Dark soy sauce and light soy sauce are the two main types of soy sauces in Chinese cuisine. The names that they go by, “lao chou” (dark soy sauce) and “sheng chou” (light soy sauce), not only indicate their color but also the richness of their flavors.
The main ingredients for dark soy sauce as well as light soy sauce include water, fermented soybeans and salt. However, the dark kind is made more complex often with caramel added for a darker hue. Dark Soy Sauce is also fermented longer.
Light Soy Sauce requires less time to ferment making it taste sour compared to its counterpart. Similarly, Dark Soy Sauce is popular because of its mature full-bodied flavor.
“Pro tip, if a recipe is calling for Soy Sauce, it generally means regular or light soy sauce. If you add Dark Soy sauce it will be far too rich”
More than just taste, there are other points of difference between them too. While Light Soy Sauce tends to be more salty in taste, Dark Soy Sauce has a stronger presence of soya bean. It also adds depth to food due to its strong color.
Interestingly enough, recipes often call for both versions combined together; this way it will bring about the perfect taste, saltiness and balance.
In my experience in preparing authentic Asian dishes understanding the roles played by Light Soy sauce and Dark Soy sauce has been important to me. Mixing up these various soya sauces exposes different tastes starting from classic Pad See Ew going up to delicious Soy Sauce Chicken & Noodles. I always use this mixture in order to achieve great flavors in my cooking.
What other Soy Sauces are there?
Other kinds apart from regular ones have been created mainly because they help enhance one’s meals: All-Purpose which closely resembles light-soy-sauce but is richer in flavor; sweet Indonesian Kecap manis is syrupy and provides a sweet coloring for your cooking.
Mushroom Soya Sauce gives any dish an earthy flavor like all-purpose but with a hint of mushrooms. As a dipping sauce, tamari provides a richer and less salty alternative. Gluten-free soy sauce is available for people with gluten intolerance.