This Chinese sweet soy sauce is an essential part of many Chinese dishes, from cold appetizers and noodles to dumplings. Sweet soy sauce is widely used in south-central and southwestern China, in provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan. It’s easy to make and keeps in the fridge for weeks.
Contents:
Why Make It at Home?
You can buy ready-made sweet soy sauce, but the choice is very limited – Lee Kum Kee is about the only widely available brand. It’s usable, but it lacks the caramel sweetness and depth of a homemade version, and it often relies on corn syrup and additives. Homemade sweet soy sauce tastes far better, and it’s very easy to make. It’s a thick sauce made from soy sauce, sugar and warm spices, and it works as both a dip and a marinade. The process couldn’t be simpler: put everything in a pot and let it simmer until it thickens.
Tips:
- For a richer flavor, toast the ginger over low heat first.
- You can also add other spices, such as extra cloves, star anise or fennel.
- Use sweet soy sauce as a dip for spring rolls, fried noodles or wontons. It’s also great in marinades for meat or tofu.
- Any leftover sweet soy sauce makes a great base for a noodle sauce.
Chinese sweet soy sauce is a versatile ingredient that adds depth and complexity to your cooking. It’s cheap to make and keeps for a long time, so it quickly becomes a pantry staple. Experiment with different dishes and discover everything this sauce can do.
Choose the Right Soy Sauce
Make sure you use regular all-purpose soy sauce. Chinese light soy sauce is saltier, and once the sauce has reduced, the result can be too salty.
Chinese Sweet Soy Sauce (Fù Zhì Jiàng Yóu 复制酱油)
Ingredients
- 2 cups soy sauce 480 ml, regular all-purpose soy sauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar 150 g
- ½ cup rock sugar 90 g, or granulated sugar
- 1 thumb ginger roughly chopped
- 6 scallions
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cloves
- 1 cardamom pod
- 2 pinches aniseed
Instructions
- Pour the soy sauce into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add all the remaining ingredients. Stir constantly until the sugar has completely dissolved and the liquid starts to bubble.
- Reduce the heat and keep simmering. The sauce should gradually thicken and reduce to about two-thirds of its original volume. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour, depending on your heat and pan, so check it every 15 minutes. When it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, take it off the heat.
- Set a fine-mesh strainer over a glass jar or container and strain the sauce.
- Let the sauce cool completely before using. Stored in a sealed jar in the fridge, it keeps for up to a year.