Is Soy Sauce Halal? Alcohol from Brewing, Explained

Traditional soy sauce is brewed. Kikkoman, the best-known brand in the US, makes its soy sauce from four ingredients: wheat, soybeans, salt, and water ^[1]. During fermentation, starch from the wheat breaks down into sugars, and some of those sugars turn into alcohol, much like in wine or beer making ^[1].

Kikkoman states that its soy sauces contain more than 2% alcohol by volume as a result ^[1]. Nobody adds wine or liquor to plain soy sauce; the alcohol comes from the brewing itself.

Some sauces built on soy sauce do add alcoholic ingredients. Kikkoman notes that some of its teriyaki sauces contain wine or mirin ^[1].

The key distinction for most scholars is between alcohol added as a drink and alcohol that forms naturally in food.

• Malaysia's National Fatwa Council ruled in 2011 that alcohol occurring naturally in foods, or forming as a by-product of food production, is not impure and is permissible ^[3].
• In Hanafi fiqh, Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf held that alcohol from sources other than grapes and dates is forbidden only in an intoxicating amount. Many muftis give fatwa on this view for food products because avoiding them is very hard ^[5]. Soy sauce alcohol comes from wheat, not grapes or dates.
• MUIS in Singapore rules that ethanol from non-prohibited sources is not impure, while limiting how ethanol can be added to food ^[4].

Soy sauce is used by the spoonful as a seasoning, not drunk. Even so, some Muslims prefer to avoid any product with measurable alcohol. Halal-certified and alcohol-free soy sauces exist for that reason ^[2]. HalalLookup reports these views; it does not issue a ruling.

Kikkoman reports that its Singapore plant produces halal-certified soy sauce for Muslim consumers, as well as non-alcohol soy sauce for the Middle East market ^[2]. The company has said it will keep meeting growing demand for halal soy sauce ^[2].

In US stores, look for a halal mark on the bottle.

If a bottle has no halal mark, the ingredient list still helps. Plain brewed soy sauce should list only soybeans, wheat, salt, and water ^[1]. Extra items such as wine, mirin, sake, or added alcohol mean the sauce contains an alcoholic ingredient on top of the natural fermentation, which is a separate question from natural fermentation.

• Teriyaki sauce may contain wine or mirin in addition to soy sauce ^[1]. See mirin.
• Oyster sauce and eel sauce have their own ingredient questions. See oyster sauce and eel sauce.
• Chinese and Japanese restaurants may cook with rice wine or cooking wine alongside soy sauce. Ask the kitchen.
• Korean sauces such as gochujang are also fermented.

For sushi, see is sushi halal.