With food trends becoming more and more global everyday, soy sauce has become the one essential condiment that is as universal as salt and pepper. Many chefs believe that soy sauce is actually a great substitute for salt, as it provides depth of flavor in some dishes.

It is true that there seems to be a dizzying array of soy sauce on the market, but different soy sauces are meant for different uses - Chinese Soy Sauce is good for cooking and stir- frying while Japanese Soy Sauce is good for dipping. Most are familiar with, “shoyu” and “tamari” soy sauce. Generally speaking, chefs are taught that soy sauce harmonizes with the food, enhancing its flavors. Tamari was first introduced as a “wheat free” version of soy sauce brewed from whole soy beans, sea sat, water and koji. It is designed for use with food that requires longer cooking time. But there is a lot of confusion, since both sauces can perform functions as a marinade, table condiment or dipping sauce. So, which sauce should you use? Is there a “Pepsi Challenge” type of test for soy sauces out there?

Cooks Illustrated published their findings of a blind taste test of 12 different soy sauces in their Jan/Feb 2007 issue. Writer Lisa McManus cited in her article that many Americans are using soy sauce like a “liquid salt.” In this taste test, the twelve soy sauces, including both tamari and soy sauce, from Japan, China, and American-brewed, were tested three times: first plain, then with warm rice, and finally cooked in a teriyaki sauce with ginger, garlic and mirin and brushed over broiled chicken thighs.

Lee Kum Kee soy sauce, which is kosher certified, was found to have a more robust flavor, which was upheld during the boiling and reduction of the teriyaki sauce. Dr. Joseph Frank, professor of food microbiology at the University of Georgia at Athens explained in scientific terms that LKK soy sauce, in its brewing process, is higher in the nonvolatile flavor components, called the Millard components. To read the full article from Cook’s Illustrated,