Many of us would not consider having Chinese or Japanese food without using a little soy sauce. But do you know what is in this wonderful sauce, or how it first came to be developed? Here are some things about soy sauce that you may find interesting.

Also known as soya sauce, the exact origins of soy sauce are long lost to history. However, there is evidence that the basic mixture of soybeans, roasted grain, water, and salt has been in use for at over two thousand years. The earliest recorded recipes for making soy sauce are associated with China, although there are variations of this great fermented sauce found in all sorts of Asian cuisine. There is also some evidence that Buddhist monks first brought the concept of soy sauce to Japan during the 7th century, where the innovative Japanese set about putting their own mark on the manufacturing of soy sauce. In fact, there are those that say the fermentation process that developed in Japan produces the finest soy sauce in the world.

Strictly speaking, there is no one definitive recipe for making soy sauce. Of course all of them involve the use of soybeans, and there are one or two that also use soy flour in the recipe. All told, you can find over twenty types of soy sauce to grace your table and enhance the taste of your food. Some of these nationally developed sauces are considered to be fresh soy sauce, in that the sauce is thinner and is made employing a double fermentation process. Varieties that fall into this category are often used for seasoning meats and at the table with vegetables and dipping breads, as they pack quite a lot of taste.

Dark soy sauces are somewhat thicker and usually employ a single fermentation process. The difference is that the dark sauce is allowed to ferment for a longer period of time. Molasses is also an ingredient in the darker sauces, which helps to give them a sweeter taste and less of the salty zing that one finds with the fresh sauces. These types of soy sauce are used in cooking, both for the mixture of flavors and also because they can add color to just about any dish. Dark soy sauce usually is not found on the table, as it is not considered suitable for dipping.

As well as shining on its own and adding flavor to meats and vegetables, soy sauce also takes a bow as a main ingredient in other condiments. As an example, there are a number of salad dressings that employ soy sauce, especially ones that are meant to take the place of high fat salad dressings. Many people are surprised to learn that soy sauce is also a key ingredient in another favorite household item, good old fashioned Worcestershire sauce. Along with being a favorite ingredient in a number of condiments, there are some interesting alcoholic drinks that call for a dash of soy sauce to add a little more zest to the drink.

There are purists that insist true soy sauce must be prepared in time-honored fashions, with no modern short cuts. In actuality, modern processing has not done much of anything but speed up the fermentation process so that soy sauce can be mass marketed. For most of us who just like a shot of soy sauce on our fried rice, chances are we would not be able to tell if the sauce were prepared with an old recipe or by modern means. All we would know is we like it.