The “sauce” from Zhou dynasty

Soy sauce, generally thought as a transformation from “sauce”, is the brainchild of the Chinese food culture. The word “sauce” is first seen in the books of West Zhou Dynasty, as is written in The Book of Rites:” Taste not the sauce, when success is lost”, “Keep roast meat in a distance, and sauce close to oneself”, and in the Rites of Zhou:”The chief uses 20 jars and 100 various kinds of sauces to manage the dietary regimen of the king”. This shows that back then, “sauce” played a crucial part in seasoning. Therefore, taken into account with the origin of “sauce”, soy sauce boasts a 3000 years history. However, the “sauce”, made from fermented meat—a kind of marinated ground pork—is not quite the same with today’s soy sauce, regarding the production process, which uses fermented soybean, but more similar to that of fish sauce.

From animal sauce to plant sauce

3000 years ago, meat is a rare delicacy for the populace in Zhou Dynasty, so the “sauce”—made out of meat—is a luxury only appreciated by the royalties. Then, people started to use plant to produce “sauce”. With the low priced material and great flavor, plant sauce became popular. Among all sauces, those made from grains is most ubiquitous, developing bean sauce, noodle sauce and miso sauce. Bean sauce is much like the bean paste nowadays, and from which comes the invention of soy sauce.
According to the historical materials, bean sauce has been widespread during Han Dynasty or even well before then. In Discourse Balance, written by Wang Chong about 1900 years ago: “the world shuns away from thunder when making bean sauce” which means the rumble of thunder is regarded as a taboo for most bean sauce makers. From this passage, we learn that bean sauce production has been a part of people’s lives, hence the mentioning of the taboo.

The beginning of soy sauce—light soy sauce

In the end of Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui Shi mentioned in his book Simin Yueling around 1800 years ago:”The first month of the lunar calendar…. is suitable for the production of sauces, meat sauces and light soy sauces”. Some thought the “light soy sauce” is soy sauce, but the book did not go into details about the form or production of “light soy sauce”, so there’s no knowing the difference between the two.

During the Period of the Dynasties of North and South, “Main techniques for the welfare of the people”, written by the Northern Wei Dynasty official Jia Sixie, is an encyclopedia about the agriculture and the lives of civilians. The book included many methods to sauce production, one of which uses black beans as raw material. Seasoning such as “light soy sauce”—probably made from the pressing of the black beans—was also described in the book. “Main techniques for the welfare of the people” also included recipes in which “light soy sauce” was used as a seasoning. For example, “steam cooking”—is to first slice the steam cooked mutton and pork into pieces, then put the meat in a rice steamer (crockery with small holes at the bottom). Next, add raw mutton, chicken and then wild ginger, orange peel and light soy sauce for seasoning. There is also “raw cooking”, where light soy sauce is used to marinate lamb and pork.

According to the book, “light soy sauce” is obtained from the pressing of soybeans. The use of “light soy sauce” in stewing or marinating resembles that of the soy sauce today. That is why some reckons “light soy sauce” as soy sauce. Others, however, disagree, considering the variation in their production process. Overall, it is still a moot point as to whether “light soy sauce” equals soy sauce. But one thing is for sure, it is common to use “light soy sauce” in cooking as a flavorful addition. The book also recorded many recipes with the use of “black bean sauce”, and from the Chinese literal translation, “black bean sauce” is a seasoning that is much like soy sauce.
　

　

The origin of the name

The name of soy sauce first appeared in Southern Song Dynasty, where in the cookbook “Supply for mountain man with light food”, written by Lin Hong:”use shredded ginger, soy sauce and a splash of vinegar to mix with fresh leeks”. Since then, soy sauce could be seen in many books. However, the names for soy sauce vary due to different dialects, such as fresh soy sauce, soya bean sauce and bean oil. In Taiwan, people refer to soy sauce as Dou You (pronounced in Taiwanese), meaning the soy sauce produced by beans.