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Explain dark soy sauce vs regular soy sauce

Got some Lee Kum Kee premium dark and really like it. What m...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/16/26
I always assumed they just continued to ferment it for longe...
fear-inspiring roommate double fault
  01/16/26
I bet someone here knows. My dark is younger than my light i...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/16/26
Light soy sauce is for salt. Dark is for color and subtle fl...
iridescent cocky multi-billionaire
  01/16/26
I’m genuinely curious about the sauces
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/16/26
It's not subtle in flavor. It adds substantial umami. Great ...
fuchsia church building filthpig
  01/16/26
Agreed, but a flavor that is not "cheese" or "...
iridescent cocky multi-billionaire
  01/17/26
...
bespoke theater
  01/17/26
I understand it the same way as rear naked choke tp. “...
Garnet Location Athletic Conference
  01/16/26
Dark is way more savory though. It’s crazy
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/16/26
I rike-a soy sauce on my real American steak!
Naked Territorial Meetinghouse Antidepressant Drug
  01/16/26
...
contagious boiling water immigrant
  01/16/26
...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/16/26
thoo dark
cerise new version church
  01/16/26
...
contagious boiling water immigrant
  01/16/26
...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/16/26
...
Cracking Field
  01/17/26
its ying and yang for soy sauce. light v dark. thinner v thi...
dull pontificating base
  01/17/26
You're a great poster imo
Flushed laughsome personal credit line
  01/17/26
Interesting. Is there dark soy sauce that doesn’t use ...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/17/26
among chinese soy sauces, no. chinese dark soy sauces will a...
dull pontificating base
  01/17/26
ty
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/17/26
...
Garnet Location Athletic Conference
  01/17/26
...
indigo bull headed internal respiration masturbator
  01/17/26
BTW, using straight MSG is underrated.
jet-lagged center persian
  01/17/26
MSG is 180. I add it to pretty much everything you’d p...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/17/26
a little sprinkle of msg along with salt in scrambled eggs i...
Garnet Location Athletic Conference
  01/17/26
...
unhinged seedy school cafeteria
  01/17/26
...
jet-lagged center persian
  01/18/26
more athletic
indigo bull headed internal respiration masturbator
  01/17/26


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Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 6:13 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

Got some Lee Kum Kee premium dark and really like it. What makes this so good on steak compared to regular soy sauce? Is it the caramel coloring?

Dark:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003U2AAQY

Regular:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004XX1NKQ

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49594947)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 6:14 PM
Author: fear-inspiring roommate double fault

I always assumed they just continued to ferment it for longer, for a stir fry I like to do 1/3 dark soy to 2/3 regular in my sauce

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49594950)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 6:20 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

I bet someone here knows. My dark is younger than my light i think

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49594963)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 7:32 PM
Author: iridescent cocky multi-billionaire

Light soy sauce is for salt. Dark is for color and subtle flavor.

If this is supposed to be a honeypot for Asians, you're going to get a lot of false positive cookingmos

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595181)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 7:48 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

I’m genuinely curious about the sauces

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595226)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:40 PM
Author: fuchsia church building filthpig

It's not subtle in flavor. It adds substantial umami. Great for making things deliciously savory without blowing the salt content into the stratosphere or making the food taste "Asian"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595669)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 10:32 AM
Author: iridescent cocky multi-billionaire

Agreed, but a flavor that is not "cheese" or "mint" is subtle to noncookmos.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49596208)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 11:25 AM
Author: bespoke theater



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49596300)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 7:54 PM
Author: Garnet Location Athletic Conference

I understand it the same way as rear naked choke tp. “Light soy sauce” is normal soy sauce with the salt and umami and flavor. Dark soy is more of a coloring agent, you add a dash along with light soy when you want eg fried noodles with a rich dark color.

(not azn but have messed around plenty trying to make azn food)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595244)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:32 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

Dark is way more savory though. It’s crazy

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595659)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:08 PM
Author: Naked Territorial Meetinghouse Antidepressant Drug

I rike-a soy sauce on my real American steak!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595457)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:16 PM
Author: contagious boiling water immigrant



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595473)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:32 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595660)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:12 PM
Author: cerise new version church

thoo dark

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595465)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:16 PM
Author: contagious boiling water immigrant



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595474)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:32 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49595661)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 9:05 PM
Author: Cracking Field



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597700)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 11:22 AM
Author: dull pontificating base

its ying and yang for soy sauce. light v dark. thinner v thicker. saltier v sweeter. sooner v later.

light (what most westerners know as regular) soy sauce in chinese translates as "fresh extract." it is pressed from recently fermented soybeans. in cooking, it is typically added earlier in the cooking process as it will darken over time with heat.

dark soy sauce in chinese translates as "old extract." it is pressed from soybeans that have been fermented much longer. in cooking, it is typically added later in the cooking process. recipes that you see where light and dark are mixed together to form a marinade are garbage and wrong. dark soy sauce should be used as a finisher in fast wok cooking, much like sesame oil.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49596292)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 11:33 AM
Author: Flushed laughsome personal credit line

You're a great poster imo

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49596305)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 5:57 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

Interesting. Is there dark soy sauce that doesn’t use caramel coloring

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597277)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 8:55 PM
Author: dull pontificating base

among chinese soy sauces, no. chinese dark soy sauces will always have either caramel or molasses which gives it that sweeter darker profile. chinese dark soy sauces may also be called black soy sauce, and even double black soy sauce, but that is just the amount of caramel or molasses in the soy sauce.

the SE asian countries have an entire soy sauce lineup in the dark profile that i am less familiar with. my wife is thai and she uses a dark soy sauce that is based on palm sugar which is a different sweet profile than sugarcane. thais like to use palm sugar a lot. i had never encountered palm sugar until i met my wife. she also uses a mushroom flavored soy sauce, and a brand called maggi which best i can describe as a light smoky soy sauce.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597679)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 10:42 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

ty

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597893)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:34 PM
Author: Garnet Location Athletic Conference



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597372)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:45 PM
Author: indigo bull headed internal respiration masturbator



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597396)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:00 PM
Author: jet-lagged center persian

BTW, using straight MSG is underrated.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597287)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:34 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria

MSG is 180. I add it to pretty much everything you’d put salt on

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597368)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:35 PM
Author: Garnet Location Athletic Conference

a little sprinkle of msg along with salt in scrambled eggs is absolutely transformative

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597374)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 7:06 PM
Author: unhinged seedy school cafeteria



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597434)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2026 4:14 PM
Author: jet-lagged center persian



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49599137)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:44 PM
Author: indigo bull headed internal respiration masturbator

more athletic

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2#49597394)