That weeknight stir-fry just won't be right without a little soy sauce in the mix... unless you buy a brand with too much salt and too little flavor. Luckily, we've tested the most popular ones, so you'll know which to avoid — and which to add to your dinner rotation.
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00:00That weeknight stir-fry just won't be right without a little soy sauce in the mix,
00:04unless you buy a brand with too much salt and too little flavor. Luckily,
00:08we've tested the most popular ones, so you'll know which to avoid — and which to add to your
00:13dinner rotation. Tamari sauce isn't quite soy sauce. It's a kind of sauce made from fermented
00:18miso paste rather than soybeans and wheat. The result is intended to be a more even-handed
00:23version of similar-tasting notes, a notion that Signature Select puts on the table with its own
00:27tamari blend. Shifting to another type of sauce can pay off big time for home chefs,
00:31but only when the sauce in the bottle works its magic for real — and Signature Select
00:35really doesn't. Sadly, this was the most watery and least flavored of all the options in our
00:40taste test. In fact, we tried it late in the testing process, and the flavors from the other
00:45bottles and brands actually managed to punch through it. As a result, we can only conclude
00:49that Signature Select flubbed the formula for tamari. This one, then, is a definite no-go.
00:54Nine offers a larger-than-average bottle of soy sauce for a decent price. We paid about $4 for
00:59ours, and the lower sodium in this sauce should be an attractive quality for those watching their
01:04intake. Too bad the quality doesn't live up to its potential. It seems as though the manufacturers
01:08took the flavor out of the sauce along with the sodium. It's difficult to taste anything other
01:13than water, and what does come through almost feels stale and flat. Don't settle for a so-so
01:18soy sauce like this when you can do so much better. With a reputation for great ketchup
01:23and pantry classics, it's an easy reach to think that Heinz should conquer the world of soy sauce.
01:27"'Heinz! Heinz! Heinz!"
01:29Yet, the excitement of finding this brand turned to sheer disappointment when the taste test
01:33revealed a severe lack of flavor in this offering. If the intention of Heinz Premium Dark Soy Sauce
01:38is to be a wallflower in the world of flavor, then it passes that test with flying colors.
01:42If you need a bolder flavor for your dish, however, this whisper of a soy sauce is bound
01:46to disappoint. At under $2, Great Value Soy Sauce is one of the most affordable
01:51bottles you'll find on the market. As you might expect, though, it's always better to go for the
01:55quality over economy, and so you might want to opt for a more polished product from another brand.
02:00Fantastic price aside, the creators behind the Walmart curtain just don't seem to have a firm
02:04grasp on what makes a well-balanced soy sauce. This one is tart and salty from the get-go,
02:09and doesn't settle even after you've tasted it. If there's such a thing as a nuisance in
02:13the world of soy sauce, this bargain brand wears the banner.
02:17Grabbing a bottle of Kroger soy sauce may seem like a sensible thing to do,
02:20considering the relatively dependable quality of the other offerings from this no-frills label,
02:24as well as that budget-beating price. But a no-frills move into the soy sauce world
02:28ends up doing Kroger no favors, and you'll be bearing the brunt of a soy sauce that
02:32can't get up to speed. The biggest problem with this soy sauce is the distinctly fishy essence,
02:36which, while an important part of some soy sauces, can easily become a problem if it's not balanced
02:41well. Unless your dish benefits from a punch like this, Kroger soy sauce could be dropping
02:45a whole heap of no-thank-you into your lunch or dinner plans.
02:49Based on a 300-year-old recipe, Kikkoman soy sauce is made with just four ingredients — water,
02:54soybeans, wheat, and salt.
02:56"...Kikkoman, brewed and loved in the USA for 50 years."
03:01But while the company seems to pride itself on that simplicity,
03:04the finished product is sadly a little lackluster. It's tangy and a tad salty,
03:08but mostly just provides a garble of background noise for the taste buds.
03:11This could be a good thing for cooks who don't want the sauce overpowering the other flavors
03:15in their dishes, but it also means Kikkoman doesn't stand up as a show-stopping sauce on its own.
03:21Albertson's gives soy sauce an admirable go with this zesty version from its house brand
03:25portfolio. Since signature select items can be a hit or miss, and the tamari turned out to be a
03:29huge disappointment, we didn't hold out much hope for this one. That said, it does a bit better as
03:34a straightforward soy sauce, even if it's not quite the best choice out there. What works?
03:38There's a fun taste at the heart of the sauce that we had to search a little to find.
03:42What doesn't work? That burst of flavor is drowned out by too much saltiness.
03:46A smoky element wouldn't have gone amiss here. This is a soy sauce you might incorporate into
03:50a dressing or a marinade. By itself, signature select just isn't a top-line choice for your
03:54soy sauce needs. Home chefs who've explored options beyond the usual soy sauce may have
03:59run into brag-liquid aminos before. This sauce is made from a gluten-free soybean-based vegetable
04:04protein, water, and nothing else, as opposed to the soybean fermentation used by other soy sauces
04:09to deliver that all-important umami punch. The idea is to provide a healthy version of
04:14a familiar sauce, although, in fairness, Brad could stand to pull back on the salt a bit.
