CHEF SHOTA NAKAJIMA: FRESH TAKES ON SOY SAUCE

A RECENT INDUCTEE TO THE KIKKOMAN KITCHEN CABINET, CHEF SHOTA IS HELPING CHANGE THE WAY AMERICANS SEE JAPANESE CUISINE.

Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, Chef Shota Nakajima moved to Osaka when he was 18 to apprentice under Michelin-starred chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto before returning to the Pacific Northwest to open his acclaimed Seattle restaurant, Taku. A fan favorite on Top Chef Season 18 and a multiple James Beard Award nominee, Chef Shota is on a mission to elevate Japanese cuisine in America with his innovative and comforting dishes.

In 2024, we welcomed Chef Shota as a member of the Kikkoman Kitchen Cabinet, the group of leading-edge chefs who collaborate with us on foodservice recipe development, industry outreach, trend forecasting and more.

We checked in with Shota to get his POV on some of his favorite (and often surprising) ways to use soy sauce as well as trends and ingredients he’s excited about these days.

FIVE INNOVATIVE WAYS TO USE SOY SAUCE

LAYERING

I particularly love layering soy sauce when marinating or braising. When you boil soy sauce with other ingredients, it turns very “round.” I like to reserve a bit of the fresh soy sauce and add it in incremental amounts as the dish cooks. This helps layer the umami flavors and provide depth to any dish. While this is nothing new or groundbreaking on my part—it’s how Japanese chefs have approached soy sauce and umami flavor since the 1500s—I predict this will trend in the coming year especially as soy sauce recipes like the viral cucumber salads are already at the forefront of culinary conversation.

CHARRING

I love charring sautéed vegetables on high heat with soy sauce, using that nice, charred aroma to flavor them. Like when you’re cooking caramel, soy sauce gets darker the longer it’s on heat, and the flavor will get deeper as it chars, leaving you with the perfect balance of sweet and savory. When I’m grilling fish over charcoal, I like to pour soy sauce right over the charcoal and then put a lid on the fish, so it captures that nice aroma.

SALT REPLACEMENT

One of the easiest ways to unleash the power of umami in dishes is to swap out table salt with soy sauce. Since Kikkoman® Soy Sauce slowly ferments for months, the traditional brewing process develops umami—something salt alone can’t deliver. Substituting half the amount of table salt in a recipe with the same amount of soy sauce can reduce sodium while enhancing the umami and flavor of the overall dish. And that’s not just true for Asian dishes. You can use soy sauce in American cooking, like adding it to chicken noodle soup instead of salt. If you find that your dishes are too salty, Kikkoman has many low-sodium varieties of their classic products including Less Sodium Soy Sauce and 50% Less Sodium Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce.

SOY + SWEET

I’m definitely seeing a rise in sweets with soy sauce—think soy sauce caramels or adding a dash to brownies. For sweet recipes, try swapping a pinch of salt with a drizzle of soy sauce for added depth, rich umami deliciousness and a hint of saltiness. I promise it won’t taste like soy sauce! And similar to how folks are putting olive oil and salt on vanilla ice cream to bring out a new depth of flavor to a classic dessert, what I’m really loving these days is making an affogato with a dash of soy sauce. There’s a sweetness and bitterness to the soy sauce, plus umami, and it cuts really nicely through the creaminess of the ice cream. The soy sauce also adds a nice richness to the coffee. I think the combo of all these flavors could really be the next big thing.

EGGS

Don’t knock it until you try it! Soy sauce and eggs are truly an unbeatable breakfast combo. I love tamago kake gohan (sometimes referred to as TKG) It’s made by stirring a raw egg into a bowl of steaming rice, which lightly cooks the egg, and then seasoning with soy sauce.  It’s one of Japanese people’s favorite comfort-food dishes.

TRENDS TO WATCH

JAPAN-ADJACENCY

I’m excited to see that the “Japan-Adjacency” trend is still going strong in foodservice, with chefs adding Japanese ingredients, ideas and cooking methods to dishes from other cuisines. They’re discovering that the subtle, umami-rich flavors of soy sauce and other Japanese ingredients can really enhance just about anything.

TERIYAKI REIMAGINED

Teriyaki sauce is great for all kinds of cooking, beyond typical teriyaki dishes. Its main ingredient, soy sauce, is one of the most universal all-purpose ingredients in any kitchen, and if you think of teriyaki as a sweet soy sauce, you start to see how versatile it can be in everything from braises and grilled foods to pizzas and burgers.

YUZU & PONZU

Yuzu is a citrus flavor that’s gaining traction nationwide. Chefs are discovering it as a more complex, aromatic and floral alternative to lemon. Kikkoman has a delicious Yuzu Ponzu, which is a citrus-seasoned soy sauce, that provides a perfect balance of salt, sweet, tangy and umami flavor. Like teriyaki, ponzu is super versatile and can be used as a dipping sauce or as an ingredient in all kinds of cooking.

THE LAST WORD

Whatever cuisine I go into, the dish turns a little Japanese, and I always finish everything off with Kikkoman® Soy Sauce. It’s my way of cooking.

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