Talk:Soy sauce

Changes

I took the liberty of making some major changes to this page, though I am far from an authority on the subject. My changes are slightly biased towards both the Japanese and Chinese forms of the sauce, as opposed to any other types that may exist. I decided to remove the external link regarding the japanese characters representing soy sauce, as the link really only has relevance to japanese language, as opposed to soy sauce. Here's the link, just in case: Script

In terms of improvements to this entry, I believe there is a need for more information about the usage of soy sauce outside of japanese/chinese cuisine.

I'd also like to see how soy sauce is made. --zandperl 04:50, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Yes, perhaps a link to a step by step recipe? I know that it's a complicated process, but I think it would be enlightening to see the actual process step by step.

Likewise, but the 'Making soy sauce at home' section didn't contain this, or any concrete information, so is removed BarryNorton 16:53, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't think there's any need to delete it, it just needs to be expanded. LDHan 18:59, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Also, the origin of the world "soy" doesn't really belong here, since we can point to soybeans as the primary component of soy sauce. This kind of etymology might belong in soybean, but even then, I wonder at its appropriateness here. Also, what does ?? mean? The English word "soy" came from the word "Soi" (そい) of the Satsuma dialect of Japanese.

The etymology of soybean shows that 'soy' comes from the name of sauce, not from the bean; the bean was named for the sauce. Therefore, the etymology is worth nothing. --64.142.75.215 11:30, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

A useful comparison for information on the Japanese sauces is http://www.japanweb.co.uk/listing/soy.htm. However, this was not used as a source (despite the similarities in the description of soy sauce varieties), as more accurate japanese resources were at hand.

There is also a need to cover the general production process of the sauce, so the variations can be discussed from the context of the standard procedure. There appears to be much more literature on the japanese process, so that is probably the best starting point. Lenny-au

Can "Shōyu" be hypenated like this? (Shō-yu) - It says so in my Shonen Jump magazine. WhisperToMe 06:13, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I can provide some information on the production of Korean soy sauce(called ganjang(간장)). I won't incorporate it into the main article since I don't know much about Chinese and Japanese methods. I'm hoping someone familiar with other methods would expand the main article with comparisons. Any how, there are three main methods of making soy sauce in Korea: traditional, culture induced, and soy protein method. In traditional method, soy sauce is produced in the process of making doenjang(된장), Korean fermented soy bean paste. In the process of making doenjang, meju(메주), ground soy bean molded into brick forms and then fermented, is steeped in brine for 40-60 days for second fermentation before liquid portion is separated to become soy sauce. The solid matter left over is what becomes doenjang incidentally. There are some regional variations where some additional ingredients such as sweet potatoes or chili peppers are added during the steeping process. Sometimes the meju is steeped in soy sauce instead of plain brine to increase the flavor intensity. The soy sauce made from the traditional method is called Joseon Ganjang(조선간장). Second method uses mixture of wheat and soy/defatted soy combined with starter culture before going through fermentation. The soy sauce made from this method is called yangjo ganjang(양조간장). Commercially produced soy sauce employing this method but with 100% soy is also called joseon ganjang. Third method involves artificilly breaking down the soy protein and usually doesn't involve fermentation. Soy sauce produced with this method is called sanboonhae ganjang(산분해 간장). Soy sauces that are mixture of yangjo ganjang and sanboonhae ganjang are also marketed. There are also soy sauces with added ingredients and soy sauces that are aged. I should add a note that joseon ganjang is considered a sub category of yangjo ganjang. I separated it here to distinguish the method used at homes traditionally as yanjo ganjang is strictly a realm of commercial production. 12.203.34.186 10:56, 25 February 2006 (UTC)PJ

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Ketjap

The Indonesian ketjap is not mentioned. It is used extensively in Indonesian cuisine. Anyone have more to add? JFW | T@lk 23:05, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Isn't that more related to ketchup? --Menchi 23:55, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Kanji & Grading

Ketchup & th:ก้ได้โด are two different birds-----can anyone type Thai.

Likewise I could have gone on to say how Worcestershire and Maggi don't use soy because these were imitations to suffice for the lack of shoyu in Europe at the time.

Just as there is a hundred ways to transliterate ketjap-so to with shou-yu.

Accursed romaji for text, we should use their phonetic alphabet しょうゆ.:

Added more to Japanese Soy Sauce, Addition of alcohol as preservative, and gave a mention to kecap...I know there is Chinese for kecap, but to find it with Engrish.

My head is spinning now from keeping track of three character sets will post more on the recipe shortly.

Schlüggell 20:38, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

"thin" & "sweet" soy sauce

A soy sauce that is called in English thin soy sauce or light soy sauce is mentioned in the bilingual (Chinese-English) cookbook Thai Cooking Made Easy by Sukhum (Ken) Kittivech published by Wei-Chan Cooking School (of Taiwan). The Chinese name for this is 白醤油.

Another sauce mentioned is called sweet soy sauce in English & 甜醤油 in Chinese.

Question: how do these two Thai soy sauces differ from Chinese and Japanese soy sauces?

thank you

p.s. If it helps, the cookbooks says the following:

Sweet soy sauce (caramel) is often used to enhance the color of a dish. Soy sauce or dark soy sauce may be substituted for both white and sweet soy sauce.

