What is mushroom flavored dark soy sauce and how does it differ from regular dark soy sauce? Do you need it in your pantry? How is it used? We’ll cover all that in this quick article.
What Is Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce?
Dark Soy Sauce comes in a mushroom flavored variety (mó gū lǎo chōu, 蘑菇老抽), which adds a higher level of natural umami to your dish.
Most of the time, we favor mushroom flavored dark soy sauce over plain dark soy and have both in our pantry. But if you can’t or don’t like to eat mushrooms, just go for the tried and true dark soy sauce.
How Is Dark Mushroom Soy Sauce Used?
Like regular dark soy sauce, mushroom flavored dark soy is commonly used in braised/red-cooked dishes like Red Cooked Pork, or to create a dark brown color in other sauces and stir-fries.
As with regular dark soy sauce, you only need 1-2 teaspoons to change the color of a dish, so use sparingly.
It’s a good idea to use mushroom flavored dark soy sauce in dishes that include mushrooms, to enhance that flavor. It’s also a good idea to use it in vegetarian dishes that could use an extra hit of umami richness, like braised tofu.
In general, you can use mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce interchangeably with regular dark soy sauce.
Buying & Storing
We prefer Pearl River Bridge Mushroom-Flavored Superior Dark Soy Sauce (below right). Lee Kum Kee also makes a variety of Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce (middle), as does the Hai Tian brand (left).
Store your mushroom flavored dark soy sauce in a cool, dry place like the pantry. No need to refrigerate.
Our Favorite Dishes That Use This Ingredient:
If you have further questions about mushroom flavored dark soy sauce, let us know in the comments––we try to answer every single one.
