What is Ganjang, Korean soy sauce?

Have you noticed the dozens of different soy sauces at Asian/Korean stores and wondered which one you should buy?
Especially when cooking Korean dishes, you need to find a good ganjang (soy sauce) since it is the base of the flavors!

Get to know ganjang (soy sauce) better to incorporate it into your everyday cooking!

In this post, you can find:

* What is Ganjang?
* What kind of Ganjang are there?
* How to use and store Ganjang
* Which Ganjang you should buy

1. 간장 Ganjang (soy sauce)

Uses

Ganjang is Korean soy sauce used for seasoning all types of things. It’s so versatile!
I mean, it can be used to season/marinate vegetables, meat, & fish, and can be used with or instead of salt to season soup, stew/braise and stir-fry. It can also be used for preserving/pickling and can be served as a dipping sauce too.

Process

The traditional way of making is very simple, yet can be time consuming. The well-fermented meju is mixed with salt and water and fermented further. After 50-60 days, the solid and the liquid are ready to be separated. The solids when finely mashed into a paste and are jarred & fermented further becomes doenjang (soybean paste). And of course, the liquid after filtration and further aged becomes ganjang (soy sauce).
Ageing can take from several months to years depending on how complex and deep you want your ganjang to be. This also gives different color, classification and uses.

Classification

1) 한식간장 Hansik ganjang (traditional soy sauce)

Traditional soy sauce is distinguishable by the highly complex flavors. As explained above, this is made only with 3 ingredients: soybeans, salt and water. You can notice the gradual color change as the fermentation goes on further. Younger soy sauce(less than 1 year) is lighter and usually used to season soup & namul (Korean vegetable salad), medium-aged(3-5 years) soy sauce for general use, & older ones(5 years or more) for meat dishes and desserts.

Compared to commercial soy sauce, traditional soy sauce is saltier because it is made to last and keeps on ageing. However, it is difficult to come across these traditional soy sauce outside of Korea if you don’t make it yourself. As far as I know, several importers in the U.S. do sell these artisanal soy sauce but not so much elsewhere. 
But I have to say all the time & effort (money if you’re buying it from somewhere) is totally worth it because no commercial soy sauce can measure up in terms of aroma & flavor.

2) 국간장 Guk ganjang (commercial light soy sauce)

Sometimes referred to as “soup soy sauce”,
these are saltier, less sweet soy sauce among
the commercial options. Guk ganjang can be used to season soup and vegetable dishes called namul. And if you are vegan, you can use this instead of fish sauce for making kimchi too! Make sure to look for the one that is naturally brewed.

3) 양조간장 Yangjo ganjang (commercial naturally brewed soy sauce

When a Korean recipe calls for “soy sauce”, this would be the one that it’s referring to. I have to say, this is the most popular soy sauce in modern Korean households for various factors: sweeter taste, accessibility, and versatility. However, this soy sauce is different from Korean traditional soy sauce in terms of ingredient & ageing time: wheat is added to enhance sweetness, thickness and color (which is adopted from how Japanese shoyu is made). This also means it’s not gluten free. This soy sauce is usually aged for 6 months.

4) 혼합간장 Honhap ganjang (commercial mixed soy sauce)

Although sometimes referred to as “진간장 jin-ganjang”, literally meaning dark soy sauce, this is a mixture of yangjo ganjang (commercial naturally brewed soy sauce) and sanbunhae ganjang (commercial chemically-processed soy sauce). It is a less expensive alternative to yangjo ganjang.

5) 산분해간장 Sanbunhae ganjang (commercial chemically-processed soy sauce)

This soy sauce is based on hydrolyzed soybeans, it is basically soy-based amino acid. It does not go through any fermentation process. After hydrolyzation & neutralization, soy amino acid is quite light in terms of color and flavor. That’s why then it is mixed with food coloring, sodium, and other additives like flavor enhancers. Although it lacks complex flavors you are likely to look for in soy sauce, it is way more affordable option. Same as Honhap ganjang, these are sometimes labeled “jin ganjang” at supermarkets and you will notice it by its noticeable less expensive price.  

2. Which one should you buy and how to store ganjang?

Among all these different ganjang out there, these are my recommendations.

Basic combination (as with most of modern Korean households) :
양조간장 Yangjo ganjang (dark soy sauce): use for stir-fry, stew, marinade
국간장 Guk ganjang (light/soup soy sauce): use for soups, light vegetable dishes

For serious homecook / professional :
양조간장 Yangjo ganjang (dark soy sauce): use for stir-fry, stew, marinade
한식간장 Hansik ganjang (traditional soy sauce): use light colored (young) ones for soups, light vegetable dishes, darker colored (more aged) ones for stir-fry, stew, marinade

If you can’t get Korean brands, Japanese soy sauce (e.g., Kikkoman brand) or Chinese soy sauce (e.g., LKK brand) can be a substitute too! But I always recommend using Korean brands for the authentic flavors 🙂

It’s best to keep them refrigerated but cool, dark area of the kitchen is okay too!

What is Ganjang, Korean soy sauce?

Summary

1. Ganjang (Korean soy sauce) is a versatile seasoning used for marinating, seasoning soups, stews, stir-fries, pickling, and as a dipping sauce. It is traditionally made by fermenting meju with salt and water, separating the solids and liquids after 50-60 days, and further aging the liquid to become soy sauce.

2. Ganjang is classified into traditional soy sauce (Hansik ganjang), commercial light soy sauce (Guk ganjang), commercial naturally brewed soy sauce (Yangjo ganjang), commercial mixed soy sauce (Honhap ganjang), and commercial chemically-processed soy sauce (Sanbunhae ganjang).

3. Traditional soy sauce (Hansik ganjang) offers complex flavors and varying uses based on its age, whereas commercial light soy sauce (Guk ganjang) is saltier and less sweet, suitable for soups and vegetable dishes. commercial naturally brewed soy sauce (Yangjo ganjang), popular in modern households, is sweeter and contains wheat, while commercial mixed soy sauce (Honhap ganjang) and commercial chemically-processed soy sauce (Sanbunhae ganjang) are less expensive, less flavorful options often labeled as “jin ganjang”.

For basic use, commercial naturally brewed soy sauce (Yangjo ganjang) is recommended for stir-fry, stews, and marinades, and commercial light soy sauce (Guk ganjang) for soups and vegetable dishes. For serious cooking, adding Hansik ganjang for its varied aging benefits is suggested, and if Korean brands are unavailable, Chinese or Japanese soy sauce can be used as substitutes.