I tried finding the best Soy Sauce in the world.

Check out Made In's Carbon Steel pan collection that I used in this video ➔ madein.cc/0224-ethan (Thanks again for sponsoring!) Here is the table with all of the Soy Sauces I used throughout this video: ethanchlebowski.notion.site/9b5dc7db971d40b0bb200f… Also I already have a couple solid deep dive ideas lined up for the next couple of months, but what should we get into this summer?

Perhaps the best soy sauce is the one we made along the way

Fear not the man who has 1,000 soy sauces. Fear the man who use 1 soy sauce 1,000 times.

My parents (Japanese) typically use kikkoman, but like special soy sauces for sashimi or sushi. Relatively recently, we've been a able to get dashi-soy sauce, which our whole family loves. It's got more dashi flavour and isn't so salty, and goes so well with sushi and sashimi. You can also make shoyu-koji by fermenting shoyu with koji yourself, and it imparts a beautiful sweet-umami, rounded and very complex flavour.

I absolutely love that you made this video. I’m from Hawaii and we use (in our household) multiple different soy sauces because of the reasons you just made. Each soy sauce has its place in the kitchen depending on what you’re making and what you’re trying to accomplish. And unless you’re familiar with different soy sauces you’re really missing out on different flavor profiles.

Please make a deep dive video on butter! There are so many kinds at the store, it's hard to know what to choose from. I recently started making homemade butter too, so hopefully that can also be included. Amazing video as always, thanks for all the work you put into this!

18:02 "Soyces" Somebody has been saying soy too much 😂

Being married to a Thai women I have learned so much about sauces. Using a Chinese or Japanese soy sauce in a Thai dish changes the flavors substantially. These cultures have cultivated these sauces to work with there cuisines. This really opened my mind and learned to appreciate where ingredients come from.

I bought three very different shoyu (Japanese soy sauces) from a company online called Japanese Taste. They're in Tokyo, I believe. These were a Christmas gift for my wife, who is a fabulous cook. Anyways, all are artisanal, family-made sauces and one is the four year old you featured here. Yes, they were expensive. We use ordinary Kikkoman for cooking. But these very special shoyu have very complex flavors and aromas, each different from the others, and are terrific for drizzling over sushi or rice. Used sparingly, the high price doesn't matter. And we like that we are supporting small family businesses keep age-old traditions alive. Great video, Ethan!

Great video! Some observations: 1. Most Asian recipes call for (a little bit of) salt in addition to the soy sauce; westerners have somehow gotten into their heads that soy sauce is used in place of salt. That’s probably why the La Choy (and to a lesser extent the Kikkoman, since it’s brewed here) are saltier. (Imported Kikkoman is less salty than the domestic stuff.) 2. Kikkoman is just a much better soy sauce than people think it is. It’s the daily driver even for a lot of Japanese people. We’re really lucky to have a traditionally brewed soy sauce made in the US that’s available basically everywhere. 3. Thai soy sauces are much milder because they tend to be used in combination with fish sauce and often oyster sauce. 4. Didn’t see one in the video, but for dipping and sauces I highly recommend a Japanese double fermented saishikomi. They make a regular batch of the (koikuchi) shoyu, then brew another one, replacing the brine with the first batch. So you get extra savoriness and flavor without extra salt. It’s really lovely. 5. Which reminds me, the “light” shoyu (usukuchi) is probably best avoided unless a recipe specifically calls for it. I find it pretty harsh. Fortunately, almost all the shoyu we get in the US is the “dark” (koikuchi), which isn’t any darker than Chinese/Korean/Thai “light” soy sauce.

A Japanese acquaintance once gifted me a bottle of soy sauce from Yuasa, the birthplace of soy sauce in Japan. Nothing wrong with Kikkoman, it is a decent soy sauce, but just try a drop of Kikkoman versus a drop of Yuasa... Amazing. Over the last fifteen years, I have imported bottles a couple of times, for myself and as gifts. If you ever get the chance, to grab a bottle: don't hesitate!

The amount of effort that must go into these videos blows my mind

I've watched like three of your videos now and I'm truly blown away by the level of effort and content you're able to fit into these videos. You've earned my subscription. I look forward to seeing more of your content.

Southeast Asian married to an East Asian and living in the US here. We always try to cook dishes from our home country that’s not easy to get here in the US. I've got a wide variety of soy sauces in my kitchen, each with its own specific use - stir fry, dipping, sauce, porridge, soup, you name it. It's crucial to know when to use each type; it's not just about the taste. For instance, Kecap Manis is completely different from the rest, it’s specific to South East Asian dishes and will completely ruin the taste if you use it for sushi. Thanks for the great content! It's really informative, and I can imagine the effort behind it. ❤️

Ethan, I’m a huge home cook and I use soy sauce a LOT. This video was incredibly informative and I truly appreciate the level of effort and research put into it. Just wanted to say thank you, your content is awesome.

Love the way the recipes are organized/presented on your new website! Definitely going in my bookmarks.

I genuinely love this channel! Keep it up!

I love that after the variety of experiments you conducted and the research you did, the eventual answer you found to the thesis question “which soy sauce is better and why” ended up being: “?????????” Always love your videos.

The hydrolized style of soy sauce is what Maggi is. The Swiss developed that process, the French took it with them and introduced it to Vietnam, which is why it gets used there, since it is such a different taste from genuine local soy sauces.

Love how good you are with citing your sources. I wish every channel I watch did this.