.. 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.

You don't know what MSG is do you?

And MSG is really not very good for you and is banned as a food additive in many countries.

Or at least that is how it was in the 80s

That's not true. MSG is just a glutamate salt, it doesn't 'expand' in the stomach. It's a naturally occurring compound - it's in tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms.

Roasted sesame oil is the other must use ingredient. It transforms homemade Chinese. I tend to sprinkle some on at the end rather than cooking with it.

I have MSG, must give it a go again.

Yes! I love him, and his catch phrase 'and a teaspoon of fucking msg'. 😂

You add a quarter to a half a teaspoon to a dish. It's a seasoning. Like salt - also 'ultra processed' and sugar - also used as a seasoning.

Where UFP's are a problem is when they constitute a high percentage of your calorie intake, not where tiny amounts are used as seasoning. Adding a pinch of flavouring to a food doesn't make the whole dish 'ultra processed'.

It's a flavour enhancer. It doesn't change the texture of the food any more than adding small amounts of salt or sugar does. Chinese takeaways use thickener in their sauces - mainly potato starch. If there's too much this can make a sauce 'gloopy'.

This is not true. It's not 'banned in many countries' - it's just not used in baby food and there's usually a labelling requirement. There's no good evidence that it's 'really not very good for you'.

Except I browned it, and it gave my noodles a very distinctive and delicious flavour, as recommended by this chef https://www.tiktok.com/@ziangsfoodworkshop?lang=en

Honestly, without sounding rude - I’m not really interested in what science has to say about it as I know that at 67 years old I have had problems with MSG since I was about 8 and first started eating Chinese food. I know it’s not soya sauce as I can eat food with soya sauce in it and be okay.

And interestingly enough my now adult son who’s severely autistic also has problems with it.

Scientists can come up with their opinion on anything they like but unless they have tested their theory on every single person in the world they can’t speak for everyone and say MSG doesn’t make people feel unwell.

A lot of people here seem to be confusing MSG with maltodextrin, which is used as a thickener and to add "mouth feel".

Theres a really interesting episode on This American Life about the origins of Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. It was started as a bet between Dr A and Dr B that Dr A couldn’t get an article published in a medical journal. Dr A assumed the identity of a real Chinese-American doctor (without his knowledge or consent) and made the story about MSG up. The article was published and it’s snowballed from there. www.thisamericanlife.org/668/the-long-fuse

@Sabire9 - I’m so pleased you posted this, thank you! My stir fry dishes have always been really disappointing, so your tip and all the other info on here has been an eye-opener.

The whole problem with UPFs, including any kind of artificial flavours, not just MSG, is that it screws up your brain messaging. It makes you think you’re getting more (vitamins or whatever) than you’re actually getting, but your stomach is left wondering where those nutrients actually are and makes you eat more. Hence you end up overeating. This kind of unfulfilling eating can lead to addiction. Think about it, would you eat as much without it?

Yes the whole MSG thing probably did start with a bit of racism. Only cos the other artificial crap in our food didn’t get picked up as much. Doesn’t mean it’s not bad for you. Of course it’s up to everyone to choose how much they want to ingest in the end. Yes it makes food yummy.

Also, people eating what they’re not used to can lead to upset stomachs anyhow. So i think the whole racism thing is a bit overblown these days

I don't have symptoms as bad as this but the morning after eating MSG I always feel slightly hungover. Dehydrated and with a strange taste in my mouth!

Thanks for these. Can wait to try these tips out.

The dish I made had loads, and loads of vegetables in it. Nearly raw, crunchy vegetables. Carrots, greens, onions, beansprouts.

Are you suggesting that putting msg in my food made it less nutritious or less 'fulfilling'?

"Doesn’t mean it’s not bad for you."

No - but the science suggests that MSG isn't dangerous or harmful in the quantities it's found at in food.

rubbish

See my update, in the 80s/90s people were worried that there was a cancer link and people were using it in food without listing it as an ingredient. Some people are sensitive and have a reaction to it which is why good restaurants stopped using it.

‘Some people’ are sensitive to all manner of things, from egg to seafood. Good restaurants don’t stop using any ingredient anyone is sensitive to. They’d be serving plain water. It’s not widespread. Just like MSG. MOST people who say they are sensitive and report symptoms don’t have them if it’s double blind. It’s a nocebo effect and a racist one at that.

Careful with MSG. It can affect people in different ways, sometimes physically (bloating, nausea, discomfort) sometimes mentally (irritability, hallucinations, mood swings).