I once forgot about an unopened bottle of soy sauce for 5+ years. I knew they were made from fermentation so I figured it was still ok to use. Literally the best soy sauce I’ve had in my entire life.

Japanese: Kikkoman Whole Bean Fancy (imported from Japan) Chinese: Pearl River Bridge (for light or thin soy sauce) Korean: Seimpio Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce Yuginong Premium Look for "Naturally Brewed" and few ingredients and get it from an international market if you can (more choices and less expensive)

“And the winner is Kikkoman” Oh, so, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing then.

If you have an Asian supermarket near you, there is a much wider and better selection! The sauce aisle is a treasure trove for any of you who love Asian food.

I have watched this show for years.....love both Bridget and Julia so much.....but also I really really like Jack! He seems to be the nicest man and always so pleasant. Just wanted to give him the recognition. Thanks!

Bad soy sauce costs about $3 a bottle. Good soy sauce is about $3 a bottle at the Asian mart and WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. It's worth finding good soy sauce. Lee Kum Kee makes a Premium, a Mushroom, and a Dark that are all EXCELLENT >.

I recently watched a Chinese cook explain how they use soy sauces. They use a light (not necessarily low sodium) soy for flavour and dark soy for the colour when cooking. I broke down and bought a bottle of each of the more expensive sauces to try. They look the same colour in the bottle, but, if you bring some up into the bottle neck under a light, you can see the difference in colour. There is a definite difference in flavours as well.

Had a Japanese stepmum, so grew up with Kikkoman since I was a little girl. Have had to switch to low sodium (I am now an old lady). I now cook Japanese food for my widowed Father and he, too, prefers Kikkoman lo-so.

Kikkoman low-sodium for me. That one is by far my favorite. Cutting down on the salt allows the other flavors to shine through.

You ladies are so inspiring!! I really never enjoyed cooking till I started watching your videos. Keep up the great work!

I always buy kikoman for basic soy sauce needs. I have a general distaste for all la-choy products.

Yes, Kikkoman for me too 🤩

Three generations of Kikkoman Shoyu here! 🎌

Hello- love these type of videos. It helps me to buy without doing all the legwork myself. Thank goodness for this channel.

We all get used to ingredients and sometimes we want to expand our tastes. I appreciate seeing you try different sources and helping me narrow down what I should try next.

Back in the early 70’s Kikkoman couldn’t even give the stuff away to American grocery stores. The salesmen begged them to try and when the purchasers tasted it they thought it was awful. Finally a rep came up with the idea of convincing the supermarket of bringing in a frying pan and stove and cooking some meat marinated with the Kikkoman soy sauce. The aroma attracted the attention of customers and people really liked it and that’s how it took off. Instead of just salt and pepper try seasoning your steak with some soy sauce. Don’t think anyone will regret it.

I think you'd find a different favorite if tested in Japan/Korea/China etc. with some testers wondering for WHAT purpose is the particular soy sauce being tested.

Soy sause in asia has different purposes. There korean soy sauce which is byproduct of soy paste. Japanese ones are sweeter. They are very suitable for japanese food and dipping sauce. They are made with wheat or burley. Tamari is excellent for sushi. There is also tsuyu. This is more for sauce for udon and soba

This is the fourth 'test-video' I've seen from this channel, and they've all been good : useful, not too long, to the point, trustworthy and well produced. Thanks !

Just knew that Kikkoman was going to win. It's fairly affordable as well. However I would still stick with Lee Kum Kee as a personal preference, specifically with the deluxe gold version

