Description
With just soybeans, salt, water and time, this traditional soya sauce recipe allows you to craft a deeply savory, preservative‑free condiment at home. The process takes patience, but the result is a richly flavoured sauce you’ll be proud to use and share.
Ingredients
- Soybeans
- Wheat flour
- Sea salt
- Filtered water
- Optional: dried chilies or jujubes for flavour depth
Instructions
- Steam soybeans until soft, then cool.
- Mix cooked soybeans with wheat flour, shape into small cakes and allow to ferment for 2 days in a warm, humid spot (this develops the ‘koji’).
- Crumble the koji cakes into water to form a mash and let ferment for 1–2 weeks, allowing enzymes to break down proteins and starches.
- Strain the mash, dissolve sea salt into the liquid to form a brine, then return it to the mash and age for several months.
- After ageing, strain again to remove solids, bottle the dark liquid, and age further for best flavour.
Notes
Keep all equipment impeccably clean. Fermentation time affects the depth of flavour—longer is better. The salt level must be sufficient to prevent spoilage. This process is a kitchen project rather than a quick condiment fix.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: Asian, Korean‑style
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 10
- Sugar: 0g
- Sodium: 920mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg