Share with me you culinary secrets!

[Notasbigasithink]

I'm currently making spagbol and everyone whoever tries it always comments on how tasty it is! They can never put their finger on it but my secret ingredient is adding about a teaspoon (heaped!) of brown sugar!
I wait until nobody is around to witness this and have been doing it for years without being rumbled!
What do you add to standard, everyday meals to help liven them up?

Brown sugar (or jaggery if you can get it) in a curry, also fresh curry leaves,salt, fresh chilli, turmeric and lime zest and juice tossed into unsalted cashews as a snack

🤮 at putting sugar in spag bol

Don't knock it until you've tried it!!! Makes the tomatoe sauce extra tasty!!!

fresh lime juice on fresh mango

fresh lime juice squeezed on at the end of a stir fry

fresh lemon juice squeezed in most pasta dished and always over mushroom dishes

Worcestershire sauce-definitely improves a number of dishes

I always put a bit of sugar in a tomato based sauce. It reduces the acidity.
I also add a spoon of jam to gravy. By jam I mean whatever sweet condiment comes to hand, often redcurrant jelly or cranberry.

When making chicken nuggets, I stir through a tsp of mayonnaise then toss in the breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs stick beautifully. Ten minutes on the bbq and done.

Definitely Worcestershire sauce in minced beef dishes. And very finely chopped black pudding really enriches it.

Grana padano is cheaper than parmesan and does the same job.

Home made flatbreads are really easier and much nicer than ones that have been sat in a plastic packet. See also naan.

A very thin coating of mayo really works on the outside of a toastie.

We have the same culinary secret!

A spoonful of mango and ginger chutney in a beef chilli.

A spoonful of sour cream and onion dip to liven the mayo in egg mayo sandwiches.

30 second trick for roast chicken. A spoonful of jarred ready chopped garlic and ginger, a squirt of sweet chilli sauce, mashed through butter and put under the skin of the breast before roasting.

Marmite is great in beef stews, meals like mince and dumplings, and gravy etc. Also nice drizzled over roast potatoes.

I also do this but often use honey. I can’t eat onions so always looking for ways to replicate the missing sweetness.

Even better - Hendo's!

Marmite in beef stew
mushroom powder for umami in most things
salt!

Always sugar in tomato based dishes
Worcestershire sauce in beef based dishes
Cinnamon in chili
Don't salt eggs until the have been cooked

If I can't be bothered to assemble a cottage pie in the traditional way, then I do a short cut. Cook up mince as usual. Cook up mashed potato as usual. Then I put mashed potato on a very large dinner plate, cover the whole plate with potato and then fork the potato on top. Put plate with mashed potato under grill to get brown.

Cuts down cooking time and tastes the same (to me!)

Square of dark chocolate in my chilli. Adult kids love my chilli, they call it mum’s house special and can never quite replicate it. Hence I make extra, and they rush round for containers of it. Bless them. I have a secret recipe, like Betty’s Corrie hotpot. But I’ve shared the basic recipe with them.

Is it me or does this explanation make no sense at all?

Does the mince feature at all? 🤣

Ok, I try explaining it a different way!

Cottage pie is usually in one dish - mince on bottom and then topped by mashed potato which is then put in oven to crisp up.
I skip putting it in one dish. I serve the mince and mashed potato separately. But I still want the crispy mashed potato top so I do this by putting the mashed potato on a large dinner plate, spreading the potato to cover the plate completely and then raking a fork on the potato to make a pattern. Then I put it under the grill to crisp up.

Hope this makes more sense! 🙂

😂I am making it sound much more complicated that it is! It makes sense to me! Yes, there is mince! And mashed potatoes! But not in one dish! 😂

So you have one plate of mince, and one plate of mash? Baffling.

I think your idea is actually a secret. The others are suggestions!

You just didn't mention the mince in your assembly post lol.

If I was served that I'd assemble it into a pie !