Q&A for How to Make Soy Sauce

The molds make enzymes to help the fermentation process along, some turn starches into sugars usable by the lactobacillus and yeasts that do the fermentation process.

You can buy frozen edamame (not matured soya beans) in Asian supermarkets and also online.

No, boiling the beans is the best way. It just won't hold up if you don't use beans.

You use filtered or bottle water, because you don't want the chlorine to interfere with your ferment.

Follow the instructions listed in the article above.

Rice will attract different molds, so it may not taste like the soy sauce you're used to. If you're trying to avoid gluten, you could make tamari sauce instead.

Room temperature is good. It can be kept in you kitchen cabinet. There is no need to refrigerate.

The high salt concentration effectively inhibits growth of undesirable microorganisms. So 22 to 25 % salt (weight by volume) is recommended.

One is a bean. They are hard before they are cooked, and become softer and edible afterward. The sauce is a liquid.

You can, but given you are creating a complex mold with the bean paste the 'purity' will likely be lost in terms of any flavor, or lack of flavor, you are seeking. Filtered water allows for naturally occurring minerals in the water to help enhance the unique flavors your soy sauce will develop.

You cannot unless you send it for analysis. But as you get experience under your belt and connect with more knowledgeable people used to working with Aspergillus oryzae, you learn what is normal and what is not. Highly suggest Facebook group The Art of Miso. Making shoyu is really not difficult.

Don't use dried beans. Get frozen ones and boil them before removing the beans from the pods.

You are able to add whatever else you like to the recipe that won't disrupt the fermentation or pre-molding process. Different ingredients lead to different flavor profiles later on.

16 ounces, with pods, per the ingredient instructions. The unshelled edamame has roughly a third cup more peas per 16 oz bag. You could use either; add extra proportions of the remaining ingredients to make it. Authentically, you'll want to buy fresh or frozen pods.

Sure, but rather later on in the process or you can add some from the start, but try that with small batches first.

Theoretically you could, but you run the risk of the paste becoming inoculated with a mold/bacteria that will cause the mixture to fail. The places where they traditionally make the soy sauce use the same wooden equipment that has had the same mold/bacteria cultures on them for potentially hundreds of years, allowing the consistency to be maintained. Since you're investing 6-12 months of your time, it's a safer bet to just purchase the koji.

You can use iodized or non-iodized salt. Certain things that require non-iodized salt do so because the iodine can oxidize and cause a undesirable, yet harmless, darkening of the contents. Soy sauce is already a dark mixture, so this will not affect the outcome of your sauce.

It will not have the same consistency, and therefore it will not be successful.

Soy sauce is basically fermented soy bean. Any type of fermentation will require bacteria and mold.

There are alternatives to soy sauce, like coconut amino acids. It's close enough but not the same.

Yes, you can. These are the soybeans that are typically used for making soy sauce.

No, not at all. Almonds don't work for this purpose. You can make almond sauce - but most recipes for almond sauce require soy sauce. Soy beans and almonds are completely different foods and taste very different too.

Soy sauce is definitely vegetarian. Whether or not it is vegan depends on whether you think yeast is vegan or not.

This recipe makes 3.8 litres and 1 gallon. Remember it takes around one year or a little less to make it.

No it is not a byproduct. Miso does use many of the same ingredients, but the process and temperatures for the fermentation are different. The miso will develop as a paste.

No, purchase a proper soy sauce specific koji spore. Soy sauce flavour comes from the enzymatic breakdown of protein, the mold on koji is where those enzymes come from.