The Genius Soy Sauce Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner

I've always thought I knew my way around the kitchen. I can chop an onion without crying (most of the time), I’ve mastered the art of perfectly crispy bacon and I can eyeball measurements with surprising accuracy. But nothing humbles you quite like discovering that you’ve been using something the wrong way for years, especially something as simple as a soy sauce bottle.

I grew up with that iconic Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser always within reach. It was on the table at every sushi restaurant, nestled between the wasabi and pickled ginger. It sat next to the stove at home, ready to splash into a stir-fry or drizzle over rice. But, apparently, I had no idea how it actually worked.

Like most people, I just tipped it over and let gravity do its thing. Sometimes it poured smoothly, sometimes it gushed out in an uncontrollable flood and sometimes I tried (unsuccessfully) to slow it down by hovering awkwardly over my plate, hoping for just a few drops instead of a soy sauce tsunami. It turns out, I was missing a crucial trick. Content creator and cookbook author Elly Curshen (@ellypear) showed how the key to pouring soy sauce is built right into the design.

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The Simple Hack That Changes Everything

The Kikkoman bottle isn’t just a pretty piece of Japanese design. It’s brilliantly engineered to give you complete control over your pour. Turns out, that little red cap with two spouts is made that way so you can control the flow with the push of a finger.

Hold the bottle at an angle, like you normally would. Place a finger over one of the spouts. Watch as the soy sauce stops flowing from the other side.

Lift your finger slightly, and the soy sauce comes out slowly and steadily. Cover the hole again, and it stops completely.

It’s so simple, yet so genius! No more over-pouring, no more accidental spills and no more drowning your food in soy sauce when all you wanted was a delicate drizzle.

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The History of the Kikoman Soy Sauce Bottle

After learning this trick, I had to dig deeper and the Kikkoman bottle has a fascinating backstory.

Before the 1960s, soy sauce was mostly sold in giant two-liter bottles and home cooks had to transfer it into small pitchers for everyday use. Kikkoman hired Kenji Ekuan, an industrial designer who would later become famous for his work, to develop a better bottle design.

Ekuan and his team spent three years developing the perfect dispenser, testing nearly 100 prototypes before they landed on the design you have in your kitchen today.

Since its debut in 1961, the company has sold hundreds of millions of this little bottle and the design has even earned a spot in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. And despite its legendary status, so many of us have been using it wrong this whole time!

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The Joy of Learning Something New

There’s something incredibly satisfying about learning a simple hack that makes life easier, especially when it involves food. It’s a reminder that even the most familiar things can still surprise us.

Now that I know the trick, I can’t not use it. Every time I reach for the soy sauce, I'm going to feel a tiny sense of victory, like I’m in on a secret.

So if you, like me, have been unknowingly battling your soy sauce bottle for years, try this hack the next time you sit down for sushi or whip up a quick stir-fry. It’s one of those small but satisfying discoveries that makes you wonder: what other kitchen secrets am I missing?

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