Soy Sauce And Orange Juice: The Drink Combo Social Media Couldn't Fathom

We've all experienced interesting drink combinations that have either been huge hits or misses. There was the viral lemon coffee trend which had people squeezing fresh lemon juice into black coffee. One of the more unique new drink trends is soy sauce orange juice. Yes, you read that correctly; soy sauce is combined with orange juice for a supposedly delicious drink. We can thank Calvin Lee aka @foodmakescalhappy on Instagram for sharing the unusual concoction that has people shook. All you need is a glass of run-of-the-mill orange juice and a splash of regular soy sauce. The two liquids are mixed together before being consumed.

According to Lee, the soy sauce helps make the orange juice taste freshly squeezed. He claims it tastes way better than standard store-bought orange juice and doesn't have a strong salty soy sauce flavor. Some people compared the combination to electrolyte drinks, which are often loaded with salt. On the questions-and-answer platform Quora, people argue that adding a tiny bit of salt to orange juice helps balance the acidity and can actually bring out the sweetness of the juice. Even though the soy sauce is not a prominent flavor, people were overall not convinced with the deliciousness of the combination.

Like with any new food or drink discovery, people were quick to share their thoughts about soy sauce and orange juice. The overwhelming amount of comments shared their disgust at the drink combo. In the Instagram comments, one person wrote, "What? Really? I think you're trying to trick us." Another comment simply said, "This is so SUS!" Even with the negativity, Calvin Lee claims it really does make the juice taste fresh and more delicious than if it were to be consumed straight from the carton.

Lee's Instagram account @foodmakescalhappy focuses on testing unusual and unique food and drink combinations. Along with trying soy sauce orange juice, he's given his honest opinions on cream cheese and hot chocolate, banana Coca-Cola, and mayonnaise cookies. 

If drinking soy sauce and orange juice isn't your thing, you may like the pairing better as a marinade. Soy sauce and orange juice are often combined in cooking, like when making homemade orange chicken. Soy sauce has a strong umami and salty flavor, which pairs well with the sweetness of orange juice and zest. When it comes to what to marinate, the possibilities are pretty endless. Orange soy marinades pair well with proteins like chicken, steak, fish, and pork, as well as vegetables.