The Ohsawa Nama Shoyu (made by Yamaki Jozo in Japan, traditionally aged in big _kioke_ barrels, for two years if I recall correctly) is definitely the way to go if you're drinking soy sauce. It's the real thing and has excellent flavor, and is now pretty easy to find in US upscale markets, sometimes along similar products like Mitoku Kanazawa Shoyu. But due to it's cost ATK is right that a cheaper mass-market soy sauce like Kikkoman or Yamasa is often the way to go for cooking that requires large amounts of soy sauce, like some chicken adobo recipes I've seen that call for a cup of soy sauce and a cup of rice vinegar. It wouldn't make sense to use the expensive ones. However, Ohsawa can be quite reasonably priced if you're willing to buy a quart/liter jar at a time. It's usually sold for less than $20. If you're just using soy sauce for dipping then that generally means you only ever use a little at a time and big bottles really last. For that kind of use the higher quality "delicately flavored" soy sauces are really worth considering. A bottle might last you a year or more and you'll really taste it when you do use it. Ohsawa Nama Shoyu is also lower in sodium than even the low-sodium versions of the big brands like Kikkoman, which I really like, and it's certainly not low on flavor. It just has more nuance and a better taste in my opinion. That comes from aging for a few years rather than a few months and the differences in fermentation practices and equipment. If you're more adventurous you can get some good Japanese labeled stuff not made for export at an Asian specialty food store or online. The best I've tasted is Yamaroku Tsuru Bishio from Shodoshima, very artisanal, but Ohsawa Nama Shoyu is almost as good, has less salt, is less expensive, is imported to the US and actually available in stores here, and is made in a similar traditional way. But if you're interested in artisanal soy sauce there's great footage of Yamaroku on Great Big Story and in Netflix's _Salt Fat Acid Heat._ Ohsawa Nama Shoyu is genuine high-end Japanese soy sauce imported by Ohsawa and available in US supermarkets, so don't feel like you have to import a bottle yourself from Japan. The flavor of Ohsawa is representative of and similar to the other high-end soy sauces I've tried. It's definitely the easiest and generally the least expensive way to buy such sauce in the US and so is the best value if you want to buy high-end soy sauce in the US. I do recommend buying a bottle of Ohsawa if you want to try a step up from the cheaper mainstream brands produced using modern industrial methods with less aging. It's like a higher-quality olive oil or balsamic vinegar. It can be worth it when you're tasting it, but when used in cooking some dishes it will not always make a significant difference. It's not objectively an expensive food item, just expensive relative to Kikkoman. Small bottles of Ohsawa I see at health food stores for like $6. Bigger bottles give you more ounces per dollar. Ohsawa also imports from Yamaki some tremendous miso that blows away the domestic miso I've tried. You can get it made from brown rice, soybeans, or barley. Maybe more varieties than that. I've only had the brown rice miso but I'm curious about the barley. I'm about to buy more for my miso soup and many sauces, dressings, and broths their excellent miso has worked it's way into in my kitchen. If you want an appeal to a famous authority, Japanese cookbook author and food writer Nancy Hachisu recommends the Ohsawa soy sauce and miso. She's a fan of their supplier Yamaki Jozo and we're all glad that such quality is now available in the US.

As always, great show, great presentation from 'the best'. A big thank you to Jack & Bridget. 👍😎❤

It is always very interesting to see how people from a different culture see and evaluate soy sauce.

Thank you ladies....i follow all your tips.....i appreciate your lower cost.options on all products.....but I am grateful.

Pearl River Bridge is my favorite (It’s Chinese, medium darkness)

Not surprised. my wife (who is Japanese) won't let me buy anything except Kikkoman.

All i knew was VH soy sauce for 23years, then we ran out of some out the house, I picked up kikkomans, we havent switched back

Always nice when the brand you use is the winner.

What a great way to spend my Saturday evening

None of these brands are ones that a Chinese grandmother cooks with. They have a test chef there that's Asian, why didn't they ask her to do the testing?

These folks need to grab the 50+ brands in any Asian store. Then we'll talk.

I think putting Japanese style soy sauces vs Chinese style sauce as though they were the same thing makes about as much sense as including ketchup in a mexican salsa tasting. This is apples and oranges guys.

Without consciously comparing flavors, I have drifted toward Kikkoman over time.

Until around 1990 I never knew that anything but La Choy existed as far as soy sauce. It took a ton of cooking shows and a whole food related tv network to wake everyone up to things like Kikkoman.

