What's your secret ingredient that makes your version of a common dish better than anyone else's?
Mine probably isn’t that secret these days, but almost every sauce I add nutritional yeast to. Curry, chilli, bolognese, it just makes them all better.
calmblue75, Asafoetida and curry leaves. Not exactly secret, but skipping these will make my food taste bland. Also chopping curry leaves will add more flavour.
ClockworkOtter, Do you use fresh or dried curry leaves?
calmblue75, Both. Although dried ones stay longer and are easier to crush by hand.
ClockworkOtter, Good to know since dried are much easier for me to get hold of.
shasta, A pinch of cosmo canyon salt
DLSantini, Unsweetened cocoa powder in my chili. I’m not sure how common/uncommon that is, but everyone I’ve ever told looks at me like I’m crazy, right before asking for a 4th bowl. At least Alton doesn’t think I’m crazy.
ClockworkOtter, Cocoa in your chilli, chilli in your coffee, all sorts going on in this thread
John_McMurray, That or dark chocolate. I’m amazed this is still a “secret”
sharkfucker420, 
A little bit in your curry can also slap
MonkRome, If the recipe calls for tofu (and you are not vegan), use Paneer, almost always an improvement.
ClockworkOtter, But if you are vegan then for god’s sake marinade it and give it a quick blast in the oven or air fryer to firm it up a bit more.
olbaidiablo, Garlic on grilled cheese.
multicolorKnight, Dry sherry in tomato sauce, soups, or anything with beef in it.
johannesvanderwhales, Sherry is good stuff. I use a lot of port in savory dishes too.
sunbeam60, Sugar.
People are far too afraid of it. Add a tablespoon to bolognaise: Instant improvement.
Also, balsamic vinegar. There’s very few savory dishes that aren’t improved by a table spoon.
Also, Worcestershire Sauce. Can’t deny the umami.
And yes, nutritional yeast.
BonesOfTheMoon, Sliced watermelon with Tajin spice is the food of the gods.
reverendsteveii, everything about my life changed when I realized that if something tastes like it needs salt but adding salt doesn’t help, it needs acid.
eclipse, This book helped me out significantly:
Laggindragon, C20H25N3O
Pantherina,
- Soy sauce
- flax seed oil in tomato sauce
- lime juice
- yeast extract
Vegans know how to cook haha
ClockworkOtter, Kinda have to when you can’t cheat by adding butter, cheese or bacon to everything.
Pantherina, (edited )
ClockworkOtter, I suppose at least vegan cheese is getting much better
Pantherina, Its okay but expensive or ugly.
You can hack it for various purposes from normal ingredients
ClockworkOtter, Ugly? Dairy cheese ain’t exactly handsome.
Pantherina, Like full of aroma. But vegan cheese is always less ick than cow milk with antibiotics, pus and more.
There literally is a max amount of pus allowed in milk, for a reason.
BonesOfTheMoon, I had a vegan cheese charcuterie board last summer and it was a delightful thing.
TheControlled, Hungarian paprika and MSG
RIPandTERROR, 
Cum
SoleInvictus, 
Burn_The_Right, I heard about this on Milk Street Radio.
EmoDuck, (edited ) Ground fennel seed.
People use it for chicken, fish and broth and it’s great in all of them but it realy shines in salads.
I used to be just like you, not really liking salads. They were always just a side dish or something to eat when I wanted to be “healthy”. But that changed when I started adding fennel seed.
Now, whenever I make salad I start by adding a ton of FS, think “shit, I added too much”, sit down to eat it only to get back up amd add more.
BonesOfTheMoon, That’s a lovely idea.
johannesvanderwhales, I’ve found diced fennel bulb to be a good aromatic, too.
sharkfucker420, I hate hate hate fennel. Idk what it is about it but i hate it 😭. To each their own i suppose
EmoDuck, Then I strongly encourage you to try fennel seed. It’s an entirely different flavors all together
sharkfucker420, Hmmm, maybe i’ll give it a shot. Ive only ever had it twice, once infused into alcohol and the other in soup.
thorbot, Butter. Butter. More butter. More butter, more better
tetris11, 
The taste differential between basic sliced bread bought at Aldi vs basic sliced bread bought at Carrefour is surprisingly measurable.
thorbot, Butter. Not bread. Butter
tetris11, This will blow your mind, but bread can be made with butter
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