The Asian region has developed soy sauces to harmonize with local foods. For instance, Indonesian soy sauces such as kecap asin and kecap manis primarily are used with seafood. Koikuchi, usukuchi and tamari are Japanese soy sauces that match well with dishes like sushi, but taste different than Chinese sauces. Chinese soy sauces include light (in color), dark, mushroom, sweet, chili and seasoned soy sauces.
Chinese soy sauces go back thousands of years, but oyster-flavored sauce was invented accidentally in 1888 by Lee Kam Sheung, founder of Lee Kum Kee (Hong Kong). Lee Kum Kee is one of the oldest sauce companies in China, and the 2003 winner of the China Top Brand Special Honor for Soy Sauce. The flagship product, oyster-flavored sauce, is a thick brown sauce made from oyster extracts. “Oyster-flavored sauce is used in a countless number of Chinese dishes,” says Matt Governanti, a business development and public relations executive at Lee Kum Kee (USA) Inc.