asian essentials: chinese dark soy sauce

Name: Asian Essentials: Chinese Dark Soy Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Yield: 1 serving(s)
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: ## PLAN/PURCHASE; 2 teaspoon(s) soy sauce; 1 teaspoon(s) dark molasses; 1/4 teaspoon(s) coconut or brown sugar

11 Pinches 10 Photos

Andy Anderson !

Wichita, KS

Updated on May 7, 2026

Dark soy sauce is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce, and imparts a deeper, richer, sweeter flavor to dishes than regular soy sauce. But it does one other thing. You have this Asian recipe you want to try, and the sauce in the photo looks thick, gooey, and rich. The problem is your sauce does not measure up. The molasses and sugar help to thicken the sauce as it cooks and also impart a nice reddish hue. The main image is Hong-Shao-Rou, and look how rich, gooey, and yummy that sauce looks. And it does not take much to get the job done. So, you ready… Let’s get into the kitchen.

Rate

prep time 5 Min

cook time

method No-Cook or Other

yield 1 serving(s)

Ingredients

PLAN/PURCHASE
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark molasses
1/4 teaspoon coconut or brown sugar

How To Make asian essentials: chinese dark soy sauce

Step 1

PREP/PREPARE

Step 2

Soy Sauces There are a lot of soy sauces in the wide world, from Japanese to Korean, to Thai or Indonesian, and more. This recipe is for a variation of Chinese dark soy sauce. You can purchase Chinese dark sauce, but this recipe has easy ingredients, and you can make what you need, when you need it. For this recipe, use a regular variety of soy sauce, or you could use Tamari.
Step 3

Amount In most recipes, you can usually substitute 1/3 of the soy sauce the recipe calls for with this dark sauce. So, if your recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of regular soy, use 1 teaspoon of dark sauce, with 2 teaspoons of regular. Once you use it a few times, you will get an idea of how much to add, based on your personal tastes.
Step 4

Variation To give the sauce more depth and a umami flavor, take a dehydrated mushroom, grind it into powder, and add about a teaspoon to the recipe.
Step 5

Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
Step 6

Mix the ingredients in a small prep bowl.
Step 7

PLATE/PRESENT
Step 8

Use in soups, stews, and Asian dishes. Enjoy.
Step 9

Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
Step 10

Namaste’
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