Soy Sauce

Japanese soy sauce, or shoyu, is one of those ingredients that rewards exploration. The bottle in most kitchen cupboards is just the beginning. Light soy sauce, white soy sauce, tamari and aged shoyu each taste different and behave differently in the pan.

We stock a carefully chosen range of Japanese shoyu, from wheat-free tamari shoyu and yuzu-spiked dipping sauce to Kamebishi's exceptional 38 year aged shoyu, brewed in 100-year-old cedar barrels by the same family since 1753. Shop below.

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A 150ml bottle of Soy Sauce with Shiitake Mushroom featuring a yellow cap, green label with Japanese text, and images of shiitake mushrooms, soybeans, and seaweed for a rich umami flavor.
Soy Sauce with Shiitake Mushroom - 150ml
£4.95
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On sale
Aosa Seaweed Soy Sauce comes in a glass bottle with a gold cap, dark liquid inside, and a green Japanese label with white text on the front, delivering rich umami flavors.
Aosa Seaweed Soy Sauce
From £9.75 £36.50
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A 340ml glass bottle of Horaiya Honten Koji Soy Sauce, crafted via koji fermentation, with a beige cap and a cream-colored label featuring Japanese text.
Horaiya Honten Koji Soy Sauce - 340ml
£9.25
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A 120ml glass bottle of Naogen Koikuchi Marudaizu Soy Sauce with a beige label and dark brown liquid, photographed on a white background.
Naogen Koikuchi Marudaizu Soy Sauce - 120ml
£7.95
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A 120ml glass bottle of Naogen Ginger Soy Sauce with a gold cap and a label in Japanese and English, shown on a white background.
Naogen Ginger Soy Sauce - 120ml
£7.95
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A 120ml bottle of Naogen Yuzu Soy Sauce with a dark green label and gold cap, featuring Japanese and English text.
Naogen Yuzu Soy Sauce - 120ml
£7.95
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A 150ml bottle of Smoked Soy Sauce with a black cap and label is centered on a white background, providing a rich, smoky flavour thats vegan friendly.
Smoked Soy Sauce - 150ml
From £8.95
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A 210ml clear glass bottle of Smoked Soy Sauce with a gold cap and beige Japanese label, offering cherry wood smoke flavor, umami notes, and a barcode.
Smoked Soy Sauce - 210ml
£10.50
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A silver, resealable pouch with a white label and black Japanese text contains Smoked Soy Sauce - 450ml, handcrafted with Japanese beech, displayed on a plain white background.
Smoked Soy Sauce - 450ml
£24.00
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On sale
A bottle of IKI Sweet Soy Sauce with a green label and black cap, featuring Japanese text, stands against a white background, offering rich umami flavor.
"IKI" Sweet Soy Sauce
From £9.95 £16.95
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A 200ml glass bottle of Sweet Soy Sauce for Mochi Rice with a black cap and yellow Japanese label, shown on a white background—ideal for pairing with mochi rice or drizzling over desserts with black sugar.
Sweet Soy Sauce for Mochi Rice - 200ml
£7.35 £10.50
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A clear glass bottle of Shiro Shoyu Tsubaki, White Soy Sauce, essential in Japanese cuisine, with a gold cap and white label, is photographed on a plain white background.
Shiro Shoyu Tsubaki, White Soy Sauce
From £10.95
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A glass bottle of Kurano Shiroshibori White Soy Sauce with a green cap and a white Japanese label stands upright on a white background—an essential ingredient for authentic Japanese cuisine.
Kurano Shiroshibori, White Soy Sauce
From £11.75
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A 500ml dark glass bottle of Premium Mitsuboshi Soy Sauce with a red cap and bold red Chinese characters on the label, shown on a white background, delivers rich umami flavor crafted using traditional Japanese methods.
Premium Mitsuboshi Soy Sauce - 500ml
£55.00
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Three pieces of rich, dark chocolate brownies stacked on a white surface, subtly enhanced with the umami depth of 3 Year Aged Soy Freeze Dried 30g.
3 Year Aged Soy Freeze Dried 30g
£11.50
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The 2 Year Aged Soy Sauce with Pourer & Serving Dishes is beautifully presented in a black ceramic pourer, two small dishes, and a box with shredded paper, making an elegant gift set displayed on a reflective surface.
2 Year Aged Soy Sauce with Pourer & Serving Dishes
£48.00
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The Premium Mitsuboshi Shoyu Soy Sauce Carafe (900ml) features a white ceramic bottle with JAPANSCH label, gold seal, brown paper-wrapped top, and a box adorned with red-orange Japanese motifs—showcasing artisanal soy sauce made via the te-koji method.
Premium Mitsuboshi Shoyu Soy Sauce Carafe - 900ml
£145.00
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How the types of Japanese soy sauce differ