Antioxidant Properties of Soy Sauce

Upon reading reading an article regarding this subject & reading this article on soy sauce, I felt this page would benefit from adding the following information:

"Scientists have found that soy sauce contains antioxidant properties about 10 times more effective than red wine and 150 times more potent than vitamin C. Antioxidants, found in red wine, fruits and vegetables, counter the effects of free radicals, unstable atoms which attack human cells and tissues. Free radicals have been linked to the aging process as well as a range of ailments including Parkinson's disease, cancer and heart disease. The National University of Singapore study also found that the sauce improved blood flow by as much as 50 percent in the hours after consumption. "There's a preventative aspect, showing that it may potentially slow down the rate of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases," research team leader Professor Barry Halliwell said. But he cautioned against taking large amounts of dark soy sauce because of its high salt content, which could lead to high blood pressure"

Source: http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=SIN326495

I think this would be a bit of stretching even with various health benefits of antioxidant. Drinking 10 times more volume in red wine is far too easier. --Revth 06:59, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Hair Soy Sauce

Hair Soy Sauce: A Revolting Alternative to the Conventional

Alexander Tse-Yan Lee: Hair Soy Sauce: A Revolting Alternative to the Conventional. The Internet Journal of Toxicology. 2005. Volume 2 Number 1.

the above paper cites this article as a reference. --Paul E. Ester 17:15, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like an urban legend

Unfortunately the provided link no longer works. Doing some looking around on the 'net I can only find references to the article, rather than any further evidence to suggest it's reality. Searching on the author's name turns up ( http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,1855068,00.html ) which suggests that Alexander has done a number of bizarre-food studies, yet I can't find any (working) links to these either.

I suggest that without further corroboration, we assume that Alexander has withdrawn his research and that other food experts have not confirmed his findings.

A big argument against the likelihood of this story involves considering the comparitive costs of sourcing, collecting, transporting and sorting the hair from other waste vs the cost of growing (or importing), transporting and fermenting the soy beans. I'd be surprised if the hair solution could be cheaper even in China. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 210.23.138.169 (talk • contribs) 04:01, 4 December 2006 (UTC).

No. It's not an urban legend. China Central Television broke the story in 2004. I found the original article on the China Central Television website and updated the Wikipedia article with a link to the reference. It's in Chinese, but it's pretty readable if you use Altavista Babelfish translator. With all their food safety PR problems lately, hopefully the Chinese government won't kill the link. Frzl 12:38, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't belong in this article

Urban legend or reality, this is not a "type" of soy sauce. Here's the text removed (by Archelon 23:57, 19 August 2007 (UTC)) from the article, in case anyone wants it:

• Hair soy sauce: In 2004 it was determined that at least one Chinese producer of soy sauce was using amino acids derived from human hair. China Central Television ran an investigative report in January of 2004 that looked into a Hubei province factory that manufactured the inexpensive sauce. It was discovered that they were using a liquid amino acid extracted from human hair. The amino acid was made by a manufacturer that obtained hair from various sources, which included barber shops and local hospital waste.

I agree, it shouldn't be in the article, not a "type" of soy sauce. LDHan 13:22, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Etymology

To the comment earlier about the origin of the word 'soy' not belonging here, I was under the impression that 'soybeans' got their name from 'soy sauce', not the other way around. If that's true, then wouldn't the definition belong here?

Both the dictionary and the wikipedia article on soybeans agree with this etymology. Might nab the sentence from the soybeans article if you want to add it in. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.102.196.37 (talk) 06:37, 11 April 2007 (UTC).

Worchester Sauce

As there is no soy sauce in Worchester Sauce (as commented above) I will remove the comment from the page, unless anyone objects. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ewan carmichael (talk • contribs) 06:19, 28 January 2007 (UTC).

Okay, it looks like some Worchester Sauce recipies DO contain soy sauce, so I won't remove the comment!Ewan carmichael 08:47, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Color

What does the dark brown-black color come from? Like coffee or stout, does it come from the roasting of the soybeans before brewing? Badagnani 02:46, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

JP article states that it's mainly due to the Maillard reaction. Additional coloring might be achieved by using other means.--Revth 02:21, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

pii

Why does pii redirect to soy sauce? What the hell is pii?Randy6767 20:57, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Chaozhou

Can anyone figure out the Chaozhou loanword for see ew at Pad see ew? Badagnani 23:33, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

CAN YOU DIE FROM DRINKING A CUP OF SOY SAUCE? JACK D

CAN YOU DIE FROM DRINKING ONE CUP OF SOY SAUCE?

JACK D —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.230.102.99 (talk) 03:47, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

No. But if you drink a whole bottle of it, it will give all sorts of bad values in a health check. When a draft system of enlistment existed in Japan, there were rumors of people who drunk soy sauce so they could be disqualified in a health check and not be drafted. Also, you actually get drunk if you somehow managed to drink a whole bottle. --Revth 02:14, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Taiwan

Article states only light soy sauce used in Taiwan. I have a bottle KIMLAN Dark soy sauce sitting on my table. So something doesn't jive. Doolin (talk) 18:34, 21 January 2008 (UTC)