Drain water chestnuts and place in a zip top bag. Add soy sauce. Gently massage bag to ensure chestnuts are covered. Marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours, massaging bag once or twice.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper and add a wire rack.
Lay out strips of bacon, brush with maple syrup if using, and sprinkle with pepper. Cut each strip in thirds*.
Wrap bacon around each water chestnut, with the ends of the bacon tucked under the flat part of the water chestnut. Stick a toothpick through the bacon ends into the water chestnut.
Lay chestnuts on the wire rack, leaving space between. Brush with remaining maple syrup, and sprinkle with additional pepper.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bacon is crispy. After 20 minutes, if the top of the bacon is almost cooked but the bottom is not, flip the chestnuts over and continue baking.
Serve as is or with sweet and sour sauce, aioli, or plum sauce.
Notes
*If water chestnuts are very large (or you want more bacon on your chestnuts), you can cut bacon in half. You’ll need about 1 pound of bacon.
Use toothpicks strong enough to stick into the water chestnuts.
Avoid cracking the water chestnut but sticking the toothpick into the center of the water chestnut.