how do you cook with soy sauce?

Its flavor is pretty indestructible, you can add it any time you like. If you add it early to any dish with solid materials (meat, veggies, etc) then its flavor will get more into the pieces you're cooking. Oh and yeah if you're adding soy sauce then DEFINITELY add less/no salt in addition

I'll use both salt and soy sauce in a dish. Soy sauce adds complexity to the flavor of broths, soups, savory porridge, stir fries, dumplings, sauces, meats, etc.

When making soups or stews, I'll lightly salt the onions I fry so they release their water faster, but not enough to season them. Salt helps pull water out of food, so it has utility outside of just seasoning. Soy sauce might do the same, but I haven't used it that way. I'll add soy sauce closer to the end of the cook during my seasoning adjustment step in lieu of salt, but sometimes I'll use both as I want a mild soy sauce flavor, not a strong one.

I'll include soy sauce in marinades to add color and flavor while salting meats. Usually with a small pinch of sugar and some Shaoxing cooking wine (though most any wine or acid would work).

I use soy sauce as a base for a dipping sauce for dumplings or steamed veggies, combining it with vinegar, sesame oil, minced green onions, stock and/or chili oil/paste.

I'll use it in stir fries towards the end when I'm seasoning, like the soups, by jamming my thumb over the opening and drizzling some (less than half a teaspoon) around the wok before mixing thoroughly.

You don't have to do this, but I often use two soy sauces, one light, one dark. You likely have a bottle of the light kind. The dark is thicker and has a deeper flavor and it's less salty. I'll use a very little bit (like a quarter of a teaspoon) of dark soy sauce to add another layer of flavor complexity and to color my food so it looks more appealing. A touch can add a lil color that somewhat mimics the browning you get from a strong Maillard reaction.

Soy sauce is a great way to add salt and umami at the same time while giving your food an appetizing appearance. I'd go light with it first, though, as you often don't need very much in a dish and when it overpowers a dish, it's not very pleasant, in my opinion.

To answer your question of "do I use salt if I'm using soy sauce?", it depends. There's a lil bit of practice with it, but, in general, I'll use enough soy sauce to get the flavor I want, then add more salt if it still needs salt. Or better yet and sometimes in addition, a pinch of MSG. But it doesn't always need additional salt. It usually benefits from a lil MSG though heheh

FWIW: I prefer the Kimlan Premium Light Soy Sauce (the bronze label one) and the Pearl River Superior Dark Soy Sauce, though if anyone else has some recommendations, I'll take em!

I chug it straight from the bottle as I wait for my porridge to microwave.

It can be an unsung hero in many tomato-based recipes. I use a tablespoon of it when I make jambalaya and beef stew.

I recommend getting Mirin (sweet rice wine) to add it to soy sauce dishes.
Those two are the main ingredients of Teriyaki sauce.

Soy sauce adds umami/savory tastes to dishes. If you want your dish to taste more savory, add soy sauce.

Take some leftover rice from yesterday, or prepare some by steaming.

Heat a pan, drop a tablespoon of oil in. Fry any form of fresh garlic and ginger in it. Throw in the rice. Stir, mix, fry.

Then mix the soy sauce into the rice, mix. Start with smaller amount, you can add more later. Crack an egg or two and pour them in. Mix for a while until the eggs cook.

Top with a spring onion, Lao gan ma chilli crisp, sesame oil, sesame. Serve.

Most of the ingredients in the recipe are optional, you really just need the rice, soy sauce and eggs.

If you like porridges, try making some congee, it is easier if you have a rice cooker. The rest of the recipe is almost the same as with the fried rice above.

according to my co-worker, if you still have some left in the bottle, you haven't used enough.

Depends what flavour you want and dishes you make. There is a lot of soy sauce and a lot of dishes made with it. General rule, use cheap soy sauce for frying/sauteing. In this case the acidity is cooked out and it will add a salty umami flavour, without much sour taste. We don't use expensive soy sauce here because like the acidity, the complex flavours only found in expensive soy sauce are cooked off and evaporate into the air.

When finishing a dish or making a dipping sauce is where quality soy sauce shines.

I personally use Tsuru Bishio as it is one of the last, if not the last soy sauce brand to be traditional fermented instead of machine processed. It's important because the traditional method (especially the wood barrels) adds a lot of depth to it. It might be hard to notice it at first but after using it for a while I can never go back. Plus it's a great value since it's so concentrated and strong you need very little of it. I go through a 40$ bottle in about 4-5 months with frequent use.

A sushi dipping sauce I like to make is

2 parts soy sauce 1 part sake A few drops extra virgin sesame oil A small amount of minced shallots 5-6 paper thin slices of raw garlic

It's very strong and a little pungent (meaning a tingling/burning sensation on the tongue, similar to spicy) but very flavourful. It can be tamed by reducing sake, garlic and adding a few extra drops of oil.

Other than dipping sauces finishing soy sauce can be drizzled over a dish ready to be served/eaten.

Soy sauce definitions

Light soy sauce (usually Chinese): it's thinner than most and has more salt added to it. It's not low quality, simply a different type for different flavours

Dark soy sauce (usually Chinese): harbors a much stronger soy flavour and is much darker (duh!). It has slightly less sodium compared to light.

Finishing soy sauce (usually Japanese): typically much richer and slightly thicker soy sauce with deep and complex, delicate flavours that are easily cooked off accidentally.

There are even more but these are the only ones I use in lots of Asian cooking. I also generally avoid food products imported from China because of their dubious regulation, corruption and pollution that make them potentially harmful. Look for brewed in Japan/USA

Soy sauce I find strange I know people are meant to love it but I honestly can't even taste it.

I've tried using it quite a lot because I'm a huge fan of Asian food but soy sauce stumps me as I can't taste any difference. I can tell the difference if I add actual msg but not with soy sauce.

Adding salt in the beginning is a waste. Better to add salt at the end when you're ready to eat. That way you won't have to use as much.