For over 2000 years, soy sauce has been used for flavoring different kinds of foods. It is one of the most common ingredients in Asian cuisine. In case, you prepare Chinese, Japanese and Korean food items often, it is better to prepare soy sauce yourself instead of buying from the market. If you wish to make it at home, you need some patience as well because it might take you a few months to see the final product. However, you can feel very satisfied when you see it and use it for flavoring various dishes. If you want to learn how to make soy sauce, read further.
Complexity Level: Basic
Time Required: 40-60 minutes
Resources Required:
- 453 g of cooked and crumbly soybeans
- 340 g of all purpose flour
- 226 g of salt
- 3.7 liters of water
Instructions:
1. Knead the dough
Use a knife and chop the cooked soybeans finely. Transfer the contents into a large bowl. Add the flour to it and mix the contents well.
2. Make disks using the dough
Mix the contents well and turn it into thick dough. Roll it on a flat surface to shape the dough into the shape of a log. Cut it into small pieces of about 1/4 inches long. Use a serrated knife for making the cutting easier.
3. Grow mold on it
Moisten paper towels and lay them flat on the surface. Make layers using the logs and paper towels. Let the paper towel be the last layer. Wrap the whole thing using a plastic wrap. Keep this package on a baking sheet and leave it in a dark and hidden area. Leave it till you find mold on it. It may take about a week.
4. Mix with salt and water
Remove the package and unwrap it. Place each of the disks about 2-5 cm apart from each other on baking sheets. Keep them in the sun and let them dry completely till they turn brown. Take a pot with salt and water and add the disks into it. Cover it with a plastic wrap.
5. Strain and pack in bottles
Let the mixture ferment. Use a wooden spoon to stir it daily. When the disks are dissolved completely it means that the fermentation is complete. This may take few weeks or months. After the fermentation, strain the liquid and store the content in desired bottles. Your soy sauce is ready to use.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I make sweet soy sauce?
To make sweet soy sauce, you have to mix sugar, soy sauce, star anise and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well using a wooden spoon or fork. Cook this mixture for about 30 minutes by stirring occasionally. Remove the star anise and cool the mixture for an hour. Use the sweet soy sauce after cooling.
Quick Tips:
- There are two basic types of soy sauce i.e. light variety and dark variety. The dark colored sauce is used for cooking red colored dishes and for marinating meat etc. Light colored variety is used for thin consistency and is saltier too.
- The mushroom soy sauce is also another variety that adds a straw mushroom essence to the dishes.
- The sauce you prepared can be used in any dish that uses the store-bought sauce.
- Use different types of stock like beef, vegetable, chicken etc instead of using water for getting different flavors.
Things To Watch Out For:
- If you are impatient, this project may not be for you. It may take about 5-6 months to get the final product.
- If you cannot bear unpleasant odor in your home, you can use the sauce from the market instead of making it on your own.
