Condiment
Dark soy sauce
老抽
Also called lao chou, black soy sauce, thick soy
Soy sauce aged longer and often blended with molasses or caramel. Thicker, darker and less salty than light soy.
Origin
China; used across Southeast Asia.
Flavour
Mellow, faintly sweet, mostly about colour and depth.
How to use it
A spoonful colours braises, fried noodles and lu rou fan mahogany. It does not replace light soy for salt.
Storage
Pantry. Keeps a year or more.
Recipes using it
Hainanese chicken rice
海南鸡饭
Singapore's poached chicken with rice cooked in the chicken stock and fat, served with ginger-chilli sauce and dark soy.
Medium
Char kway teow
炒粿条
Flat rice noodles fried hard in lard with dark soy, egg, prawns, bean sprouts and chives, the Singapore-Malaysia hawker classic.
Medium
Kaya toast
咖椰吐司
Singapore's kopitiam breakfast: charcoal-style toast with coconut-egg kaya jam and cold butter, with soft-boiled eggs and dark soy.
Easy
Bak kut teh
肉骨茶
Singapore's Teochew-style pork rib soup: a clear, fiercely peppery garlic broth served with rice, dark soy chilli and fried dough.
EasyMedium heat
Taiwanese beef noodle soup
牛肉麵
Taiwan's red-braised beef noodle soup: shin simmered with doubanjiang, soy, tomato and spice over chewy wheat noodles and greens.
Medium
Lu rou fan
滷肉飯
Taiwan's braised pork belly rice: finely chopped belly simmered in soy, fried shallots and five-spice until sticky, spooned over hot rice.
Easy
Gua bao
刈包
Taiwanese steamed folded buns stuffed with soy-braised pork belly, pickled greens, sugared peanuts and coriander.
Medium
Three-cup chicken
三杯雞
Taiwanese three-cup chicken: chicken braised in sesame oil, soy and rice wine with whole garlic, thick ginger and a mound of Thai basil.
Easy
Khao man gai
ข้าวมันไก่
Poached chicken over rice cooked in chicken fat and broth with garlic and ginger, with a sharp sauce of yellow bean paste, ginger, chilli and vinegar.
Medium
Boat noodles
ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ
Small bowls of rice noodles in a dark, spiced beef broth with star anise, cinnamon and galangal, traditionally thickened with blood. Blood is optional here.
MediumMedium heat
Khao kha moo
ข้าวขาหมู
Pork leg braised for hours in dark soy, five-spice, star anise and palm sugar until the skin is soft, sliced over rice with eggs, greens and chilli vinegar.
Medium
Char siu bao
叉烧包
Cantonese steamed buns with a soft, slightly sweet dough that splits open on top to show a sticky, glossy barbecue pork filling.
Medium
Chow mein
炒面
Cantonese pan-fried noodles: thin egg noodles fried into a crisp golden cake, then covered with chicken, greens and a glossy oyster-sauce gravy that softens it in places.
Medium
