Deep-Sea Fish Soy Sauce
Deep-sea fish soy sauce is a compound seasoning sauce that blends brewed soy sauce with fish sauce or a fish protein hydrolysate, so that the product carries both the roasted, malty depth of a fermented soy liquor and the marine savoury intensity of fermented fish. It is sold in bottles for table and kitchen use and in bulk for further manufacture, and it is positioned as a steaming and dressing sauce rather than as a substitute for either of its parents.
The two components contribute different chemistry. The soy fraction, made by fermenting a wheat and soybean koji in brine, supplies free glutamate, a large range of amino acids and peptides, and the aroma compounds of the moromi, including furanones, guaiacols and alcohols that give the malty and slightly sweet character. The fish fraction, made by long salt fermentation of small marine fish, supplies further free amino acids together with the nitrogenous and sulphur bearing volatiles that give the pungent marine note. Sugar or a sweetener, caramel colour, yeast extract and umami salts are usually present to balance the blend.
The finished sauce is a dark brown, moderately viscous liquid with a high salt content that provides its own preservation. It darkens with storage and its top notes fade on prolonged boiling, so it is generally added at the end of cooking or used as a dressing.
We source bulk Deep-Sea Fish Soy Sauce from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Zhejiang. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear dark brown liquid, free from sediment and haze |
| Odour and Flavour | Fermented soy with marine savoury character, matching retained reference |
| Total Nitrogen | Not less than 1.3 g per 100 ml |
| Amino Acid Nitrogen | Not less than 0.6 g per 100 ml |
| Sodium Chloride | 14.0 to 20.0 g per 100 ml |
| Total Soluble Solids | Not less than 25.0 percent |
| pH | 4.6 to 5.2 |
| Colour | Conforms to retained reference |
| 3-MCPD | Within the applicable regulatory limit for the destination market |
| Histamine | Within the applicable limit for the destination market |
| Lead | Not more than 1 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 5,000 cfu/ml |
| Yeast and Mould | Not more than 50 cfu/ml |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 ml |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are set first by the ratio of soy liquor to fish sauce and by the nitrogen contributed by each. A sauce dominated by the soy fraction tastes like a seasoned light soy sauce with a marine hint, while one carrying a large fish fraction is closer to a fish sauce that has been rounded out. Total nitrogen and amino acid nitrogen are the figures on which grades are compared, as they are for both parent products.
Grades are set second by how the soy fraction was made. Naturally brewed liquor, fermented in brine for months, is distinguished from blended or chemically hydrolysed material, and the distinction affects both flavour and the contaminant profile. A third axis is formulation, with the highest grades carrying only brewed soy, fish sauce, sugar and salt, and commercial versions adding glutamate, ribonucleotides, caramel colour, thickener and preservative. Reduced salt versions, gluten free versions made from a soy only or rice based koji, and unpasteurised versions all exist as separate lines, and bulk grades for industrial use carry a higher concentration than retail bottles.
Applications
- Steamed fish and seafood, poured over the dish immediately before serving
- Dipping sauces for dumplings, rice rolls and cold dishes
- Stir fries and braises, where it replaces both salt and plain soy sauce
- Noodle dressings and cold noodle sauces
- Marinades for meat, poultry and seafood
- Congee, steamed egg and tofu dishes, added at the table
- Compound sauce and dressing manufacture, as an umami base
- Instant noodle and ready meal liquid seasoning sachets
- Foodservice sauce bases in central kitchens, dosed by volume
China Manufacturers of Deep-Sea Fish Soy Sauce
Top Deep-Sea Fish Soy Sauce manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States the product is a food regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and because it contains a fishery product the manufacturer or importer is subject to the seafood hazard analysis and critical control point regulation at 21 CFR 123 and to foreign supplier verification. Histamine from the fish component is the principal screened hazard on import. Fish, soy and, where wheat koji is used, wheat are major food allergens requiring declaration. Monosodium glutamate where present is declared by name, and any preservative or colour is subject to its own regulation, with caramel colour permitted under the colour additive rules.
In the European Union the establishment requires approval under Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 because of the fishery component, and histamine limits for fishery products, including the specific tolerance for products matured by enzyme action in brine, are set in Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005. Additives carry E numbers under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, with monosodium glutamate as E621, the ribonucleotide salts in the E627 to E635 range and caramel colours in the E150 series. Soy sauce based products are subject to the Union limits on 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol and its esters, which are the routine analytical release point where any acid hydrolysed material is present. Fish, soy, wheat and gluten must be declared as allergens. Codex maintains a regional standard for fish sauce and one for soy sauce, and the general standard for food additives applies to the finished blend.
Manufacturing Process
The two fermented bases are made separately and combined at the end. For the soy liquor, defatted soybean or whole beans are soaked, steamed and mixed with roasted crushed wheat, then inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae and held for two to three days to produce koji, whose enzymes will carry out the later hydrolysis. The koji is mixed into brine to form a moromi and fermented for several months in tanks, during which proteases release amino acids, salt tolerant yeasts and lactic bacteria develop the aroma and acidity, and the mash is periodically stirred and aerated. The mature moromi is pressed and the raw soy liquor separated from the cake, then settled and decanted from its oil layer. For the fish fraction, whole small pelagic fish are salted at a fixed ratio and held in tanks for six to eighteen months, and the liquor is drawn and clarified.
Blending takes place in a jacketed tank, where the soy liquor and fish sauce are combined to the formula ratio and adjusted with salt, sugar, umami salts, yeast extract, caramel colour and any thickener or preservative called for. The blend is standardised for nitrogen and salt, filtered through a plate or membrane filter to remove haze forming material, pasteurised in line at around eighty degrees Celsius, and hot filled into bottles or drums, then cooled quickly. Release covers total nitrogen, amino acid nitrogen, salt, colour, histamine and the chloropropanol tests that apply to the soy fraction.
