Discovered in China more than 2,500 years ago, soy sauce is believed to be one of the world's oldest condiments. It has remained a cornerstone of many Asian cuisines. Today, it is increasingly known in the Western cultures as a flavoring and flavor-enhancing ingredient for many types of Chinese food.Soy sauce comes in different varieties. Dark (thick), Regular, and Lite (around 40% less salt) are the 3 most common ones, but there are many others depending on the manufacturer, such as Sweet, and Chili soy sauce. As a general rule, if you have the 3 basic ones listed above, you will do just fine. All you have to do is spend maybe 2 extra minutes to transform your soy sauce to the flavor you need. Light soy sauce, as the name suggests, is lighter in color, milder in taste, not nearly as flavorful, but strangely enough, is the more common of the three (most likely due to the increasing number of the healthy conscious public). When choosing a Light soy sauce, we recommend not to purchase one from a typical grocery store. They usually are sweeter and lack the depth of flavor and balance necessary for Chinese cuisine. Rather, go visit your friendly neighborhood Chinese or Asian grocery store to find a popular Chinese brand. It is generally used in dressing and as dipping sauce, or in combination with Regular or Dark soy sauce in cooking. Dark (thick) soy sauce is a thicker, more robust version of Regular soy sauce. It contains molasses, sugar, and wheat flour. Because of the depth of flavor, and its consistency, dark soy sauce is used predominantly in cooking, and rarely used as dipping sauce. It is far less salty than Lite soy sauce, and is often used in recipes in conjuction with Lite or Regular soy sauce. |

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