Thai soy sauces are similar to Chinese soy sauces in that there are both dark and light varieties. However, there are some key differences. Some say Thai soy sauce isn’t as briny or harshly salty as Chinese/Japanese soy sauce, because the salty flavor is balanced by sweetness from added sugar. Thai cooking, after all, is all about balancing disparate flavors!
If you enjoy cooking Thai dishes like pad see ew or drunken noodles in addition to our Chinese recipes, you may want some of these Thai soy sauces in your pantry to achieve the most authentic Thai flavors! Let’s talk about the major types of Thai soy sauce and their uses.
What Is Thai Soy Sauce? What Types Are There?
We’re going to talk about four major types of Thai soy sauce. Two are of the “light” variety and two are of the “dark” variety.
Thai Light Soy Sauce (see ew khao): Also sometimes labeled “thin soy sauce” or even “white soy sauce,” Thai light soy sauce is the Thai equivalent of a Chinese light soy sauce––your basic, regular multipurpose soy sauce for use in most situations.
Thai Mushroom Light Soy Sauce: A version of Thai light soy sauce that is flavored with mushrooms. This can be used interchangeably with Thai light soy sauce, and whether or not you want that extra umami/mushroom flavor in dishes is a matter of personal preference. Note that this differs significantly from Chinese Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce, which is a syrupy dark soy sauce rather than an all-purpose cooking sauce.
Thai Black/Dark Soy Sauce (see ew dahm): Similar to Chinese dark soy sauce or double black soy sauce, Thai black soy sauce is slightly sweet (from added palm sugar molasses), with a thicker consistency.
Thai Sweet Soy Sauce (see ew wan): Like a Thai Black Soy Sauce with much more sugar added! It has a thick, syrupy consistency, dark color, and very sweet flavor. It is sometimes used in noodle and stir-fry dishes as well as dipping sauces.
As you can see below, thin soy sauce (left) is quite light colored and, well, thin! Black soy sauce (middle) is much darker and a bit thicker, while sweet soy sauce (right) has a very thick, syrupy consistency. Thai mushroom light soy sauce is similar in look and consistency to Thai thin soy sauce.
How Is It Used?
Applications of these Thai soy sauces are similar to how their Chinese equivalents are used in Chinese cooking. Thai light soy sauces (both the regular and mushroom varieties) are used to salt, flavor, and season food in stir-fries, braises, etc.
Thai black soy sauce is used much like Chinese dark soy sauce, in that it adds color to dishes. Thai sweet soy sauce, with its syrupy flavor, is most often used in dipping sauces and sometimes to add sweetness and color to stir-fry dishes (though it’s not used as often as Thai black soy sauce).
We have Thai soy sauces in our pantry specifically for cooking Thai dishes. In our Thai recipes, you’ll see that we call for “light soy sauce” and “dark soy sauce,” just like in our Chinese recipes.
You could certainly just use Chinese light and dark soy sauces for cooking Thai dishes, and they’ll still be delicious, just not as authentically Thai. For that reason, if we have Thai light/dark soy sauces available in our pantry (which we usually do!), that’s what we use when we blog Thai recipes.
When light soy sauce is called for in a Thai recipe, pick up your Thai Light Soy Sauce/Thin Soy Sauce or Thai Mushroom Light Soy Sauce. If we call for dark soy sauce in a Thai recipe, reach for Thai Black Soy Sauce. Thai Sweet Soy Sauce is rarely called for in our recipes, as we usually just add more sugar to a recipe if we want to achieve additional sweetness.
Buying & Storing
Thai soy sauces can be found in Thai and Southeast Asian markets, as well as very well-stocked Chinese supermarkets (Thailand does have a significant Chinese population).
The Healthy Boy brand is what’s usually available at our local market, and it happens to also be one of the most popular brands in Thailand.
Like most of the soy sauces in our pantry, we do not refrigerate any of these Thai soy sauces. We store them well-sealed in a cool, dry spot in our pantry.
If you have further questions about Thai soy sauce types or Thai cooking in general, let us know in the comments––we try to answer every single one!
Note that we haven’t extensively covered soy sauces from other southeast Asian countries in our glossary. If you’d like to learn more, check out this interesting and helpful Kikkoman-sponsored report written by Food Researcher Nami Fukutome about soy sauce usage in Thailand as well as the Philippines and Vietnam.
Thai Soy Sauce substitute
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Chinese dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated or brown sugar
Instructions
- mix 1 teaspoon Chinese dark soy sauce and 1 teaspoon brown sugar (makes 2 teaspoons Thai Sweet soy sauce
- You can use equal p[arts dark soy sauce and sugar to make whatever quantity you need
Is the thai sweet soya saus similar to the indonesian “Bango ” or what it is called ” Ketjap manis”?
