Soy sauce was created in China about 2,200 years ago, as a means to preserve food and to zhoosh up the humble vegetarian Buddhist diet. It’s a demonstration in kokumi – literally “rich taste” – a flavour sensation that’s often called the sixth taste.
I tested all of today’s soy sauces straight from the bottle, in all their intensity. I first identified distinctive aromas such as cooked potato, sulphur and broth (all typical in soy sauce and not as off-putting as they sound), alongside caramel and malty notes. The best ones are more nuanced, with fruity high notes and vinous tones.
The best supermarket light soy sauce
★★★★★
A delightful, wildly complex aroma with a fruity note of banana blossom and forest-floor undertones. Hits the palate with a broad flavour profile, astringent with roasted popcorn and caramel, then salt and acidity, and a strong bean base. Made from non-GMO soya beans grown in southern Taiwan, pressed only once and naturally fermented with no additives. Well worth the price.
Best bargain:
Yutaka organic tamari soy sauce
★★★★★
A wonderfully deep flavour profile with notes of dark malt, green vegetables and molasses. Salt-forward with an intense, rounded mouthfeel and a beany mushroom base note. Naturally fermented for eight months and gluten-free. Just four ingredients and a high ratio of organic soybean (45%). Incredible value.
And the rest …
Kikkoman soy sauce
★★★★☆
A deep, beany aroma with meaty notes and a sweet, fruity caramel finish. Massive flavour that fills the mouth with an intense, salty, soy-forward, umami complexity that’s like the scrapings off a sticky roast beef rib. Just four ingredients – water, soybeans, wheat, salt – and naturally brewed and fermented for six months. Zero additives.
Clearspring organic yaemon tamari soya sauce
★★★★☆
A sweet, malty, caramel aroma with deep savoury notes of mushroom and potato. An intensely rich, salt-forward taste with a hefty umami punch and balanced acidity. Double-strength gluten-free organic tamari aged in cedarwood kegs over two summers, with a high ratio of soya beans (52%) and zero additives.
Amoy light soy sauce
★★★☆☆
A deep, meaty, cooked-mushroom aroma with notes of caramel, potatoes and cheese. Salt-forward with a sharp high note of alcohol and beany mushroom undertones. Made with more soy sauce extract (51%) than the other cheaper products, and six additives, including colour, acidity regulators, preservative (potassium sorbate) and flavour enhancers.
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Sainsbury’s light soy sauce
★★☆☆☆
A sweet and floral mirin aroma with a synthetic, meaty undertone. Sweet-forward on the palate, with a strong, caramel flavour and malty cola notes. Made with 15% soy sauce extract and three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).
Morrisons light soy sauce
★★☆☆☆
A dark, meaty, Bovril aroma with an intensely salty taste and a strong but one-dimensional caramel, brothy flavour. At just 3%, it has the lowest stated soybean content of any product in this lineup and contains three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).
Waitrose light soy sauce
★★☆☆☆
A mushroomy Bovril aroma and an intense salty, bitter flavour with notes of smoke, caramel and brassica. A low soy sauce extract percentage of 6%, and three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).
M&S light soy sauce
★★☆☆☆
A sweet, fruity floral aroma with mushroom and meaty caramel undertones. Intensely salty and powerful, with a deep but one-note umami base. Made in Malaysia using Chinese soy sauce extract, with only 8% soybeans, and three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).
★☆☆☆☆
An intense, malty, caramel aroma with a hint of smoke. Intensely salty and powerful, with a meat and potato umami, sulphuric notes and a sweet aftertaste. Use sparingly. Made with 20% soy sauce extract, otherwise made up from water, salt, caramelised sugar syrup, acidity regulator (lactic acid) and preservative (potassium sorbate).
For more, read the best hot sauces, tasted and rated
