@Tfmonkey I'm not surprised you don't like soy sauce if all you've had is stuff from American Chinese restaurants. There is good tequila and there is gasoline; it's same idea.

Low-quality soy sauce is crap, but you could add a Tbsp of decent soy sauce to braising liquid like you would add a dash of liquid smoke to baked beans or a squeeze of tomato paste into chili. In all such cases, you add umami and increase the meat's "meatiness".