What Are Jin Ganjang and Yangjo Ganjang?
Read This Before Buying Soy Sauce
What Are Jin Ganjang and Yangjo Ganjang?
GPT is so smart that it tells you a lot of things.
Sometimes it even tells you things you don’t need to know, which makes it a little tiring to read.
So I’ve kept it simple.
Use Jin Ganjang for dishes that are cooked or heated,
and Yangjo Ganjang for dishes that are mixed or seasoned without much cooking.
You might wonder, “Does heating Yangjo Ganjang produce something harmful?”
No. That’s not the reason.
Yangjo Ganjang is a more premium soy sauce
that allows you to enjoy more of the soy sauce’s natural aroma and flavor.
But if you boil it for a long time and let all that aroma disappear…
Well, you’re basically just wasting the money you paid for the better soy sauce.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t heat Yangjo Ganjang.
It simply means that if you want to enjoy its distinctive aroma and flavor,
it’s better suited to dishes such as seasoned vegetables, dipping sauces,
and other recipes where the soy sauce isn’t cooked for a long time.
For dishes such as braised dishes, stir-fries, and bulgogi,
where the soy sauce is heated, Jin Ganjang is the more practical choice.
What Do the Numbers on Soy Sauce Mean?
You may have seen numbers such as 501 and 701 on Korean soy sauce bottles.
They don’t really look like an international grading system.
They are more like a Korean way of indicating the quality level of soy sauce.
And this part is simple, too.
Just turn the numbers around.
501 = 105
701 = 107
These numbers are related to the total nitrogen (TN) content of the soy sauce.
So 501 indicates 1.05%, while 701 indicates 1.07% total nitrogen.
In simple terms, a higher number means a higher level of nitrogen-containing compounds in the soy sauce,
which is generally associated with a richer savory flavor and more depth.
So naturally, 701 is more expensive than 501.
That’s really all there is to it.
If I could recommend only one type, I would choose Jin Ganjang.
It’s more versatile for everyday Korean cooking,
especially for braised dishes, stir-fries, bulgogi, and other recipes that involve heating.
But if you want to explore Korean cooking more deeply,
I recommend having both Jin Ganjang and Yangjo Ganjang.
Jin Ganjang for cooking.
Yangjo Ganjang for enjoying the aroma and flavor of soy sauce.
That’s all you really need to remember when choosing Korean soy sauce.