豉油

豉 is salted fermented beans and 油 is oil (also used in 香油 sesame oil), so 豉油 is salted fermented bean oil.

Soy sauce is brewed from fermented soybean paste.

History

Soy sauce originated in China over two thousand years ago as a way to stretch the use of salt (a prized commodity in ancient China, heavily taxed and smuggled).

Categories:

油

Yale:

sih yàuh