I think Chris K. picked Eden Shoyu Soy Sauce years ago, and I’ve been using it ever since. Everyone who tries it seems to love it

I grew used to using/eating Aloha Shoyu from Hawai'i when I was stationed there. Less salty than most, plus they have a low sodium type also.

My choice is Pearl River Bridge Light Soy first then Kikkoman. Both are available readily in our local supermarket. Honorable mention goes to Aloha Shoyu which is made in Hawaii.

ok so here in Canada we use a lot of China Lily and kikkoman. China Lily is very dark with such great flavor. I've never heard of any of these except kikkoman. thanks kids.

At the opening, he said they round up 10 best soy, but only four very tested and tasted. I wish more samples were tried. We love the Kikkoman soy and use it almost daily. However, when cooking, we use a variety of Chinese, mostly Lee Kim Kee soy to get a certain flavor or color.

I grew up with kikkoman for almost half my life. But while living in hawaii, I found I preferred aloha soy sauce in the 70s. That still continues to be my go to now even though I now live in calif. So best to one is not best to others.

Informative, but I do wish the sample size was much larger.

Higashimaru or Yamasa are better, in my opinion but you have to live near a Japanese specialty market. I also found that the kikkoman tamari (black and gold bottle) is much better than the san-j stuff that you normally find, but I can only seem to find it at Japanese markets as well. Kikkoman is definitely the best supermarket stuff by far.

my thai wife has a whole cabinet full of soy sauces ie mushroom, light, dark, sweet, golden mountain, etc etc. she uses different sauces and combination of sauces for different purposes. along with fish and oyster sauces. there's a whole science going on there.. i'm a lucky man

My favorite is Lee Kum Kee. Ive always found it to have the right balance.

100% agree with your choice. Kikkoman's the only Soy Sauce I use and I've used it for decades. Yes; tried others and never liked them. Your video also reminded me that I used the last bit of my Soy Sauce (Kikkoman) 2 weeks ago and again forgot to buy another bottle. It's now on my list. :)

Just bought some Lee Kum Kee double fermented soy sauce...very rich with complex flavor...can’t wait to play around with it

Would've done the same thing as Bridget. Grew up with La Choy as the condiment soy sauce of choice, so I know that flavor well. I've bought Kikkoman for about 10 years now, but I have to admit when I go home to the parents ... I'm actually happy to have some of the La Choy again. I think it's merely "what we grew up with" though. And I get why people love Kikkoman.

My favorite is the Kikkoman Made in Japan, you’d have to check the label since it’s at some stores and not at others. It is miles ahead of their US version even. It must be fermented longer

My stir-fry’s are always flavored with 1 tbs Pearl River Bridge light soy sauce, 1 tbs Pearl River Bridge dark mushroom soy sauce, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil and a dash of sugar. On point with authentic Chinese takeout as long as you remember to include some fresh ground ginger root. I could eat fried rice with these flavors everyday. The rice has to be half Tai Jasmine and half American white long grain. So good!

In Malaysia we use black soy sauce to mix with rice, chicken, fish, and also potato even we can make it to be sauce for Fried banana, fried sweet potato or fried cassava. And it taste very much great and delicious.

Family favorite has been Kikkoman for over 30 years. I lived in Okinawa for 3 1/2 yrs. The soy sauce from there is not available where I live.

These tests would be better with a broader range of examples.

Thank you for sharing! Best presentation video of Soy Sauce! 😊🤗😊🤗

I grew up with Kikkoman, and it's good, but I've happily used San-J reduced sodium Tamari (white label with red circle) for decades. I love to try special varieties for different things, but the San-J Tamari is my go-to.

My Thanksgiving turkey game changed when I found Kikkoman's video on using it in a brine. Happy to see it winning out!

Kikkoman or Yamasa is what I buy, I saw a pic of Yamasa in the thumbnail, I wonder how it tested, I am gonna hazard a guess it was pretty close to Kikkoman.

I wish they said more about how many brands they explored and how they cooked with them. Myself, I like Kimlan. But you need an Asian store to find it. But drinking soy sauce from a glass is just not good--as would be the case, too, with fish sauces.

