What's your WEIRD WONDER INGREDIENT? (ingredients, hamburgers, health, skewered)

[allforcats]

What's YOUR strangest ingredient?
I lived in Japan for a long time, and invented insane dishes there -- so here I add just a bit of Japanese soy sauce (not Chinese) to almost everything savory that I make. (Japanese is sweeter and Chinese is more bitter; I like the balance of sweetness with savory.)

I can never taste the soy sauce as itself. It just adds a mysterious "depth" or "breadth" of flavor that can't be identified but makes the dish more "Mmmmmmm, how did you get it to taste like this??". (My answer is always "I talked to it".)

"A bit" depends on the volume of the dish --

-- 4 or 5 drops per one scrambled (or omelette) egg before cooking, when I'm combining into a mixing bowl tiny pinches (per egg) of dried dill weed, dried cilantro, salt, garlic powder, dried chopped onions and black or white pepper -- break the egg into the bowl, let everything sit for a few minutes to moisten the dried ingredients, whisk like mad, cook. Mmmmmm

--1/2 teaspoon for a pot of 4 servings of New England clam chowder, along with all the other seasonings at the very beginning of cooking.

I add a bit of Japanese soy sauce, blended into the other liquids, to:
soups
hamburgers (about 3 drops each, lightly rubbed into the patty before cooking)
chicken a la king
spaghetti sauce
stews
pot roast
corned beef hash, even from a can
ceviche' marinade
paella
anything savory.

HAH!! My secret is OUT!! What's yours?

[buckhead]

I have several, just depending on what assistance I wish to provide to the food. I use sumac, sesame oil, nutmeg, and/or rosemary in many different dishes, especially vegetable items.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I like Soy sauce but I also like Teryaki with some pineapple juice mixed in OR Worcestershire sauce as well.

Recently I have been making dark sauces and used Molasses in them along with Balsamic Vinegar, the Balsamic gives it such a good taste.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by Lindsey_Mcfarren

Recently I have been making dark sauces and used Molasses in them along with Balsamic Vinegar, the Balsamic gives it such a good taste.

OMG could you please adopt me?? Hahahaha

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by buckhead

I use sumac ...

Now this is one I haven't heard of! How do you use this? -- dried? Leaf? And what would you put it into? What does it taste like?

[buckhead]

Originally Posted by allforcats

Now this is one I haven't heard of! How do you use this? -- dried? Leaf? And what would you put it into? What does it taste like?

Sumac is made from the leaves and/or berries of plants from the edible varieties of the sumac plant. It is commonly available in markets as a dried powder in the Middle East or Mediterranean sections of food stores, health food purveyors, etc. It has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Arabia, India, etc. and even in North America by the native tribes. Romans, Moors, and others prized it. It is reddish to purplish in color and gives and acidic tang to foods, often used in place of lemon juice, vinegar, etc. or in conjunction with them. The advantage of suma is that it is not as overpowering as lemon and vinegar can be yet it will still supply the desired acidic lift. It IS a powder, and does not dissolve completely, so some visible residue will be evident in the juices of the food. I use it on chicken and other meats, rice, vegetables, bread salad, skewered items, and such. Fresh juice from the berries can make a refreshing beverage. If using sumac, it is best to buy the commercial form from a reputable retail store or supplier. Only those with a good knowledge of plants should attempt to harvest and use the edible varieites found in North America because there ARE poisonous plants out there that can be mistaken for edible varieties. I buy mine, e.g. Ziyad Brand, in a store.

http://http://www.ziyad.com/ProdImages/Large/298_A0326.jpg (broken link)

http://www.ziyad.com/ProdImages/Large/298_A0326.jpg (broken link)

[allforcats]

Holy moly, Buckhead! That's fascinating! Thank you. I grew up back east being admonished to stay away from the "poison sumac", so I never knew there was this whole world of The Suma! Thank you -- I shall investigate.

[TKramar]

My girlfriend will add garlic and Worcestershire to EVERYTHING she cooks....I'm dreading the day she serves French toast!

Then again, I'm not much better. Every dinner I make will have tomatoes in it.

[daytripper]

Texas Pete's hot sauce--- seems to enhance almost anything you can have for dinner

[burdell]

Not a weird ingredient but a use I never tried.

Made a meat sauce, was just OK, I expected a little better, knowing how butter finishes off a risotto I figured why not? Added just a few small pats to a large pot of sauce, gave it a much fuller, smoother taste.