The Elevated Soy Sauce Variety That Will Upgrade Any Asian Dish

If you're a fan of Asian food and cooking, there's a good chance you have a bottle of soy sauce in your kitchen. If you're really fancy, you might even have two. Soy sauce is a staple in many Asian cuisines that offers a particular oomph and a ton of umami. Whether it's served alongside sushi or going in a stir-fry, soy sauce offers a lot in the kitchen. But what if we told you there was a soy sauce that could offer even more umami in every bite?

It's true. If you're a fan of soy sauce's briny, salty flavor but want to up your game, you should head to the store for some mushroom soy sauce. You read that correctly — mushroom soy sauce is the easy way to elevate your soy sauce experience and bring a lot more to your cooking. Mushrooms are known for their own umami qualities, which makes for a soy sauce that's extra special.

Mushroom soy sauce is basically what it sounds like  — soy sauce made from mushrooms. Specifically, it's made from straw mushrooms, which are commonly sold in a can. For soy sauce, the mushrooms are dried first before being combined with soybeans to ferment into the final product. The result is a rich soy sauce with extra depth of flavor.

Mushroom soy sauce is considered a dark soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is characterized by being slightly thicker than the standard version. It has a flavor that is a little less salty and slightly sweet–but it still packs a wallop of sodium even if you can't taste it as much. Speaking of flavor, the common question around mushroom soy sauce is whether or not it actually tastes like mushrooms. If you're not a fan of fungi, don't worry–you can't taste them in this sauce. The flavor is rich and full of earthiness, but without the overt taste of the straw mushrooms.

Mushroom soy sauce is a staple for enhancing flavor and color in kitchens everywhere. The thicker consistency and dark color make it perfect for adding color to sauces and stir frys while bringing the other ingredients to life. Chris Kimura, corporate chef for Lee Kum Kee explained to HuffPost how mushroom soy sauce is commonly employed, saying, "It's usually used in conjunction with light soy sauces when a darker color and subtle sweet flavor is preferred, like with fried rice and chow mein."

There's a wide variety of soy sauces on the market to try, but mushroom soy sauce offers a ton of versatility in the kitchen. It's perfect for enhancing flavors in Asian dishes and can bring a little extra to other endeavors like pasta sauces and stews that are lacking. It's widely available at grocery stores and Asian markets and makes an ideal addition to your arsenal of kitchen favorites.