My wife is Asian from SE Asia and a great cook. We have a number of true Asian supermarkets in our area but she only buys Kikkoman low sodium.

I must stick with Tamari since I have gluten issues, but now I understand that I need to add a bit of sweetness to balance it out.

I wonder if they tested my favorite, Kimlan. I like their pick as well.

...Tamari all the way (Lima if you can get it) ...otherwise MISO brown, is my favorite

We use Kikkoman for sauces & marinades, but prefer Pearl River mushroom soy sauce on rice or to add to dishes. Did you test Pearl River? If yes how did it do in the testing?

Finally! Something familiar to me! That’s the one I use!,,,

Yamaroku aged 4 years soy sauce is the best tasting sauce in the world! Complex and rich umami flavor. Slight tingly sweet flavor note and rich fermented soy beans flavor. A real nice kick to the salty and savory flavor!

They also don’t mention that there’s two ways to ferment soy sauce. The organic soy sauce is fermented for two years using traditional cedar vats - some of which are over a century old. However most fermented soy sauce is made in stainless steel vats and usually fermented less than a year. The BBC website had an interesting article about a month ago about efforts in Japan to preserve the traditional process.

The best-tasting soy sauce we have found is Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce.

Whew, I was getting nervous there, I’m glad the panel picked Kikoman. Tried and true.

LOVE Kikkoman! I particularly like the ponzu citrus and ponzu lime.

Kukkiman is way, way to salty, I am truly blessed living in Edmonton Alberta. My two local supermarkets have very large Asian sections with over 40 verieties of soy sauces. It gets even better with a dedicated Asian supermarket also nearby called T&Ts

Couple of things. The expensive brand one is actually Shoyu. Which is Japanese Soy Sauce. Its thinner, milder, and that particular product is a dipping shoyu. Javanese shoyu addsjrice and barley usually to the fermenting process. Kikkoman I agree is the best all around soy sauce, however I prefer the lower sodium version for a dipping sauce straight. If you are combining the soy with other ingredients use full on kikkoman. Usually you add mirin to tamari to make it have a sweeter balance.

I have both Kikkoman and la choy. La choy is my favorite all purpose soy sauce. Kikkoman is lighter on the saltiness and works well with wasabi

Thanks for the Videos. Great Thanks

ATK is a family favorite - We love you all - stay safe

I found so much more respect for this guy when I learned that he is much more to ATK than the taste test guy.

My Chinese friend said that Kikkoman was pretty good approximation of what they had in Hong Kong when his parents first came to the US. Of course, there are plenty of others such as Pearl River Bridge on the low end and more expensive ones from Japan.

I've been trying different soy sauces, so this was fun to watch.

I'm glad you all try a diverse range of products. Sometimes I wish you had extra tests for kikkomans gluten free version for instance. Also, I believe most if not all la choy soy sauce is gluten free, so how does that work? Does it use a different grain for sweetness?

Me sipping soy sauce from a mini bathroom cup.... interesting 🧐

Wish Jack would have discussed all the fake soy sauces on the market...not just the ones that are not fermented but the ones that do not use soybeans in the process.

The best soy sauce is from taiwan... It is also wheat free so good for gluten free diet. 'Chopstick company wei jung red rice yeast soy sauce' Its a finishing sauce too expensive to cook with About 8-9 dollars for less than a cup. You will be amazed if you can find it. In los angeles we have asian markets that are the size of a costco. One whole aisle for soy sauce alone! That is where I get mine. I like to wrap it up and bring for host/ess gift

Kikkoman is the best. I've used it for many many years and it's just good.

Kinda surprised me, because after my last bottle of kikko ran out, I just kept buying tamari. I only really use it for eggs and stew, so there may be something to that part of it.

I have not thought much about the different brands of soy sauce, but have used all those brands previously.

Kikoman is my favorite I buy it by the gallon at Bjs/Costco it like 9 bucks to 12 and lasts a good 4 months at least !

Best show ever!!!

