When stir-frying or making soups, I always feel something is missing without MSG or chicken powder, yet I feel it's unhealthy to use it. Is there a "healthy seasoning" that is both delicious and healthy, allowing you to enjoy it without any mental burden? Actually, seasonings made from natural ingredients can taste even better than artificial seasonings with additives.
Mushroom Powder: 150g of dried mushrooms. Wipe off the surface dust (do not wash with water), break them into small pieces by hand, and blend into a powder. Store in an airtight jar.
How to use: Mushroom powder can be added to various soups, as well as for various stir-fries and pickled dishes to replace MSG. The amount is about 1/2 teaspoon (3g). You can add more when making dumplings, buns, or meat pie fillings for a great flavor.
Seaweed Powder: Cut about 100g of seaweed into small pieces with scissors, blend into a powder, and store in an airtight jar. It must not get wet or damp, or it will clump and become unusable.
How to use: Seaweed powder can be added to various soups and stir-fries for a very savory flavor. The amount is about 1 teaspoon (5g).
Fish Powder: Take about 200g of dried small anchovies, remove the内脏, and pan-fry them slowly over low heat. Discard the impurities that are fried out. Let the fried fish cool down completely, then blend into a powder and store in an airtight jar.
How to use: This MSG substitute can be added to soups like kelp soup, doenjang jjigae (soybean paste soup), or seafood soup to enhance the flavor. The amount can be adjusted to your preference, with 1/2 teaspoon (3g) as a reference.
If used improperly, MSG can not only ruin the flavor of a dish but can also be harmful to your health.
1. Do not add MSG to cold dishes. MSG can only fully exert its umami-enhancing effect at temperatures between 80°C and 100°C. The temperature of cold dishes is too low for MSG to work, and it may even stick directly to the ingredients, resulting in a tasteless and disappointing experience. If you must add MSG to a cold dish, it's best to dissolve a small amount in hot water before mixing it in.
2. Use MSG with salty, not sweet dishes. The umami of MSG is more prominent at an appropriate sodium ion concentration. Therefore, MSG's savory flavor is best expressed in salty dishes. However, adding MSG to sweet dishes will not only fail to enhance the flavor but will also suppress the original sweet taste and produce an off-flavor. Therefore, dishes like chicken and corn puree or sweet taraxacum puree should not have MSG added.
3. Do not add MSG to fillings. Many people add MSG when making dumpling or spring roll fillings, which is not safe. After being mixed into the filling, MSG will go through high-temperature processes like steaming, boiling, or frying. However, once the temperature exceeds 100°C, MSG will denature. It will not only lose its savory flavor but also form toxic sodium pyroglutamate, which is harmful to human health. Besides not being used in fillings, when making hot dishes, MSG should only be added just before the dish is taken off the heat.
4. Do not add MSG when stir-frying meat. Meat naturally contains glutamic acid, which, when heated with salt in the dish, will naturally form monosodium glutamate, the main component of MSG. Besides meat, other umami-rich foods also do not need MSG, such as eggs, mushrooms, water bamboo, and seafood.
5. Dishes with vinegar cannot have MSG. Dishes with a pronounced sour taste and a lot of vinegar added should not include MSG. This is because MSG does not dissolve easily in an acidic environment; the higher the acidity, the lower the solubility, and the worse the umami effect. Therefore, strongly sour dishes like sweet and sour pork or vinegar-braised cabbage should not have MSG.