04:18The saltiness we picked up in just a small taste delivered a powerful poke in the tongue,
04:22though the smokiness that followed was pleasant enough. All in all,
04:25this makes for a workable alternative for anyone after a gluten-free soy sauce.
04:29Does organic soy sauce make a difference when it comes to flavor? O Organic Soy
04:33Sauce seems to believe it does. Anyone who tries to eat organically will be happy to
04:37keep values intact with this soy sauce, and it does an admirable job when stacked up against
04:41its competitors. It's impossible to tell if the organic element of this sauce has a positive
04:45impact on the final product, or if this sauce is just a sturdier creation all around. But one thing
04:50is for sure, it really brings the flavor to your food. There's a lovely balance here that's
04:55reminiscent of Worcestershire sauce, but without all the extra bells and whistles. If it were just
04:59a little bolder, it could have hopped up higher in the ranking. What it does, though, it does well.
05:04Aloha Poke is no ordinary soy sauce. For one thing, the label makes no mention of soy sauce
05:09at all, leaving you to wonder, what is this? Some kind of weird, brown ketchup?
05:14Ketchup? Ketsup? Ketsup? I'm in way over my head.
05:23A closer look will reveal that this soy-adjacent sauce includes a few extra elements,
05:27and it turned out to be an absolute blast. With ginger, lemon juice, and chili flakes added to
05:31the mix, this combination of savory and spicy gives a wonderfully fun kick to the ordinary soy
05:36sauce profile. The result is a pre-mixed Asian delight that could go just as well on beef or
05:40chicken as an actual poke bowl. With the basic Kikkoman concoction underperforming, we were
05:46prepared for the sweet version to do similarly. As it turns out, though, Kikkoman is a great base
05:50for more complex sauces like this one. All that recipe needed was a dose of sugar to bring out
05:55its better nature. The flavor rides the line between soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, thanks
05:59to the use of sugar and rice syrup. It's just enough to take the bite out of the saltiness,
06:03but not so heavy that it overpowers the umami soy layers. This makes for a great topping for
06:08modest dishes that need a dash of flavor straight out of the bottle.
06:12Kroger hauls out its attempt at an organic soy sauce, and it comes up with a real winner. It's
06:16a pleasant surprise to find that the company's Simple Truth Organic Soy Sauce is as high-quality
06:20as the other items from the brand, bottling up one of the more sophisticated taste blends on
06:25the list. Somehow, the first thing that hits you with this bottle is a pineapple aroma.
06:29Despite the fact that the fruit isn't used in the recipe, it's a fun additional element in what
06:33turns out to be a salty yet enjoyable soy sauce, one that we would recommend for use in a stir-fry
06:38or basic rice bowl to add some dazzling flavor to your veggies. This one is a little more expensive
06:43than most, but the taste more than justifies the higher price. Sanjay packages its stylish
06:48tamari soy sauce in a sleek black label with modern gold graphics, bucking the trend of
06:52traditional sauces' more nostalgic packaging. And, in a stroke of good fortune, the sauce
06:57on the bottle is as pleasing as the graphics on the sticker. It's reassuring to taste a premium
07:01soy sauce at a premium price that actually delivers premium flavor. The sauce offers
07:06the saltiness and umami you'd expect, but those flavors are so well-balanced that they don't
07:10compete at all with one another. Instead, they work together to create a flavor profile that
07:15never overwhelms. We'd definitely opt for this bottle when cooking a more upscale or complex dish.
07:21Kikkoman moving into tamari territory should be a no-brainer, considering the hold the company has
07:26on the soy sauce sector. And it seems they've figured out a way to make a tasty tamari that
07:30does the label proud. This variant features a dash of sugar that brings the aroma more to the
07:35arena of wine than anything else. That sweetness softens the sharp tang of Kikkoman's sauce and
07:39lends a degree of sophistication that would pair well with a higher-end gourmet dish.
07:43So, while this is one of the higher-priced bottles on the market, it's also one of the finest.
07:47You'll never love Lechoy!
07:50Lechoy is one of the most dependable names in the world of Asian food ingredients,
07:54offering everything from chow mein noodles to frozen entrees. But does recognition mean
07:58quality when it comes to soy sauce? Well, in this case, yes. There's a reason this is one
08:03of the top names in the condiment business. You'll likely notice an immediate distinction
08:07between this and the other sauces, mainly due to the super-smoky notes that come through in
08:11both aroma and flavor. The sauce then settles, acting as a perfect accent for the earthiness
08:16of rice or other grains. And it's bound to do the same for meats, fish, and vegetables,
08:20making it our prime soy sauce pick.