.. to want to share my Chinese 'fakeaway' tip with y'all

[Sabire9]

DS bought me a very badly produced recipe book published by a TikTok chef. The guy's family own a Chinese takeaway and the book details how to reproduce your typical takeaway dishes.

I'm always doing stir fries at home, and they're never quite right. However, I've now found out how to recreate noodles with the elusive Chinese takeaway taste at home. Basically you have to USE MSG, and specifically you have to BROWN OFF THE MSG in the hot oil before adding your noodles. Makes all the difference and I'm going to save bucks.

You're welcome.

thanks!

Ta x

MSG just fills you up that’s why they use it in all you can eat because it expands in your stomach so you feel full quickly.

I'm a bit surprised people don't know this already. I thought it was well known that they use MSG in Chinese food. But yes I always add some to mine.

What actually is MSG? I know it’s generally regarded as being very bad for you, but I don’t actually know what it is…
(I know-I will Google now…)

Also, "velvet" your meat. Mix together baking soda and water into a slurry and marinate the chicken/beef/whatever strips in it for a bit. (No longer than half an hour) Then rinse it off.

For that really tender texture.

MSG is the bomb. I put it on everything I’d usually use salt for, it makes everything taste even more like the foodstuff it’s meant to be.

Also, for Chinese home cookery - shaoxing wine. It has that very particular umami quality and taste and smell that’s really hard to recreate with anything else.

My best tip is that sweet and sour sauce is super easy to make and tastes better than a takeaway!

Mix together ketchup, the juice from a tin of pineapple, soy sauce, brown sugar and a bit of rice wine if you have it. Heat up and then thicken with cornflour and water. Add the tinned pineapple chunks and heat through. Adjust the proportions to suit your tastes.

Peanut oil too for stir fries

It isn’t “bad” for you: it’s naturally occurring in many vegetables as well as developing in the process of making things like cheese and some processed meats. It’s just a sodium. Some people believe it gives them ill-effects, and some people may be more sensitive to it than others, but there’s no study evidence of it doing this in a widespread way when people haven’t been told or believe they’re consuming it.

ETA: when people describe what’s a bit controversially known as “Chinese restaurant syndrome”, it’s believed more likely that they’re sensitive to larger quantities of soy sauce than they usually have in their diet, or to spices they aren’t familiar with - Sichuan peppercorns in particular give a numbing, tingly effect that isn’t found in any other cuisine.

It's not bad for you - MSG (monosodium glutamate) is basically a synthetic compound that replicates the umami taste in foods such as mushrooms, tomatoes, soy sauce etc.

A vanishingly few people are genuinely sensitive to this (and presumably don't eat tomatoes or mushrooms either), but 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' has essentially been debunked as the bad and somewhat racist science it is.

The Rotten Science Behind the MSG Scare | Science History Institute

https://share.google/j7qCIma9zNOD1t97S

*Edited for bad linky

Chin Taylor's book? How badly produced? Not worth buying or...? He's been all over my tiktok, that chap.

MSG isn't something I can eat. The glutamate molecules part of it makes my movement disorder symptoms worse, and i think it's something that once gave me the so-called "Chinese restaurant syndrome" after eating a lot of it at a Chinese restaurant (Funnily enough lol 😆).

I felt dreadful, really unwell, and had awful palpitations, felt like I was burning up inside, and became very restless and panicky. I had to pace around outside before I could feel better.

I hate the stuff 😒 I think it's a bit controversial, but some studies supposedly say it's a bit neurotoxic.

I'm not comfortable eating it. My subjective opinion is that some susceptible people are very sensitive to it, and that Chinese restaurant syndrome is genuine.

My favourite Chinese fakeaway is a bag of salt and chilli shredded chicken that you get in Iceland/Farmfoods with spring rolls and rice and a generous helping of mayflower curry sauce poured over it all.

Great, thanks, now tell us where to buy it.

My husband adds MSG to Chinese style dishes. They’re always extremely delicious.

This is absolute nonsense by the way.

I have a tip for a fake-away. I have never read this anywhere. One day I was going to put Amoy noodles in hot water and also put in a tea bag of ginger and lemon. A left over and unwanted bag from a multi choice tea purchase.
The water went a little brown. I drained the noodles as instructions and fried as the recipe.
The noodles had a very nice, very subtle hint of ginger and lemon.

I do recomend it.

My tip is that Lucky Boat noodles is the brand most commonly used by takeaways and restaurants in the UK. They come in a bigger box than usual supermarket brands but are good for fakeaways.

Then that is your subjective opinion and you're very welcome to it, but science says you're wrong.

Fish sauce also makes a difference.

What is the difference between salt and MSG?

I do remember a QI episode where they dispelled some myths on MSG including that it doesn't harden your arteries or make you more hungry an hour later.

I always make noodles with a chicken stock cube in the water for very similar reasons - much tastier noodles!

Apparently not. Don’t know the origin of the rumours of carcinogens etc, but I’ve seen loads of stuff more recently debunking that completely. It’s basically a seasoning & thickening agent, no worse than salt 🤷‍♀️