It might not be news to top chefs like Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, who use it in their dishes, but people are just discovering a secret kitchen ingredient that could just make all the difference to a weekday staple, the good old Spaghetti Bolognese.
Budding chefs on Reddit have revealed they, too, have been trying this in their pasta dishes to enhance the flavour, especially when they might not be using any meat.
They have found they can transform any basic tomato pasta dish into something a little more special and flavoursome.
One Reddit user revealed: “I use fish sauce, and it’s made from anchovies! People think I’m nuts for using it.”
Another agreed saying: “Something like fish sauce/worchestershire/maggi/soy to give it a little bit of umph. MSG would probably work too, but fish sauce is easy to add and taste.”
And another added: “I didn’t normally add this ingredient to my tomato-based sauces but to Thai dishes instead the Bolognese was already in progress and I knew that fish sauce was packed with umami, so I added a couple tablespoons and hoped for the best.”
“To my surprise, my in-a-pinch solution ended up resulting in the best Bolognese I ever made.”
One Reddit contributor to the discussion, though, insisted: “IMO, you’re better off getting whole anchovy filets and mincing them as needed instead of buying a paste.”
According to award winning chef, cookbook author, and television personality, Kathy Fang the revelation shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all.
She said: “Fish sauce is like natural MSG. It gives whatever dish you’re making a big boost of flavour. Those dishes include tomato-based sauces, which I frequently spike with a few dashes of fish sauce.
“It gives whatever dish you’re making a big boost of umami and flavor. I love how it adds depth and makes pasta sauce even more delicious, especially if the sauce doesn’t have any meat in it,” she notes.
Beyond Bolognese, there are tons of other ways to work a bit of fish sauce into your food according to Fang. Anytime a dish you’re cooking needs a bit of umami, consider this your secret ingredient.
She loves to add just a few dashes to anything that’s underseasoned, whether that be roast chicken or chicken noodle soup. Rather than making the dish fishy, it’ll accentuate its other flavours.
Often a tablespoon or two is enough to get the job done. She says use any fish sauce you have to hand.
“There are many, many different varieties of fish sauce, and while they all taste slightly different on their own, they’ll do more or less the same thing to your food—find your favorite but don’t stress about it too much!”
Other recent Reddit posts point to a host of other ingredients to give that tomato sauce a serious boost. They include cinnamon, cocoa, anchovy paste, Worcester Sauce and are all recommended for a richer taste for spaghetti sauces. That weekday spag bol will never taste the same again!
