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Chinese-style sweet soy sauce is more than just soy sauce and sugar. It is actually a mix of spices boiled together in a pot until it becomes thick and well-combined. Once you have this, you can experience the most authentic Sichuan food, from noodles to dumplings and cold dishes.
What Makes Chinese-Style Sweet Soy Sauce Special?
Chinese sweet soy sauce is a key ingredient in several Sichuan dishes, such as Sichuan wontons and Szechuan dumplings.
This is spice-infused, sweet, savory, and thick. It is far better than a regular sweetened soy sauce with only sugar as it uses several spices and aromatics.
Although this recipe includes a lengthy list of ingredients, some of them are optional or can be substituted. Please refer to the detailed explanations below.
It is still super easy to do since the steps include soaking the dry ingredients and boiling everything together until the sauce becomes thick.
In this recipe, I used 8 spices boiled with water, light soy sauce, and brown sugar. It becomes thick with the melted brown sugar as you continuously stir the sauce.
Once you have this special sauce, you can use it as an add-on ingredient for several dishes, from stir-fries to noodles and fried rice. Here’s how to use Chinese-style sweet soy sauce:
- Dumpling dipping sauce – Four Dumpling Sauces Recipe
- Soup base for Sichuan wontons and Szechuan dumplings
- Sauce or marinade for meat
- Noodles
- Sichuan-style cold dishes
- Stir-fried meat or vegetables
- Fried rice
- Sauce ingredient for bao buns and spring rolls
How To Store Chinese-Style Sweet Soy Sauce
The sauce should be kept in an airtight container or glass spice jar. In this way, the quality and freshness of the sauce are maintained and prevent contamination from other foods in the fridge. You can keep it in the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks.
Ingredient Tips And Alternatives
Let me explain how each ingredient is beneficial for the taste of the sauce. I also listed some suggestions when it comes to substituting each ingredient with the closest alternative. 
If you don’t have a particular spice, like black cardamom or fennel seeds, feel free to omit it. However, ingredients like green onions, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon are crucial for the essential flavors in this recipe.
Here’s what you need to know about the ingredients:
- Black cardamom: Black cardamom is also known as Lanxangia tsaoko. It is a ginger-like spice that is smoky and pungent with a hint of licorice. The closest alternatives to this are green cardamom and whole star anise.
- Bay leaves: Bay leaves are great for their similar taste to thyme and oregano. You can try to swap this with dried oregano, thyme, and basil.
- Star anise: Whole star anise is distinguishable for its star-shaped appearance. It has a warm, woody, and licorice-like taste with a strong aroma. You can swap this with anise seeds, Chinese five spice powder, allspice, fennel seeds, and cloves. To learn how to substitute star anise, read my guide: The 5 Best Star Anise Substitutes.
- Dry ginger: Dry ginger is more pungent and intense than fresh ginger. Feel free to swap this with ground ginger or fresh ginger.
- Cinnamon sticks: Cinnamon is sweet, woody, slightly citrusy, and spicy. The best alternatives to cinnamon are nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon powder, and Ceylon cinnamon.
- Green onions: You don’t need to chop the green onions. Simply add a bunch of green onions to the pot for boiling. Green onions add a mild sweetness and oniony taste. Swap this with chopped chives, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Fresh ginger: Aside from dry ginger, you will also need fresh ginger for its peppery and sweet flavors. It adds a spicy and warming kick to the sauce. You can also replace fresh ginger with ground ginger by using 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger for every 1 tbsp of fresh ginger.
- Fennel seeds: Fennel seeds also impart a licorice taste. The taste is described as sweet, bold, zesty, and earthy. You can substitute this with more star anise, cumin, licorice root, and additional cardamom. Since Chinese Five Spice Powder is made of star anise, cinnamon, and fennel seeds, you can also use this Chinese powder to replace these spices.
- Brown sugar: I recommend brown sugar for its mild caramel notes. It is also better for thickening and giving the sauce its deep brown color. The sugar sweetens the light soy sauce. To replace brown sugar, use white sugar, cane sugar, or coconut sugar.
- Light soy sauce: The sauce gets its salty and umami taste from light soy sauce. Not to worry, the saltiness is diluted with water. You can also use tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
Ingredients And Kitchenware You Need
Make sure to use a large pot for boiling all the ingredients. You will only need to prepare a pot, spatula, and strainer to make the sauce. The ingredients to prepare are the following:
- 1500 ml water
- 5 grams black cardamom (or Tsao-ko)
- 2 grams bay leaves
- 2 grams star anise
- 2 grams dry ginger
- 3 grams cinnamon stick
- 50 grams green onion
- 1 large thumb fresh ginger
- 6 grams fennel seeds
- 600 grams light soy sauce
- 400 grams brown sugar
How To Make Chinese-Style Sweet Soy Sauce
In a nutshell, the steps require soaking the dry spices, boiling all the ingredients, and stirring until the sauce thickens. Visit my Instagram or TikTok accounts to watch my short tutorial video on how to make Chinese sweet soy sauce. Remember to tag me @kitchenmisadventures to share your finished sauces!
Do you have your own version of this sauce? Let me know by leaving a comment in the comments section. Here’s how to make Chinese sweet soy sauce:
- Soak the dry spices.
- Pour water into the pot and add the soaked spices, sliced ginger, and green onion.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Once it boils, simmer on low heat for half an hour.
- After half an hour, add light soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir well.
- Stir the sauce, especially the bottom of the pot to prevent the brown sugar from sticking and burning.
- Continue boiling for an hour to lessen the light soy sauce taste and fully infuse the spices’ flavors.
- Turn off the heat and strain the sauce with a strainer to remove any scum and large bits. Enjoy this sweet soy sauce with noodles, cold dishes, and dumplings!
Sweet Soy Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1500 ml water
- 5 grams black cardamom or Tsao-ko
- 2 grams bay leaves
- 2 grams star anise
- 2 grams dry ginger
- 3 grams cinnamon stick
- 50 grams green onion
- 1 large thumb of fresh ginger
- 6 grams fennel seeds
- 600 grams light soy sauce
- 400 grams brown sugar
Instructions
- Soak the dry spices.
- Pour water into the pot and add the soaked spices, sliced ginger, and green onion.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Once it boils, simmer on low heat for half an hour.
- After half an hour, add light soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir well.
- Stir the sauce, especially the bottom of the pot to prevent the brown sugar from sticking and burning.
- Continue boiling for an hour to lessen the light soy sauce taste and fully infuse the spices' flavors.
- Turn off the heat and strain the sauce with a strainer to remove any scum and large bits. Enjoy this sweet soy sauce with noodles, cold dishes, and dumplings!
