Maangchi's Amazon picks for soy sauce
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible, so I chose some products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Soy sauce has a real unique taste: it’s salty and a little sweet. When you go to a Korean grocery store, you’ll find that they stock many different kinds of soy sauce, usually without English labels. Personally I always use jin-ganjang (진간장), and have been using the Sempio brand for decades.
Unlike traditional Korean guk-ganjang (국간장 or “soup soy sauce”) which has been used by Koreans for thousands of years, this style of soy sauce was introduced from Japan to Korea relatively recently. Like guk-ganjang, this soy sauce is made from soybeans but the process is totally different and the resulting soy sauce is darker, less salty, not as strong, and a little sweet. It’s better suited for everyday uses as a dipping sauce or a light flavoring agent, not to flavor a whole pot of soup. It’s too dark for that anyway – guk-ganjang is light in color and it doesn’t darken the broth.
Jin-ganjang
Jin-ganjang
I remember when I was a student and soy sauce first gained popularity in Korea: I used to have a quick breakfast by mixing rice, soy sauce, and a bit of butter before rushing out the door!
