Soy sauce is an extremely popular ingredient used around the world, and there are many kinds of soy sauces to choose from, including white soy sauce.
However, you may be wondering what white soy sauce is all about. Well, I looked up the facts, and here is what I have discovered!
What Is White Soy Sauce?
White soy sauce is a type of soy sauce that is both light in color and flavor compared to other soy sauces because white soy sauce contains more wheat than soybeans. Typically, white soy sauce is used to complement lighter fish dishes like sushi and sashimi, but you can use white soy sauce for more purposes in the kitchen.
Do you want to learn more about white soy sauce? Keep on reading the article to find out!
How Do You Make White Soy Sauce?
White soy sauce is made by steaming wheat and roasting soybeans, which is a huge contrast to making regular soy sauce where soybeans are steamed and wheat is roasted.
Ingredients like water, salt, and a specific fungus mold are added into the wheat and soybeans then the fermentation process begins.
During the fermentation process, the starch from the wheat becomes sugar, which is why white soy sauce has a sweeter flavor than other soy sauces.
Moreover, it is important to note that white soy sauce has a much higher concentration of wheat, typically having a mixture of 20% soybeans and 80% wheat.
White soy sauce normally has a shorter fermentation period of about 3 months because fermenting white soy sauce for any longer than 3 months can darken the liquid and intensify the flavor, which you do not want in a white soy sauce.
How much wheat and soybeans are exactly used in the white soy sauce will depend on the manufacturer.
Additionally, certain manufacturers may add sugar to their white soy sauce to get a sweeter flavor.
What Does White Soy Sauce Taste Like?
White soy sauce typically tastes like a subtle or light and sweet soy sauce, which is why many people think white soy sauce tastes a bit similar to rice wine.
Additionally, the sweetness of white soy sauce is slightly different from the sweetness of dark soy sauce.
Normally, dark soy sauces are sweet because they have added sugar whereas white soy sauce is typically sweet thanks to the natural sugars that develop from white soy sauce’s high wheat concentration.
However, it is important to remember that certain manufacturers may add sugar or sweeteners to their white soy sauce.
What Do You Use White Soy Sauce For?
Typically, white soy sauce can be used to elevate the flavors of other foods as a dip, meaning white soy sauce is a great dip for delicate fish dishes like sushi and sashimi.
Darker soy sauces have a bolder and richer flavor that can easily overpower other flavors in recipes, hence why white soy sauce can make a great replacement as a dip for milder foods.
Moreover, white soy sauce can work as a light seasoning to foods like meats and stir-fries, but you may not notice a huge difference if you use white soy sauce alone, so mixing white soy sauce with other seasonings would be ideal.
Additionally, you can use white soy sauce in pasta, veggies, stews, soups, and vinaigrettes for a splash of flavor.
What’s The Difference Between White Soy Sauce And Regular Soy Sauce?
White soy sauce and regular soy sauce have very different colors since white soy sauce has a golden and light color while regular soy sauce is dark brown to nearly black.
Moreover, white soy sauce and regular soy sauce have vastly different flavor profiles. White soy sauce is subtle and sweet whereas regular soy sauce has a bolder and deeper flavor.
Additionally, how you use white soy sauce and regular soy sauce will vary greatly on the recipe since white soy sauce has fewer uses than regular soy sauce.
For instance, you can use regular soy sauce in many recipes since you can use regular soy sauce as a seasoning, dip, marinade, coloring, and more.
However, white soy sauce has fewer uses because white soy sauce has a lighter color and flavor, making light soy sauce best as a subtle dip and very light seasoning.
Does White Soy Sauce Have Gluten?
White soy sauce contains gluten, and white soy sauce has more gluten than other soy sauces.
Since white soy sauce has a higher ratio of wheat to soybeans, white soy sauce is not safe for people with gluten sensitivities and allergies.
What Can I Substitute For White Soy Sauce?
Miso paste diluted in water can be a suitable substitute for white soy sauce, but miso paste is earthier than white soy sauce, so you may need to add a bit of sugar or honey to sweeten the miso paste.
If you only want to add a little flavor without coloring your recipe, light soy sauce can be a replacement for white soy sauce.
However, light soy sauce is much saltier than white soy sauce, so adding some honey or sugar into the light soy sauce would be ideal.
Is White Soy Sauce Better Than Regular Soy Sauce?
Neither regular soy sauce nor white soy sauce is better than the other because they have very different flavor profiles and colors.
However, regular soy sauce may be better than white soy sauce since regular soy sauce is more versatile than white soy sauce.
Take a look at our related articles if you want to learn more about light soy sauce, light soy sauce substitutes, and all types of soy sauce.
Conclusion
White soy sauce is a unique soy sauce that has a light color and flavor with a touch of sweetness thanks to white soy sauce’s high concentration in wheat.
Normally, white soy sauce is used as a dip for delicate fish, like sashimi and sushi, but you can use white soy sauce in other recipes.