Chinese Soy Sauce Production — Light vs Dark: The Fermentation Process

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Chinese soy sauce production begins with soybeans (sometimes wheat-blended) fermented over months or years in salt brine with the mold Aspergillus oryzae (qu, 曲) as the primary fermentation organism. The result — after pressing the liquid from the fermented solids — is a raw soy sauce (shen chou, 生抽) of immense complexity. Light soy sauce (sheng chou, 生抽) is the first pressing — thinner, saltier, with bright umami and a clean, complex flavour. Dark soy sauce (lao chou, 老抽) is either a subsequent pressing (thicker, less salty, more complex) or light soy sauce with added caramel and often molasses — darker, more viscous, less salty, used primarily for colour rather than seasoning.

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