Soy Sauce

Overview

Soy Sauce is a fermented condiment produced at the Brewing Barrel from a single Soybean. It cannot be consumed on its own for energy recovery; instead, it is a cooking ingredient in five recipes that call for a savory, umami element. Soy Sauce is one of three liquid condiments the Brewing Barrel can produce, alongside Vinegar and Cooking Oil.

Because Soybean is an all-season crop, you can produce Soy Sauce year-round without worrying about seasonal availability. Among the three Brewing Barrel condiments, Soy Sauce is the most frequently called for in recipes. It appears in five different dishes spanning the Campfire / Gas Stove and the Oven, including some of the highest-value meals in the game. Keeping a steady supply of Soy Sauce on hand is essential for anyone serious about cooking.

How to Make Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce is brewed at the Brewing Barrel, a crafting station unlocked at the Junior Farmer certification rank. Place a Soybean into the Brewing Barrel and wait for the fermentation process to finish. The Brewing Barrel operates on a timer rather than producing items instantly, so plan your brewing batches ahead of time.

The Brewing Barrel processes one batch at a time. If you need Soy Sauce in bulk, consider building multiple barrels. You can craft additional Brewing Barrels at the Worktable once you have the blueprint.

Ingredient Sourcing: Soybean

Soybean is a Junior Farmer tier crop available at the Happiness Seed Shop for 120g per seed bag. It grows in all four seasons with a growth cycle of 3 days and 12 hours, and each harvest yields 4 Soybeans. This means a single seed purchase provides enough Soybeans for four batches of Soy Sauce.

Dedicating even a small section of your farmland to Soybean ensures you always have raw material for Soy Sauce production. Since each harvest gives four Soybeans, you can brew four Soy Sauce (selling for 192g total) from a single 120g seed investment. However, selling Soy Sauce directly is rarely the best use of your Soybeans. The real value comes from cooking recipes that multiply the sell price substantially.

For players at the Senior Farmer tier, the Grinder lets you convert harvested Soybeans back into Soybean Seeds, cutting costs on subsequent plantings and improving your long-term profit margin.

Recipes Using Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce is required by five cooking recipes across two different stations. Three are prepared at the Campfire or Gas Stove, one at the Oven, and one at the Campfire/Gas Stove as well. The table below lists each recipe with its full ingredient list, stamina recovery, sell price, and unlock source.

Braised Pork Belly is the highest-value recipe that uses Soy Sauce. At 514g sell price and 158 stamina recovery, it is one of the top-tier dishes in the entire game. It requires 2 Soy Sauce per batch, so keep extra on hand if you plan to cook it regularly.

Clay Oven Chicken is notable for being the only Soy Sauce recipe cooked in the Oven rather than the Campfire or Gas Stove. It demands 3 Soy Sauce and 3 Cooking Oil per batch, making it one of the most condiment-heavy dishes in the game. The 493g sell price and 154 stamina recovery reward the investment.

Sauce Pancake and Hot Dry Noodles are more accessible mid-game options. Both rely on Flour (processed from Wheat) as a primary ingredient alongside Soy Sauce, making them straightforward to produce once you have a Separator and Brewing Barrel running.

Sell Price and Profitability

A single Soy Sauce sells for 48g. Since a raw Soybean sells for 93g, converting a Soybean into Soy Sauce at the Brewing Barrel actually decreases its sell value by 45g. This is the opposite of what you might expect from a processed product, and it means you should never brew Soy Sauce with the intent of selling it directly.

The real value of Soy Sauce is entirely as a cooking ingredient. When you use Soy Sauce in a recipe, the finished dish sells for far more than the combined value of its raw inputs. For example:

• 2 Soy Sauce (96g raw) + other ingredients turn into Braised Pork Belly at 514g sell price.

• 3 Soy Sauce (144g raw) + other ingredients turn into Clay Oven Chicken at 493g sell price.

• 1 Soy Sauce (48g raw) + other ingredients turn into Golden Beef Noodles at 229g sell price.

Selling to the Merchant Ship at 200% price would bring Soy Sauce to 96g per unit, but even then, cooking the Soy Sauce into finished dishes before selling yields better returns.

All Brewing Barrel Condiments

The Brewing Barrel produces three liquid condiments. Each takes a single crop as input. None of them restore energy on their own; they exist solely as cooking ingredients.

Soy Sauce sits in the middle for sell price among the three condiments. However, it is arguably the most important to keep in stock because of the high value of the dishes that require it. Braised Pork Belly (514g) and Clay Oven Chicken (493g) are among the most profitable meals in the game, and both depend on Soy Sauce.

Tips

• Never sell Soy Sauce directly. At 48g, it is worth less than the raw Soybean (93g) it came from. Always use it as a cooking ingredient instead.

• Build multiple Brewing Barrels. Each barrel can only process one batch at a time. Running multiple barrels in parallel lets you brew Soy Sauce, Vinegar, and Cooking Oil simultaneously without waiting.

• Keep Soybean plots running year-round. Since Soybean grows in all four seasons, dedicate a few rows specifically for Soy Sauce production. Each harvest of 4 Soybeans gives you enough for 4 Soy Sauce batches.

• Prioritize Braised Pork Belly and Clay Oven Chicken. These two recipes offer the highest returns from Soy Sauce, both in stamina recovery and sell price. If you have the ingredients for either, those should be your first choices.

• Pair with Flour production. Four out of five Soy Sauce recipes also require Flour (from Wheat at the Separator). Keep a steady supply of both Soy Sauce and Flour to avoid bottlenecks when cooking.

• Sauce Pancake is the simplest Soy Sauce recipe. It only needs 3 Flour and 2 Soy Sauce, with no other ingredients. If you want to clear Soy Sauce inventory quickly while still earning more than selling it raw, Sauce Pancake is a reliable option at 139g per dish.