Soy sauce

Soy sauce (also called soya sauce) is a condiment made from a fermented paste of boiled soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds. It originated in China in the 2nd century AD and spread throughout East Asia where it is used in cooking and as a condiment.

History

Soy sauce originated in China sometime between the 3rd and 5th century from a meat-based fermented sauce named jiang (醬). Its use later spread to East and Southeast Asia. Like many salty condiments, soy sauce was originally a way to salt, historically an expensive commodity. In ancient China, fermented fish with salt was used as a condiment in which soybeans were included during the fermentation process. Eventually, this was replaced and the recipe for soy sauce, (醬油), using soybeans as the principal ingredient, with fermented fish-based sauces developing separately into fish sauce.