BACKGROUND Soy sauce is a well‐known condiment worldwide. However, the high salt content in soy sauce contributes to the high intake of sodium salt, which usually results in high blood pressure. High salt soy sauce usually has the better quality (aroma and taste) than low salt. Tetragenococcus halophilus and Candida versatilis are important starters for soy sauce fermentation. It is of urgent need to explore what the effect of these two strains on the aroma‐ and taste‐attributes of soy sauce to achieve high quality fermentation with low salt. RESULTS In this study, aroma‐active and taste compounds in soy sauce were reviewed and listed. Then, soy sauce fermentation inoculated with different combinations of T. halophilus (at different inoculated time) and C. versatilis were completed. Aroma‐active and taste compounds in different samples were quantified. Multivariate analysis was used to analyze these data. The aroma‐active compounds which were highly related to the inoculation of T. halophilus and C. versatilis were found. Meanwhile, the addition time of T. halophilus could also be highly related to the production of aroma‐active compounds. More importantly, T. halophilus was highly correlated with the production of umami‐taste compounds in soy sauce, including aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine and N ‐succinyl‐glutamic acid. CONCLUSION These results will provide a better understanding of the effects of T. halophilus and C. versatilis on the formation of significant aroma‐active and umami‐taste constituents in soy sauce. Furthermore, it will be helpful to realize fermentative control of soy sauce with high quality at low salt. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry