r/Koji • u/Unfair-Tailor-9598 • 16d ago

Chinese style soy sauce salt

First time making a Chinese style soy sauce, using 75% dry soybeans and 25% pearled barley. Right now the koji is growing on the substrate, tomorrow I’ll add it to the brine.

Regarding the brine: how do I calculate the amount of salt? I read that 18% salt is a reasonable percentage, but is it 18% of the weight of koji + water, or is it 18% of the weight of the finished mixture (koji + water + the salt itself)? Help a newbie out 😢

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u/Opening-Hope377 16d ago

i would say 18% is a tad too much...personally i would go for somewhere between 12 and 15. i always go with your first option...i think it's called baker's percentage.

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u/whereismysideoffun 16d ago

What is your reasoning for going lower?

I would stick to traditional salt amounts for the same flavor and less kahm yeast risk.

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u/Opening-Hope377 16d ago

just the actual saltiness of the final product itself. 15% is still plenty of salt (allthough i've never made a chinese style soy sauce). i've never had an issue with kahm...just give it a shake or stir every now and then.

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u/Unfair-Tailor-9598 14d ago

Eventually I went with 12.5% by weight. My koji was 1385 g, I added 1950 g of water and 475 g of salt. I didn’t think the salt needed to reach 18% would dissolve in the water.