"Secret ingredients" thar make a good dish a great dish

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

I've discovered recently that very finely chopped cooked smoked bacon really is a game changer in lasagne.I add it to the ragu.Tastes Amazing.

Anyone else got any?

msg, coffee in chilli, chocolate in bolognaise

Can of anchovies in lamb dishes works wonders, also in tomato sauce (assuming no veggies)

I'm surprised at msg being suggested several times. I used to work in a takeaway in the 90s and customers would ask us to prepare their dishes without it.

Yes I’ve always asked for msg to not be used in my order.

@xsquared This is an interesting article about MSG. There are some people who are sensitive to it but thankfully I am not one of those and find it makes a huge difference in savoury dishes.

People think MSG is bad for you for some reason but given that about a billion Chinese people eat it every day with no ill effects I really think that’s total rubbish.

@Swimmingmin Im back from my hols now but can’t find my recipe book anywhere. However, I’ve found a copy on Ebay, which should be with me in a few days… will come back with the recipe when it’s arrived.
let’s hope it’s as good as I remember after all this effort! 🤣

why have cancer cases been rising in china over the last 20 years?

https://www.who.int/hongkongchina/news/detail/03-02-2016-china-cancer-rates-growing-ferociously-

Just ordered umami paste, red pepper flakes and bagel seasoning:)

Its already been said but I take acidity out of tomato dishes with bicarb.

The article actually says that the increase in smoking and hence lung cancer is the main factor in the increase in cancer in China, albeit not the only one. There are many reasons to suspect that the inroads nade by the Western diet in South Asia are also contributing to cancer increases throughout the region.

The Chinese have been using MSG for ages, so it is unlikely that MSG would be driving a recent increase in cancer.

I am therefore unsure why this article was posted (although I myself am not crazy about MSG)

Vietnamese dipping sauce over freshly cooked broccoli with white pepper and salt. Makes it taste like Ottolenghi's shop. Make in advance for flavours to absorb, then zap 20 secs when needed.

Barts cajun seasoning mixed with a drop of olive oil, smeared over skin of roasting chicken

Spoonful of Geeta ginger mango chutney in beef chilli

Squeeze of ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce in shepherd's pie (Marco PW trick)

A teaspoon of dijon honey mustard in the beaten eggs for eggy bread

Lea and Perrins in anything beef based.

It’s very traditional to put the red in minestrone soup. We save ours in the freezer

BigBarm thank you so much! That’s really very kind of you. Hope you had a fab holiday.

As requested, I'm here from the spice storage thread to talk about Hungarian (i.e. NOT Spanish) sweet paprika. It lifts any dish and is so good we call it Magic Paprika over in Distractable Towers.

It's not so easy to get hold of though. We get most of our spices through an online retailer and they have had to let their usual supplier go, because the quality has dropped off. A problem related to climate change apparently. They haven't found an alternative supply yet.

Wow! Guess what I'm making next! 😋

I'm just marking my place 😂
My secret ingredient is literally just loads of salt so I need to stay quiet.

Ah brilliant!! Thank you!

I didn’t realise there was a difference @DistractMe

What dishes would you put it in?

I just love threads like this - thank you OP and all who have contributed.

Anchovy in everything is my Butter in everything. Beef stew, tomato sauce, all things lamb except Irish Stew where it would mess up the sweet flavour

I have also started to put sneaky dashes of Thai fish sauce in a lot of things which is probably liquid anchovy so we are in the same place. 😊.

My gravy is much loved but I NEVER reveal my secret but am happy to give it here 😁. (Terrible friend eh?). Add a dash of fish sauce to your gravy, a level teaspoon of sour fruit jam and a spritz of lemon.

This Polish sweet paprika is really good

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/267584066

No? Really??
I love gravy. And I always thought the secret was alcohol!

im intrigued ( and scared) of your combination!

I'll raise you - Henderson Relish 😁

Generally add a teaspoon to any tomato sauce based dish, so spag bol, lasagne, meatballs and so on.

Spanish paprika tends to be a bit smoker than Hungarian, which is sweet and warm.

Yes! But it's an old one - we have a recipe book that belonged to my husband grandmother and it's an ingredient in her mushroom soup.