Most people know one kind of soy sauce – the dark, glossy one. In Japan, that's koikuchi shoyu: the everyday standard that accounts for the majority of the country's production. It has a deep mahogany colour and a flavour profile built from umami, faint sweetness and just enough acidity to pull everything together. Brush it onto yakitori, stir it into a braise, or add it near the end of a stir-fry and watch it caramelise to a lacquered finish.

Light soy sauce, or usukuchi shoyu, looks thinner and paler, but is actually saltier than its dark counterpart. The fermentation is deliberately slowed to preserve that lighter colour, which makes it the right choice when you don't want your dish stained dark. Simmer pale root vegetables in it, use it to season a delicate dashi broth, or try it in chawanmushi egg custard. The ingredients stay the colour they should be.

Tamari is thicker and deeper, brewed with little or no wheat. It coats the tongue with a dense, almost syrupy savouriness. This is exactly why it works so well as a soy sauce for sushi and sashimi. It clings to fish where a thinner sauce runs off. It's also the natural choice for anyone eating wheat-free.

White soy sauce (shiro shoyu) is the surprise in the range. Pale straw-coloured, faintly sweet and unmistakably fragrant, it feels more like a seasoning than a condiment. A splash of it in a clear soup, a pale dressing or a delicate sauce adds depth without the colour. If you used koikuchi, everything would turn brown.

Choosing a soy sauce for cooking or the table

For cooking, dark shoyu is the workhorse. Its salt seasons, its sugars caramelise and its glutamates amplify everything around them. Use it early in a braise for depth or finish a stir-fry with it to build a glaze.

At the table, the approach shifts. Tamari poured cold over sashimi has a rounded, savoury weight that light soy sauce can't match. Yuzu soy goes in a different direction entirely. The citrus in it cuts through richness and works well on grilled fish or a cold noodle salad.

Aged soy sauce sits in a category of its own. Kamebishi has brewed Japanese shoyu in the same samurai house since 1753, and the two or more years of fermentation in 100-year-old cedar barrels is still overseen by the 17th generation of the Okada family. The result is mellower on the salt and longer on the finish. It tastes right on plain tofu. It tastes extraordinary in a careful recipe.

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Frequently asked questions

Shoyu is the Japanese word for soy sauce, and the term refers specifically to the Japanese brewing tradition. Soybeans, wheat and salt are naturally fermented to produce a different balance of umami, salt and sweetness to Chinese or Indonesian styles.

Dark soy sauce (koikuchi) is deeper in colour and flavour, with a rounded umami character. Light soy sauce (usukuchi) is paler and saltier; it seasons a dish without darkening it. The two have different uses and aren't interchangeable.

Tamari is a type of soy sauce brewed with little or no wheat. That gives it a thicker body, deeper flavour and makes it suitable for wheat-free diets. It's traditionally used as a dipping sauce for sashimi and sushi rather than in cooking.

Tamari is the traditional choice. Its thick body clings to fish where a thinner sauce slides off. Koikuchi works too, particularly in a soy and mirin dipping blend. Avoid using light soy sauce at the table; its higher salt content can overpower delicate fish.

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