Always love watching your testing of products. I have used your shows to guide me on buying items for my kitchen. You have never steered me wrong❤️

You can find Japanese-made kikkoman in Asian grocers, and if you're in Hawaii you should buy some Aloha Shoyu

I like the Kikkoman low sodium with the green label

As a kid growing up in the Great Lakes area, I would have an oriental style food once in a while. I would dash on some soy sauce. Or, thought that I was. My first duty station in the U.S. Air Force was in northern Japan. That was 1961. There, I was introduced to Kikkoman soy sauce. WOW!!! What a difference. If I added one part Kikkoman to five parts water, I would again have the American soy sauce that I had grown up with. Yuck. A new friend that I met there, explained it well. “After Japanese soy sauce, American soy sauce is just a bitter disappointment.” BINGO! He encapsulated the entire subject in one sentence. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

Bragg liquid aminos any good? That's what I normally use but I don't have much to compare it with

I wish they had labeled this “Japanese soy sauce” or Shoyu because they aren’t the same as other Asian soy sauces like Korean or Chinese sauces. Some sauces are more salty, others sweeter, or more funky because that’s what you use them for in those cuisines. Japanese soy sauce can taste down right weird in certain Chinese dishes for example. I had the same issue with their fish sauce tasting. Thai, Viet, Chinese and Korean fish sauces are all different for legitimate reasons.

I may be biased but i highly recommend a Taiwanese brand (only in asian markets) called Kim Lan. They probably have over 20 soy products - pick the ones with no preservatives and no English labeling, normally priced around 5-7usd. I guarantee they are so much better than Kikkoman. The US Kikkoman is very salty and one-dimensional in my opinion, plus we don’t want any soy sauce that needs preservatives in them. The best ones have 3-4 ingredients and all natural ones.

Every Asian cooking class I’ve taken the chefs all recommended kikkoman as a good general all purpose soy sauce They had different recommendations for different purposes (maninades, dipping, soups.etc) but said if cost & availability were an issue then kikkoman was the best I’ve also noticed that several of the Asian cooking channels I follow they have that industrial size bottle of kikkoman soy sauce to refill their soy sauce bottles

It would be helpful to add the reduced sodium versions to the test. And the both the reduced sodium and regular version of Tarmari are not meant to be tasted and compared to sips out of a glass. These are flavoring supplements to cooking and in some circumstances and recipes are superior to soy sauce no matter how they sip.

Like wine, garlic, vinegar and bitters, some foods are rather assertive by themselves - they need other elements to bring out their hidden flavors - soy sauce needs to be traditionally brewed and aged, regardless of what it is made of (wheat vs no wheat) and used sparingly in order to utilize it's subtle characteristics - this taste test illustrates how complex flavors can be

I use kikkoman for cooking. But, for dipping Ahi Tuna, steak or over rice I have discovered a new favorite, Bluegrass Soy Sauce. Yes, it,s made in Kentucky and aged in what else but bourbon barrels by a Korean chef and restaurant owner. It's pretty spendy but worth it.

Were Yamaha, Koon Chun and and Kimlan tested? I was wondering about these brands that I see in my store. I believe these are from Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

I wanna be the guy who says "Sponsored by Kikkoman" but really It is tough to beat as a general purpose Soy sauce. It has great flavor, it isn't terribly expensive and is excellent for cooking, marinades and dipping really. That said I honestly keep multiple types of soy for different purposes. I keep a bottle of high quality tamari for dishes where that heavy salt hit is wanted, I keep Kikkoman for everything else cooking related and I actually have a bottle of the Nama Shoyu for dipping. Sure it is a little expensive per bottle, but that is fine considering it lasts basically forever and you are only really using it in small amounts in things where taste is everything. I view it the same way I view good quality spices. Absolutely worth the cost because you use so much less of it.

Plenty of other soy sauces from other countries too. Korean, thai, and even sweet soy sauce from Hawaii are other popular versions...very different from Kikkoman. Then there's other soy like substances like Maggi...maybe called seasoning sauces that taste like soy.

For many of us who regularly use soy sauce/tamari I really wish they done more with the sauces you find at an Asian market. Interesting that Kikkoman came out on top of these four, though. I've used San-J a lot.