A South Korean grand master on the art of the perfect soy sauce

Taste differences & styles of soy sauce

• Many contrast mass-market Kikkoman with more traditional or regional sauces: Kikkoman is described as salty, slightly metallic, and “sharp,” whereas artisanal or regional sauces are said to have deeper, layered flavors (seafood, molasses, coffee, sweetness, MSG-like umami) and often feel less salty despite similar sodium.
• Commenters emphasize there is no single “traditional” soy sauce; Japanese shoyu, Chinese light/dark, Korean jang-based sauces, and tamari all fill different roles, like different wines for different dishes.
• Example: Japanese soy can suit sashimi because of its sharpness, while Chinese light soy is preferred for fried rice due to a smoother savoriness.

Brand choices & practical use

• Widely recommended alternatives: Pearl River Bridge (Chinese light/dark), Sempio (including lower-salt variants), Kimlan, San-J, Yamasa, Zhongba, Ohsawa, and various sweet soy/kecap manis brands.
• Several people advocate keeping multiple soy sauces (light, dark, dipping, fish-specific, marinades) rather than one “universal” bottle.
• Some refrigerate soy sauce for flavor preservation and mold prevention, especially sweeter variants; others note labels often recommend this though many ignore it.

Tamari, wheat, and gluten

• Clarification that standard Japanese shoyu typically contains wheat; tamari is low- or no-wheat.
• Disagreement over how “traditional” wheat-based soy is, given wheat’s relatively late arrival in Japan.
• Some celiac sufferers report doing fine with regular soy sauces due to very low gluten content; others prefer tamari and find it tastes richer and better.

Fermentation, spoilage, and health

• Extended debate on what distinguishes fermentation from spoilage: palatability vs safety vs illness.
• Alcohol in fermented foods prompts side discussions: whether alcohol-free “synthetic” soy (e.g., La Choy) has a place for medical/religious reasons; differing religious views on trace alcohol.
• Broader appreciation of fermentation’s role in human food (cheese, bread, kimchi, chocolate, coffee, hot sauce), and speculation that low intake of fermented foods might harm modern health, though this is anecdotal.

“Best” vs “good enough” and food culture

• Long subthread critiques “best-chasing” culture (in soy sauce, pizza, sushi, etc.): standing in long lines or paying high premiums for marginal gains, often tied to status signaling and social media.
• Others defend seeking excellence when you care about something, but agree hype and influencer culture can hollow out genuine appreciation.
• Analogy made to ketchup and cola: for some staples, one reliable standard brand is “good enough,” and upmarket variants mostly “just taste different.”

Cultural meaning and variety

• Some highlight that soy sauce is not just flavor but memory, tradition, and identity, especially in Korean and Japanese contexts with handmade jang or long-aged brews.
• Multiple commenters note that in many Asian households, several specialized soy sauces are standard, and restaurants often further doctor them with aromatics and oils.

Miscellaneous tangents

• Brief meta-discussion about using ChatGPT to identify plants and to retrieve food information, with mixed trust compared to SEO-filled web searches.
• Minor political and racial tangents around neighborhood gentrification and who consumes “heritage” foods.
• Quick note on Trump having been served the grand master’s soy sauce, mostly met as an odd aside rather than seriously discussed.