The Unexpected Condiment That Might Completely Change Your Next Bowl Of Ice Cream For The Better

The internet is full of people claiming to have stumbled upon the latest, greatest innovation in flavor — and sometimes you come across a recipe that has you really raising your eyebrows. That was the case when, this week, we started to notice a lot of people on social media talking about a trend that, while on the surface at least sounds fairly revolting, certainly piqued our interest. Yes, dear reader, this week (according to the internet) you should be topping your ice cream with ... soy sauce?

It's not exactly groundbreaking to put sweet and savory flavors together. From salted chocolate (and, of course, caramel) to miso butter cookies, the contrast of savory and sweet is a tale as old as culinary time. But come on ... soy sauce? Really? Well, in theory it works — soy sauce's bold, extremely salty flavor profile, rich and dark and packed with umami, should contrast beautifully with the freshness and milky sweetness of a great ice cream. Now, of course this depends on what kind of ice cream you use. We'd recommend going for a nice, simple vanilla (or fior di latte, if you're a real gelato fiend). The soy sauce is the star here, and vanilla will give it a clean, super sweet and gently spiced palate that'll really allow the bold, salty flavors of the soy sauce to shine. Start with just a little (this is something of an acquired taste) and ramp it up as you see fit.

While a great vanilla ice cream is a good place to start, there are plenty of other options you can explore — both when it comes to your ice cream, and the type of soy sauce you use! Japanese-style shoyu is a good jumping off point, especially if vanilla is your ice cream of choice. It has a clean, salty flavor, mild and very subtly sweet, which pairs nicely with the similarly fresh, simple flavor of vanilla ice cream. Just a little goes a long way here — it's more salty than other types of soy sauce, so you'll want to use it sparingly to avoid overwhelming the more delicate notes of the ice cream.

If you fancy something a little more on the sweet side, then Chinese soy sauce is the way to go — specifically dark soy sauce. Contrary to what you might assume, dark soy is actually less intense when it comes to big savory flavors than its light counterpart. Instead, it's more commonly used to add color to dishes (thanks to its, well, darkness) and has a complex, much sweeter palate than other variations — think notes of brown sugar and caramel, rather than straight salt. This sugary aftertaste makes it very distinctive (and rather addictive), and combined with its thicker texture means that it's an ideal topping for desserts — and a more accessible entry point if you find yourself an ice cream and soy sauce skeptic.

Soy sauce isn't the only Asian pantry staple that pairs surprisingly well with ice cream (or, indeed, gelato — and no, they're not the same thing). Why not take some inspiration from Thai and Vietnamese cooking and bring fish sauce into the mix? This umami bomb is a favorite among chefs for good reason. It's an immensely complex sauce, rich in saltiness, sweetness, and everything in between. In a lot of Southeast Asian cooking, it's combined with lime and chili and used as a dipping sauce. While it'll work well with plain old ice cream, you can really kick things up a notch and pair it with a homemade sorbet. Mango, a sorbet staple, will work well here — but if you really want to get creative, why not make one infused with other common Vietnamese flavors like lemongrass, cilantro, or chili?

For a bit of textural variety, you could finish off your Asian inspired sundae with a drizzling of (perhaps) the greatest condiment known to mankind: chili crisp. This stuff is culinary gold dust: spicy, salty, nutty, umami — almost every word you can think of to describe flavor can be applied (somehow) to it. It'll bring a welcome crunch to your ice cream, and provide an intoxicating sensory blend (the intense spice and cooling ice cream waging delicious war on your palate), and if you make your own, you can customize it however you like.