Infused with bonito flakes, kombu, and nutritional yeast, this Fortified Soy Sauce is an umami quintuple-threat from Best New Chef Jonathan Yao. At Kato in Los Angeles, Yao uses the sauce to make the broth of his Steamed Fish with Soy Broth. While you’ll only need a couple of teaspoons of the sauce for the fish, we loved having it around to enrich marinades and noodle dishes.
How to Make It
Combine all ingredients in a medium heatproof glass bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Place over a medium saucepan of simmering water over medium-low. Cook 1 hour. Remove from heat. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Chill at least 8 hours. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard solids.
Notes
Premium Rishiri kombu, from Rishiri Island off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, can be ordered from toirokitchen.com. Use the wonderfully savory leftover Fortified Soy Sauce anywhere you’d use soy sauce—it also makes an excellent substitute for fish sauce.