I mix this with lemon juice, fresh gar.ic and fresh onion for our rice dishes or for steamed tofu
What could you suggest?
Yes, the sweet soy sauce is similar to kecap manis!
Help! I am attempting soy sauce chicken and could only find black soy sauce! Should I omit it and just use extra regular soy sauce?
Hi Brandy, you can use black soy sauce in place of dark soy sauce.
Hello,
I am trying to make the dressing in the beef thai salad.
The four basic ingredients I have learned are: fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and the hot peppers.
I wanted to subtitute fish sauce for a less salty ingredient.
I found a light thai sauce, or thin soy sauce. But, I could not find it in my neighborhood asian store. I had no idea there were so many soy sauces like olive oil.
Could you help me with the light soy sauce and the name brand if it matters.
Thank you.
Cathy,
Hi Cathy, if you’re looking for a Thai think soy sauce, Healthy Boy is a good brand. If you want a Chinese light soy sauce, we use Pearl River Bridge.
Thanks for this post. Can you help me understand if the healthy boy thin and dark soy sauces can be used in Chinese cooking?
Hi Harry, you definitely can use Thai soy sauces. The thin Thai soy sauce is a little saltier than Chinese and the dark (black) soy sauce is a little sweeter. The key is to taste when using ;-)
Thanks for this very helpful post on Thai soy sauces. I came across a recipe calling for Thai seasoning sauce. Can you also shed some light on this one? Any substitutes, like Maggie sauce or other Chinese sauces? Just trying not to add to the many bottles of sauces I already have in my pantry since I plan to add the Thai thin, thick and sweet soy sauces to the Chinese version of soy sauces. Thanks.
Hi Karen, Thai seasoning sauce is likely similar to a seasoned soy sauce, which adds additional flavoring including msg and sugar. Seasoned sauces are usually tasty, but I prefer building sauces from basic ingredients.
Hello, I am interested in trying to make healthier versions of these sauces without refined sugars. Also, despite my Thai family loving loving loving Healthy Boy it is unavailable here without paying exorbitant importation costs. Do you have recipes for all the various Thai soy sauces that might use things like molasses and/or coconut sugar? I am also trying to recreat several other Healthy Boy condiments like Chicken Sauce but I have never had them to try to do this on my own….Great blog and thank you for your help!
Hi Aimee, we don’t have any recipes, but if you can buy dark soy sauce, you can add molasses and probably lots of palm sugar to recreate the Thai sweet soy and adjust the sweetness to your own liking.
Hi, is there a difference between Healthy Boy Mushroom Soy sauce and Healthy Boy Vegeterian Mushroom Sauce ? I received the latter from amazon even though i wanted Mushroom Soy. I received a message from the vendor saying its the same thing, just with new packaging and labeling. Can you confirm if there is any difference ?
Hi Jyot, I’m not sure! I haven’t tried Healthy Boy mushroom soy sauce, but I will say that most soy sauces are vegan…unless it says something like “Seafood flavored” on it. You can always check the ingredients on the package.
Thank you for the in depth discussion. I did buy both black & sweet black Thai soy sauce and made your Pad Thai recipe. It was excellent. I was thinking the black soy would be interesting in chocolate chip cookies. I love the complex flavor.
Very interesting idea, Arlene! Perhaps in place of the salt in the cookies?
Where can I purchase these items? I live in Los Angeles, California 90011. Please advise.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Yolanda, you can find Thai soy sauce in any large Asian grocery store. Just did a quick google search. There’s a 99 Ranch Market at the Gateway Center, 1340 Artesia Blvd, Gardena, CA 90248. You live in an area where Asian groceries are abundant, though, so I’m sure there are others as well!
Hi WoL,
This is a very informative article. Do you happen to know if Thai black soy sauce is the same as Malaysian black soy sauce a.k.a. thick soy sauce a.k.a. cooking caramel?
Thanks!
Fred
Hi Fred, I’m not quite sure about the differences in Malaysian soy sauces and brands, so best to check the label. Do you have any brand of Malaysian soy and black soy sauces that you have been using?
Hi Fred, I haven’t cooked with Malaysian black soy sauce personally, but it sounds like it might be closer to Thai sweet soy sauce, which is much sweeter and thicker.
Hi Fred,
I have also been looking for Malaysian Caramel Soy too but currently they are only available in a pack of 3 via Amazon. I was wondering too if the Thai Black Soy Sauce is the same.