A Fourth-Generation Japanese Guy from Seattle Finds His Home at a Korean Bistro in Nashville
As Guy Fieri put it, this isn’t exactly the story we hear all the time. A fourth-generation Japanese guy from Seattle moves to Los Angeles, catches the food bug, then makes his way to Nashville where he meets a Korean couple running a bistro—and eventually buys the place from them. That’s the journey that brought Kenji to Soy Bistro in Brentwood, Tennessee, where he’s now serving up what Guy calls “Asian soul food.”
The Spicy Pork Bulgogi: A Deep Dive
The star of this segment was the Spicy Pork Bulgogi, and the cooking process revealed some serious technique. The marinade starts with sweet onions, pineapple, ginger, green onion, and garlic—all blended together. Then comes the gochugaru (Korean chili powder), a staple at Soy Bistro, along with two different cooking wines: michu (rice cooking wine) and mirin. As Kenji explained, “The mirin adds the sweetness, the michu adds kind of that floral sugar.”
The marinade gets even more complex with gochujang paste—which Guy jokingly called “Asian ketchup”—along with toasted sesame seeds and sesame seed oil. But here’s the unexpected twist: the thinly sliced pork shoulder gets washed in lemon-lime soda before being drained and moved into the marinade for at least 24 hours.
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The dish comes together in the pan with julienned sweet onion, carrots, and green onions. It’s served over rice with a pickled carrot slaw, julienned cabbage, and daikon radish, plus romaine lettuce for wrapping. When Guy asked if this was a normal portion size, he got a reference to Paul Bunyan and his blue ox—so yeah, it’s generous.
Tips from the Soy Bistro Kitchen
Use two cooking wines: Combining mirin and michu creates layers of sweetness and floral notes that a single cooking wine can’t achieve.
The soda wash: Washing thinly sliced pork shoulder in lemon-lime soda before marinating is an unconventional technique that likely helps tenderize the meat.
Quick pickle your vegetables: The carrot slaw uses white vinegar, water, sugar, and salt with julienned carrots and radish—it’ll quick pickle in just a few hours if needed, similar to how pickled elements elevate dishes like this Lao Fried Rice Ball in California 🇱🇦.
Guy’s Verdict
Guy didn’t hold back. Taking a loaded lettuce wrap, he declared, “This has got a good Korean Nashville barbecue cross-play in there to it. Delicious.” He praised the pickled vegetables as “a great way to try Korean food” and noted that the bulgogi was “so tender, zesty but sweet at the same time.”
Ever the comedian, Guy added, “You could tell I didn’t like it by the way I just powered through the entire lettuce leaf stacked up with half of the dish.” His final endorsement? “We eat Soy twice in the same day for lunch and for dinner, and if they sold breakfast, you’d do it.”
Beyond the bulgogi, regulars at Soy Bistro rave about the gochujang chicken and the hot chicken—yes, this is Nashville after all. Much like finding the perfect pairing with a Beer Battered Burger, Soy Bistro has figured out how to blend Korean traditions with local flavors.
Kenji’s path to restaurant ownership came through mentorship—the original chef and owner took him under her wing and taught him to cook before he eventually bought the place. That kind of passing-the-torch story makes the food taste even better.
Find Soy Bistro and other Triple D spots in our restaurant directory.