What is Korean Soy Sauce?
What is Ganjang in Korean?
Pronounced “Gahn-Jahng”. Extend the “A”s to sound like when you say “Ahh”.
Ganjang refers to Soy Sauce in Korean. The literal translation is two words put together: Gan translates to seasoning and Jang translates to a salted, fermented condiment. Therefore, we can understand that Gan-Jang is a salted, fermented condiment used for seasoning. An accurate representation of soy sauce, right?
What does Korean soy sauce taste like?
Traditional Korean soy sauce tastes different than what we’re accustomed to from Asian restaurants. It is much saltier, lighter in colour and less sweet. This is because authentic Korean soy sauce does not contain any sugars.
However, the all-purpose Korean soy sauce that is most widely used in household today is Yangjo Ganjang (BrewedSoy Sauce) which is made in the Japanese way with the addition of wheat and inoculated with Koji mold.
What is Koji?
Fermented foods allow bacteria (safe mold and fungus) to grow on food. This allows an unlocking of flavours that we perceive as the ephemeral umami. Japanese scientists discovered a way to manufacture this mold so that it can be used directly to saccharify grains which in turn deliciously ferment foods like soy sauce. Its use helps keeps manufacturing methods efficient and stable. Koji is known as a “national mold” in Japan.
Powder Koji is available to use as a starter. Koji Inoculated Rice is sold in packets. Ready-made Koji Marinades can be rubbed on meats for a dry-age taste. There is also Liquid Shio Koji which is sold as a natural seasoning to enhance the flavours of food.
Many famous chefs are taking notice and using it in their restaurants to create exciting menus.
Read “How to Cook with Koji, the Savory Secret Weapon that Chefs Love (and you can too!)” by Epicurious.
How is Korean soy sauce different?
Traditional Korean soy sauce is different than most soy sauces sold in Western outlets in that they’re saltier and lighter in colour and mostly used during the cooking/preparation process rather than used for dipping.
It’s saltier so you can use much less than regular soy sauce. It’s lighter in colour so it won’t muddy the colour of a finished soup or dish. It is quite easy to make traditional Korean soy sauce palatable for dipping, but does require extra work.
How to make Traditional Korean Soy Sauce Sweeter:
Make a broth 2x the amount of soy sauce you will use. (Use dried kelp, anchovies, mushrooms, onions, dates, apples to flavour broth. Alternatively, you can purchase pre-made broth pouches to keep it simple.)
Add traditional Korean soup soy sauce.
Add sweetener of choice to taste. (Commonly used are sugar/honey/fruit extract syrup/liquid sugars like Oligosaccharides).
Make small batches and store in the fridge.
Is Korean soy sauce sweet?
Traditional Korean soy sauce is not sweet, and is used for its salty, umami flavours. It’s ideal for adding to soups, stews and marinades as you can use much less. It’s also commonly used to make namul banchan (freshly dressed herb side dishes).
Yangjo Ganjang (Brewed Soy Sauce) is sweet and tasty right out of the bottle.
Does Korean food have soy sauce?
Korean food uses mostly soy sauce for seasoning. It’s safe to say Korean food needs soy sauce and is mostly impossible without it. If the recipe itself doesn’t call for it, it will be on the table as a dip. Is it possible to have Korean food without soy sauce? Definitely, but you’d be missing out on favourites like Bulgogi (Sweet & Savoury Beef slices), Miyeok-Guk (Birthday Seaweed Soup) and Galbi-Jjim (Soy Braised Short Beef Ribs).
Types of Korean Soy Sauce
There are 4 main types of Korean soy sauces you need to know of: Traditional soy sauce, Yangjo brewed soy sauce, Jin cooking soy sauce and Mat flavoured soy sauce.
GUK GANJANG 국간장 (Soup Soy Sauce)
Also referred to as JIP GANJANG 집간장 (House Soy Sauce), HANSIK GANJANG 한식간장 (Korean-Style Soy Sauce), JARAE GANJANG 재래간장 (Traditional Soy Sauce) JOSEON GANJANG 조선간장 (Joseon Dynasty Soy Sauce). Fun, huh?
Saltier and lighter in colour.
Usually used to make Soups and Namul Banchan (Herb Side Dishes) but can be made into a regular, sweeter soy sauce.
Minimal ingredients with minimal processing. Takes 3 months to produce.
YANGJO GANJANG 양조간장 (Brewed Soy Sauce)
Widely used as an all-purpose soy sauce in most households.
That savoury, sweet taste we expect when we eat soy sauce from restaurants.
Made by using inoculated wheat for stable fermentation.
Contains wheat and other flavour/sweetening additives and preservatives.
Fermentation usually takes 6 months.
Because it is a naturally brewed product, they don’t recommend cooking with it as the flavour may alter a little if cooking on high heat- but most will find the difference to be negligible.
JIN GANJANG 진간장 (Dark Soy Sauce)
Colloquially known as an all-purpose soy sauce for cooking.
However, SEMPIO’s entire JIN Soy Sauce lineup is a terrible chemical concoction that shouldn’t be called soy sauce at all.
Manufactured within 3 days- no fermentation period at all.
The chemical aspect is explained that because of its chemical stability, no flavour will be lost during cooking- but it’s quite minimal and most cooks won’t notice either way. Don’t consume chemical soy sauce! Unfortuantely, most restaurants use this type as the cost is much lower.
If you still want, JIN Soy Sauce, purchase ChungJungOne brand’s soy sauces. They abstain from using any chemically made soy sauces.
Contains additives and preservatives.
MAT GANJANG 맛간장 (Flavoured Soy Sauce)
These are usually Yangjo Soy Sauce that has flavour additives.
If you enjoy the flavour, you can use this as your all-purpose soy sauce.
Contains additives and preservatives.
Is Kikkoman soy sauce Korean?
No, Kikkoman is a Japanese brand of soy sauce. Its most widely sold soy sauce tastes the same as Korean Brewed Soy Sauce (Yangjo Ganjang). In other words, Kikkoman soy sauce works for Korean cooking as well.
What is the best Korean soy sauce?
My recommendation is to have Yangjo Gangjang (Brewed Soy Sauce) as your all-purpose soy sauce. Sempio’s Yangjo Ganjang 701 is highly regarded, but the Yangjo Ganjang 501 is the best seller and costs a few dollars less. The only difference is an insignificant amount of total protein in it (The 701 has 0.2% more protein). ChungJungOne also has a Yangjo Ganjang so your choice is really dependant on your personal taste preference. It is relatively healthy from the benefits of fermentation and tastes good straight out of the bottle. It will work for most Asian dishes.
If you have food sensitivities or want to reduce processed foods in your diet, I highly recommend having a Traditional Korean Soy Sauce and adjusting it to your tastes. The learning curve to use less when cooking is not difficult at all. Sempio’s JOSEON Soy Sauce is by far the best-seller in this category.
I also highly recommend ChungJungOne’s soy sauces (there aren’t that many available online, but most Korean supermarkets will sell their range of products) as they are committed to not using any chemical soy sauce. You can choose any soy sauce in their product offerings and feel safe knowing you are not consuming an overly processed condiment.