Chef’s Kiss: Supermarket Soy Sauces Tested and Rated

Tasting soy sauce straight up, by itself, can be a bit of an odd experience for the palate. But when you taste soy sauce in the context of a recipe, it’s easy to tell why some are superior to others. And with so many variables, context really is everything when it comes to choosing one for your own pantry. 

At Lagoon Dining, we prefer soy sauces that are lighter in flavour and use different brands depending on the application and the degree of saltiness we want a dish to have. 

For stir-fries and sauces, we generally use Pearl River Bridge – one of the more recognisable brands out there. Meanwhile, we exclusively use Higashimaru Usukuchi to make tare sauce for our char siu, which is one of our most popular dishes and has been on the menu since we opened. And for the majority of our dressings, we use Megachef gluten-free soy sauce, which has a delicate flavour and the added benefit of being coeliac-friendly. 

I thought it would be a good experiment to test those brands against some supermarket staples and others I’d been curious about. My business partner Chris Lerch and I tasted each soy sauce individually first, to get a sense of the flavour profile so we could cross-reference and chat about what we were tasting. Aside from very broad descriptions (such as “rich”, for example) the producers don’t give much in the way of tasting notes, so we had to close our eyes and dig a little deeper for helpful descriptions.  

Next, I incorporated each brand into a simple dressing of soy (23 grams), water (52 grams) and sugar (six grams), and paired it with a steamed egg custard similar to Japanese chawanmushi. I chose this dish, rather than a big protein like steak or fish, because it’s so delicate and the flavour of the dressing has nowhere to hide. 

For me, a good light soy sauce shouldn’t be too salty. It should be well-balanced, and if it’s a little bit sweet that’s also good. In this review I was looking for nuanced flavours because, let’s be honest, tasting soy sauce by the spoonful isn’t the nicest thing in the world. My scores are based on the limitations of this experiment (again, context), but they should give you a solid idea about what to season, dress and cook dishes with.

For a breakdown of soy sauce by style and country, read Broadsheet’s in-depth explainer article. 

Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce

Sample price: $4.30 (500ml) from Coles

Origin: China

Ingredients: soybeans (17.5%), water, salt, sugar, wheat flour

Lee Kum Kee is one of the world’s biggest and most recognisable brands, so it was important to put this one to the test. It was light and not overly salty on the first taste, but lacked some of the complexity of the lesser known brands here. It did have some sweetness though, with notes of oyster and sea spray – not all that dissimilar to oyster sauce. It fared better with the egg custard where it became much more flavoursome, with notes of dark brown sugar. A solid all-rounder.

Score: 3/5

Kikkoman Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce

Sample price: $7.90 (600ml) from Woolworths

Origin: Japan

Ingredients: soybeans (18%), water, salt, sugar, wheat flour

The little glass bottle with the red top is the one I grew up with, and I think most people would have had Kikkoman in their pantries at some point. Standing alone, it had an intensely salty flavour. With the custard, it tasted the most full-flavoured and “soy-like” of the bunch, with some liquorice/aniseed and gamey characteristics. Otherwise, it completely overpowered the dish. Use this for seasoning stir-fries or dipping fried food. Best with a dim sim. 

Score: 2/5

Healthy Boy Thin Soy Sauce

Sample price: $6.50 (700ml) from Asian Pantry

Origin: Thailand

Ingredients: defatted soybean (25%) water, salt, sugar, wheat, flavour enhancer (E621, E631, E627), preservative (E211), colour (E150c), artificial soy sauce flavour.

Typical of many Southeast Asian soy sauce brands, Thailand’s Healthy Boy has a bunch of additives. But the result is a sauce that’s light, slightly sweet and not overly salty. Throw in subtle sourness, caramel notes and lots of umami, thanks to the MSG. It had a stronger flavour when paired with the custard, reminiscent of fish sauce. I’d recommend using this with seafood or stir-fried vegetables such as morning glory. Though we don’t use it at the restaurant, I think we could probably find a use for this somewhere. Best overall.

Score: 4/5

Pearl River Bridge Light Soy Sauce

Sample price: $3.30 (500ml) from Woolworths

Origin: China

Ingredients: soybeans (29%), water, wheat flour, salt, potassium sorbate (E202)

We use Pearl River Ridge quite a bit at Lagoon Dining, where it lives at the wok station as a seasoning for our stir-fries. On first taste, it lives up to its name with a light flavour that’s not overly salty. With the custard, it was well-balanced between salty and sweet, with some dark caramel notes and a finish on the palate reminiscent of white pepper. But overall, the dressing wasn’t as flavoursome as the standalone experience. Use this as a stir-fry seasoning like we do.

Score: 3/5

Higashimaru Usukuchi Light Soy

Sample price: $6.04 (500ml) from Jun Direct

Origin: Japan

Ingredients: soybeans, soybean meal (11%), water, salt, wheat, glucose, rice, wheat protein, alcohol

This Japanese shoyu variety is probably the trickiest to find, which is a problem at the restaurant if our supplies run out unexpectedly. It has a strong soy flavour without being overly salty. It’s also slightly sweet, and comes with a light aroma to match its amber colour. As a dressing, it had the cleanest flavour of the day – well-balanced with some richer rice wine characteristics, and notes of salted plum and orange peel. 

Score: 4/5

Megachef Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

Sample price: $6.50 (500ml) from Asian Pantry

Origin: Thailand

Ingredients: water, soybean (20.5%), rice, salt, fructose, preservative (E202)

Aside from being gluten-free, which is a big plus for diners with dietaries, Megachef is great for another reason – it’s absolutely delicious. On the palate it’s not overly salty and has a sweet aftertaste. It fares just as well as a dressing: subtle, savoury, light, bright, perfumed and very well-balanced. 

Score: 4/5

Coles Premium Asia Light Soy Sauce

Sample price: $2.80 (500ml) at Coles

Origin: China

Ingredients: defatted soybeans (22%), water, wheat, salt

The other major supermarket-branded soy sauce, by Woolworths, wasn’t in stock at the time of this review (when it is, we’ll update the article to include it.) This one was moderately salty, but with a dull flavour overall that carried over to the dressing, where it also took on a flat, almost bitter and sour aftertaste. 

Score: 1/5