Soy sauce (US and Commonwealth), soya sauce or shoyu is produced by fermenting soybeans with the molds Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus soyae along with roasted grain, water, and salt. Soy sauce was invented in China, where it has been used as a condiment for close to 2,500 years. In its various forms, it is widely used in East and Southeast Asian cuisines and increasingly appears in Western cuisine and prepared foods.
Authentic soy sauces are made by mixing the grain and/or soybeans with yeast, Aspergillus oryzae or other related microorganisms. Traditionally soy sauces were fermented under natural conditions, such as in giant urns and under the sun, which was believed to contribute to additional flavours. Soy sauce has a distinct basic taste called umami, in Japanese. Umami was first identified as a basic taste in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University. The free glutamates which naturally occur in soy sauce are what give it this taste quality.
Soy sauce has been integrated into the traditional cuisines of many East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. Soy sauce is widely used as a particularly important flavoring in Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Chinese cuisine. Despite their rather similar appearance, soy sauces produced in different cultures and regions are very different in taste, consistency, fragrance and saltiness. Soy sauce retains its quality longer when kept away from direct sunlight.
You can find authentic Japanese Soy Sauce on many Japanese Restaurants in Los Angeles.
