Finding The Best Soy Sauce: Our Tests . . . and Soy Sauce 101

Let’s talk soy sauce!

Developed in China 2500 years ago, soy sauce spread throughout Asia over the years. At its heart, soy sauce is made from soybeans, roasted wheat, water and salt.

These ingredients are fermented and the resulting liquid is strained, pasteurized and bottled.

Japanese soy sauce is most common here in the US and comes in dark or light varieties. Dark soy sauce is a good all-purpose soy sauce. Light soy sauce, which is thinner and lighter in color, is used in cooking and seasoning. 

What about gluten free soy sauce? This type of soy sauce, called tamari, is made from the liquid left over from the processing of miso. Since it only made from soybeans, this type of soy sauce is sold as gluten-free. 

There is one other type of soy sauce to mention: sweet soy sauce. Much like its basic cousin, this soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans, wheat and salt . . . but adds palm sugar, star anise and other herbs in the fermentation process.

Ok, now that you have the 411 on soy sauce, let’s get on to our test results. Here are the best soy sauces from our extensive taste tests. To keep it fair, we hid the brands from our testers. Here are the winners . . . and a recipe for a popular dish here at the. home office:

Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken

(credit: Lee Kum Kee)

Preparation time: 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

250g Chicken thigh meat

35g Fried peanuts

6g Green onions (white-part, sectioned)

1g Sichuan peppercorns

10g Shao Hsing wine

6g Red dried chili peppers

6g Ginger, sliced

6g Garlic, sliced

Marinade

3g Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce

25g Tapioca starch and water solution

2g Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce

Sauce Mix

10g Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce

10g Chinkiang vinegar

12g Sugar

15g Stock

3g Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce

3g Lee Kum Kee Peppercorn Chili Oil

2g Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil

0.5g Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon Powder

15g Tapioca starch and water solution

How to make it

  • Cut chicken into 1.5 cm cubes and marinate for a short period of time. Cut dried red chili into 2 cm sections. 
  • Heat wok on high. Add 2 tbsp oil and heat to medium hot. Add chicken and stir-fry until half done.
  • AddSichuan peppercorns, dried red chili, and sprinkle with Shao Hsing wine. Add garlic, ginger, green onions and stir-fry quickly until done.
  • Add sauce mix and stir. Add Fried peanuts on top. Serve.

Receipe and photo credit: Lee Kum Kee 

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

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We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

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We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

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