Soy sauce is an indispensable seasoning in Chinese and Japanese cuisines, as it can add flavor to dishes— but is soy sauce a healthy condiment? How can you choose additive-free soy sauce? Wang Ming Yong, the author of “Organic Diet” (生機飲食), demonstrated methods on the Epoch Times’ “Health 1+1” program to select healthy soy sauce with a simple shake test or by using a smartphone light.
Soy sauce originated in China and has become increasingly popular worldwide. Traditional soy sauce is made through the fermentation of soybeans and is rich in various nutrients such as amino acids, polysaccharides, organic acids, calcium, magnesium, and potassium ions. Soy sauce made from black soybean skins contains anthocyanins, which benefit cardiovascular health, eyesight, and microcirculation in the brain.
Three Types of Soy Sauce Production Methods
Soy sauce can be categorized into pure brewed soy sauce, chemical soy sauce, and blended soy sauce based on different brewing processes.1. Pure Brewed Soy Sauce
Pure brewed soy sauce, or soybean and wheat soy sauce, is made by cleaning and steaming soybeans and black beans and then inserting koji mushrooms to ferment them for four months to a year. After the koji mushrooms have fermented, the original juice of the soy sauce is filtered, and then the sauce is steamed, flavored, and bottled.2. Chemical Soy Sauce
The main components of chemical soy sauce are constituted through hydrolyzing protein into amino acids using hydrochloric acid and then extracting the amino acid liquid after neutralization with an alkaline substance. Some flavorings are added to create what is known as chemical soy sauce.Chemical soy sauce is indeed a faster and more industrially produced alternative to traditional brewed soy sauce. It is typically made from defatted soy flour, which is a byproduct of soybean oil production.
Because chemical soy sauce doesn’t undergo the traditional fermentation process that brewed soy sauce does, it can be produced in a significantly shorter amount of time, often within three to seven days.
3. Blended Soy Sauce
Blending or mixing pure brewed soy sauce with amino acid hydrolysate is a common practice in culinary applications to achieve a desired flavor profile. By doing this, you can create a sauce that combines the richness of soy sauce with the umami and savory notes of amino acid hydrolysate. This blended soy sauce can be used as a condiment, marinade, or seasoning in various dishes to enhance their flavor.
Why Chemical Soy Sauce is Dangerous
While chemical soy sauce may be cheaper due to adulteration, it can contain more harmful substances. A carcinogenic compound known as 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) can be produced by hydrolyzing protein with hydrochloric acid. Taiwan’s Food Standards Commission sets a limit of 0.4 ppm for 3-MCPD—the limit is 1 ppm in the United States and Canada.Caramel coloring is an essential additive in chemical soy sauce. As chemical soy sauce lacks the umami taste of brewed soy sauce, it requires the addition of more flavor enhancers, including Sodium 5'–Inosinate for mushroom flavor, Sodium 5’–Guanylate for bonito sweetness, and disodium succinate for scallop flavor, as well as preservatives.
How to Distinguish Between Pure Brewed and Chemical Soy Sauce
How do you choose soy sauce with fewer additives? Mr. Wang shares six tips:1. Packaging Material
Opt for soy sauce in glass bottles because soy sauce requires the presence of bacteria during fermentation. After packaging, it must be sterilized using high-temperature, high-pressure machines. Soy sauce in plastic bottles cannot undergo high-temperature sterilization and typically contains more preservatives.2. Foam Color
When you shake soy sauce, if it contains enough amino acids, white foam will appear on the surface, and it will last longer. If it has fewer amino acids and excessive coloring, it will have less foam, which may be dark in color.3. Transparency
Shine a smartphone light through the soy sauce. Soy sauce with fewer additives will allow the light to pass through the bottle more easily. If the sauce is highly pigmented, the less light it will transmit.4. Smell
Pure brewed soy sauce has the fragrance of fermented beans, whereas chemical soy sauce might have a pungent or salty smell.5. Staining
Pure brewed soy sauce is amber in color, and when poured into a white bowl, it won’t easily stain the bowl. However, soy sauce with excessive additives can stain a white bowl if left for an extended period.6. Taste Test
Pure brewed soy sauce exhibits a sweet taste from fermentation, while chemical soy sauce is just salty.Beware of Excess Sodium
Mr. Wang also cautions against excessive soy sauce consumption due to its high sodium content. This is especially important for individuals with hypertension, who should control their soy sauce intake. Dishes prepared with a large amount of soy sauce should be consumed less.Consuming salty food can cause excessive sodium content in the body which can lead to increased calcium excretion, potentially causing osteoporosis and affecting the growth and development of children. People in Japan and South Korea, who consume more pickled foods and thus more sodium, are more likely to experience gastrointestinal discomfort and have a higher risk of stomach cancer than those in other regions.
For the sake of health, it’s essential to reduce sodium intake. Some manufacturers now produce low-sodium soy sauce or low-salt soy sauce. Wang Mingyong explained that the concept of low sodium is to replace sodium with potassium, but people with kidney disease should be careful when consuming low-sodium soy sauce to avoid excessive potassium intake.
He suggests using natural ingredients to enhance the flavor of soy sauce. When cooking marinated dishes, you can reduce the amount of soy sauce and add black beans for flavor and shiny color. Spices can also be added to enhance the flavor because they add little to no sodium and have potassium ions that help the body flush out excess sodium. Lastly, regular physical activity and sweating can aid in excreting sodium from the body.
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