ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

It's obvious to my Japanese readers, but to me I never knew soy sauce had different uses and types. If you are interested in learning about cooking, Harumi Kurihara (栗原はるみ) has a series of amazing cooking books. What makes them so interesting is that left page is in English, and the right side is in Japanese. So interesting!

Here's what she says about the two major types of soy sauce.

Standard Soy Sauce (こいくち）
The soy-based sauce essential for Japanese recipes contains salt and has a uniquely savory taste. It is widely used as dipping sauce, for seasoning simmered food, and for adding flavor to Japanese-style sauces. There are various kinds of soy sauce, with regular soy sauce (koikuchi) offering darker color and less salt compared with light soy sauce (usukuchi).

Light Soy Sauce（うすくち）
This soy sauce, which is favored in the kansai area, has moderate color and flavor but is saltier than regular soy sauce. Light soy sauce is in fact the saltiest of all soy sauce varieties. Harmonizing with the natural flavor and color of ingredients, it is used for simmering pale-colored vegetables or white fish, and for seasoning clear soups.

I can taste the difference in the two I think. The description above says that light soy is saltier, but the undiluted one tastes way more salty to me! I'll have to ask someone about it some time.