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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...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/16/26
I always assumed they just continued to ferment it for longe...
smoky trip chad field
  01/16/26
I bet someone here knows. My dark is younger than my light i...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/16/26
Light soy sauce is for salt. Dark is for color and subtle fl...
Navy Home Deer Antler
  01/16/26
I’m genuinely curious about the sauces
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/16/26
It's not subtle in flavor. It adds substantial umami. Great ...
Free-loading Pungent Church Building
  01/16/26
Agreed, but a flavor that is not "cheese" or "...
Navy Home Deer Antler
  01/17/26
...
Lake Stage French Chef
  01/17/26
I understand it the same way as rear naked choke tp. “...
Buff Place Of Business
  01/16/26
Dark is way more savory though. It’s crazy
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/16/26
I rike-a soy sauce on my real American steak!
learning disabled primrose menage
  01/16/26
...
Aromatic bawdyhouse
  01/16/26
...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/16/26
thoo dark
mustard heady locale
  01/16/26
...
Aromatic bawdyhouse
  01/16/26
...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/16/26
...
Silver awkward theatre stain
  01/17/26
its ying and yang for soy sauce. light v dark. thinner v thi...
blue corn cake
  01/17/26
You're a great poster imo
henna trailer park incel
  01/17/26
Interesting. Is there dark soy sauce that doesn’t use ...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/17/26
among chinese soy sauces, no. chinese dark soy sauces will a...
blue corn cake
  01/17/26
ty
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/17/26
...
Buff Place Of Business
  01/17/26
...
shimmering histrionic dilemma
  01/17/26
BTW, using straight MSG is underrated.
Ebony irradiated step-uncle's house half-breed
  01/17/26
MSG is 180. I add it to pretty much everything you’d p...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/17/26
a little sprinkle of msg along with salt in scrambled eggs i...
Buff Place Of Business
  01/17/26
...
vibrant lilac idiot
  01/17/26
...
Ebony irradiated step-uncle's house half-breed
  01/18/26
more athletic
shimmering histrionic dilemma
  01/17/26


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Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 6:13 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

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\u0026show=6hr#49594947)



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Date: January 16th, 2026 6:14 PM
Author: smoky trip chad field

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\u0026show=6hr#49594950)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 6:20 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

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\u0026show=6hr#49594963)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 7:32 PM
Author: Navy Home Deer Antler

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\u0026show=6hr#49595181)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 7:48 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

I’m genuinely curious about the sauces

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595226)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:40 PM
Author: Free-loading Pungent Church Building

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\u0026show=6hr#49595669)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 10:32 AM
Author: Navy Home Deer Antler

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\u0026show=6hr#49596208)



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Date: January 17th, 2026 11:25 AM
Author: Lake Stage French Chef



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49596300)



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Date: January 16th, 2026 7:54 PM
Author: Buff Place Of Business

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\u0026show=6hr#49595244)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:32 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

Dark is way more savory though. It’s crazy

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595659)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:08 PM
Author: learning disabled primrose menage

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

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595457)



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Date: January 16th, 2026 9:16 PM
Author: Aromatic bawdyhouse



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595473)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:32 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595660)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:12 PM
Author: mustard heady locale

thoo dark

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595465)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 9:16 PM
Author: Aromatic bawdyhouse



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595474)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 16th, 2026 10:32 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49595661)



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Date: January 17th, 2026 9:05 PM
Author: Silver awkward theatre stain



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597700)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 11:22 AM
Author: blue corn cake

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\u0026show=6hr#49596292)



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Date: January 17th, 2026 11:33 AM
Author: henna trailer park incel

You're a great poster imo

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49596305)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 5:57 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

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

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597277)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 8:55 PM
Author: blue corn cake

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\u0026show=6hr#49597679)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 10:42 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

ty

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597893)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:34 PM
Author: Buff Place Of Business



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597372)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:45 PM
Author: shimmering histrionic dilemma



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597396)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:00 PM
Author: Ebony irradiated step-uncle's house half-breed

BTW, using straight MSG is underrated.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597287)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:34 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot

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\u0026show=6hr#49597368)



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Date: January 17th, 2026 6:35 PM
Author: Buff Place Of Business

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\u0026show=6hr#49597374)



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Date: January 17th, 2026 7:06 PM
Author: vibrant lilac idiot



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597434)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 18th, 2026 4:14 PM
Author: Ebony irradiated step-uncle's house half-breed



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49599137)



Reply Favorite

Date: January 17th, 2026 6:44 PM
Author: shimmering histrionic dilemma

more athletic

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822963&forum_id=2\u0026show=6hr#49597394)