Step 11: Leave them in a dry place for 5-6 months for fermentation.
Step 12: Strain the liquid soy sauce and cook on medium heat. Then, let it cool and pour it into small jars for storage.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Make Soy Sauce Less Salty?

What if your sauce mixture is much saltier than you expected? How to reduce the saltiness?

Well, if possible, dilute the sauce with water. Or you can add some other ingredients, such as lemon juice, vinegar, onions, or garlic, to create a more complex flavor.

How To Thicken Soy Sauce?

There are plenty of methods on how to thicken soy sauce, such as using cornstarch, rice starch, flour, or making a soy sauce reduction.

If you use flour or starch, you need to mix it with cold water, stir well to get rid of the clumps before pouring the mixture into the soy sauce.

Then, heat and simmer until it reaches the consistency you prefer.

Can You Eat Soy Sauce When Pregnant?

Is soy sauce a food to avoid during pregnancy? This condiment is safe to eat even when you’re pregnant.

However, be careful with the amount, since it can harm your baby’s health if you have added too much soy sauce to your diet.

How To Remove Soy Sauce Stains On Your Clothes?

What if the soy sauce lands on your clothes while cooking? How to get soy sauce out?

Step 1: Use a clean cloth to blot out any excess soy sauce.
Step 2: Flush the garment with cold water to avoid the sauce from setting.
Step 3: Gently rub liquid laundry detergent into the stain and let it there for a few minutes before rinsing it thoroughly.

If the stains are quite tough, you can apply liquid laundry detergent directly to them and soak the item in warm water for half an hour before cleaning it.

How To Open Kikkoman Soy Sauce?

How to open soy sauce bottle you have already used to reuse and refill? Here are the simple steps on how to open Kikkoman soy sauce.

Step 1: Use your hand to grasp the soy sauce bottle firmly. Then, use the other hand to twist its lid to the left to get it off.

If you find it difficult to unscrew the cap, you can place a rubber grip or dish towel over the cap for traction when twisting.

Step 2: Place the bottle’s top under warm running water for around a minute to remove any salt crystal if the cap doesn’t move. Then, repeat the step above until you unscrew the cap.

How To Make Soy Sauce