Punch Up Your Chili With Big Umami Flavors Using This Savory Sauce

Chili shouldn't be subtle. Big flavors — bright, acidic tomato, deep savory notes, fiery heat — should vie for attention in every bite. But, while bold flavors might seem like an easier ask than subtlety, there are times when your best efforts fall flat. What can you do to liven up a lifeless pot?

The Takeout asked Yasmin Henley, the recipe developer behind By The Forkful, for advice, and she recommended focusing on umami-rich foods. "Chili is the perfect canvas for adding that gorgeous umami flavor," she expressed.

Meat naturally contains the amino acids responsible for umami flavors, but adding other umami-rich ingredients will give the dish complexity and depth that a well-seasoned chili needs. One of the most concentrated umami bombs is soy sauce, and it's an Asian pantry staple that complements the dishes' savory flavors well, even if it isn't necessarily the first thing you'd think to grab from your pantry shelf. "I would say that soy sauce works beautifully in chili because it adds salt and umami without competing with any other flavors in the chili," Henley explained. "Start with about 1 or 2 teaspoons per pot and build gradually." 

Soy sauce has a similar impact to Worcestershire, a more standard chili addition. But soy sauce is typically vegan and vegetarian-friendly, while classic Worcestershire sauce, which can contain anchovies, is not. Plus, the two ingredients have subtly different flavor profiles: Soy sauce tends to have a sharper tang, while Worcestershire is sweeter and milder.

Yasmin Henley doesn't necessarily recommend raiding your local market for ingredients, though — at least without a little forethought. Even though teriyaki sauce is just sugar and soy, Henley recommended steering clear of it. "Teriyaki ... is usually sweeter and more aromatic, which could easily leave your chili tasting more like an Asian dish," she said. "I would opt for soy sauce instead."

There are plenty of other ways to unlock umami, too. Look for foods that naturally contain umami notes, like tomatoes. "Some of my favorite additions include a spoonful of tomato paste browned in the onions and other veggies so it can deepen flavor," Henley added. Some red wines contain umami notes, and dried shiitake mushrooms help enhance the savory flavor, too. If you're still craving an umami punch, consider going straight to the source: add a sprinkle of MSG, the increasingly popular ingredient is essentially umami in its purest form.