Umami and the egg

ChillyWillis · March 2015

@nolaegghead and I were discussing MSG in another thread and I thought I'd open this up into its own topic. How do all of you prefer to add that elusive umami flavor to your food while egging? There obviously is no right or wrong answer, and plans of attack will change greatly depending on the type of cook..... but I'm interested in various approaches.

Here was an article that I found interesting on the subject: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/you-think-you-know-umami?mbid=social_facebook

Edit: you know you're surrounded by people who can cook when you get off the eggheadforum discussing various ways of adding a touch of umami only to check out Facebook and have a fantastic chef you know post an article on the same topic you were just debating.

nolaegghead · March 2015

I have a bottle of feng shui, I don't know what's in it but it makes stuff taste delicious. I think it has fish sauce or anchovies or something. It's like a meat glue of flavor.

SmokeyPitt · March 2015

@BigWader posted this recipe:
http://sansaire.com/cook-steak-sous-vide/#fauxaged

I tried it with what I had on hand and it was excellent.

I had one of those "maybe I'm a cook" moments because I actually had anchovy paste in the fridge.

Richard Fl · March 2015

This is a sauce/marinade I have been playing with for several years. When I have a need I start with a gallon of Kikkoman--other soy sauces have too much salt IMO- Bring to a slight boil them simmer until about a third of the volumn as gone and then add the remaining ingredients in proportion. After
all is mixed and cooling I add a stick of butter, 1/3-1/2 cup white sesame seeds and 2 cups of garlic chives cut into little pieces. I add the chives at the end so the cooking does not loose the flavor. Keeps in the frig forever.

********************

Small portion

Sauce, Umami Flavor, Richard Fl.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

2 Tbs Sherry, Cooking

2 Tbs Turbindo sugar

2 Tbs Honey

2-3 Tbs Hoisin Sauce

2-3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Tbs Ginger Oil

1 tsp 5-Spice Seasoning

3 Garlic Chives, Cut Fine

4 Kaffir Lime Leaves, Cut Fine

1 Scallion, Cut Fine

1 Lime, Juice of

2 Tbs Oyster Sauce

1/4 cup Fish Sauce

1 Tbs Hot Sauce

Recipe Type: Marinade, Sauce

Source

Source: Richard Howe, 2012/01/06

Web Page: http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1214854&catid=1

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When making a large batch for gifts or just keeping in frig.

Marinade, Teriyaki, Soy Sauce, Umami #3, Richard Fl

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Gal. Soy Sauce, Get Kikkoman, others have too much salt

3/8 Cup Sesame Seeds, White

2 1/2 Cups Vinegar, 1/2 Balsamic, 1/2 White

1 1/4 Cups Chili Paste, Red Hot, Korean, Gochujang

1/2 Cup Pepper, Black, Ground

1/2 Cup Sugar, Turbindo

3/8 Cup Garlic, Minced

1/4-1/2 Cup Olive Oil

10 Ozs Sweet/Sour Sauce -OR- Sweet Chilli Sauce, Thai

1/4 Cup Chili Oil

1/4 Cup Sesame Oil

1/4 Cup Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

2-3 Tbs Fine Chopped Fresh Ginger, I used microplane

1 Lbs. Garlic Chives or Scallions, Sliced Thinly, add at end of cooking.

1/2 Stick Butter, add at end of cooking (Optional)

1/2 Cup Fish Sauce (optional)

Procedure:

1. Mix all except garlic chives/scallions and butter, if using, in a large heavy pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook. 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. Goal is to reduce the volume by 30% apprx. Cool, Add garlic chives/scallions. Keeps a long time in a container in refrigerator. Over a year. Great as a marinade, substitute for worchestire sauce, yakitori sauce or a dipping sauce for wontons, pot stickers.

Yield: 5 Quarts+1 Cup

Recipe Type: Marinade

Tips

This will wake up your sinuses. For less heat adjust the hot ingredients. For a thicker sauce add some more sweet & sour or sugar.

Source

Source: Richard Howe, 2010/08/02

gdenby · March 2015

Buttermilk marinades help to improve the glutamate levels.

I'm not sure that the buttermilk mostly available now works well, as it has no active cultures, and may never have had any.

A few weeks ago I "fermented" some pork, don't recall the cut, possibly slices from a butt. 5 days in a mix of cultured buttermilk and heavy cream. Then 7 more with salt and nutmeg added to the ferment. I was mostly hoping for the tenderizing effect, but the flavor was pretty good.

ChillyWillis · March 2015

"Richard Fl" Wow!!! Just reading through that list of ingredients had me drooling. I'm going to have to mix up a batch of that asap.

Eggcelsior · March 2015

gdenby said:

Buttermilk marinades help to improve the glutamate levels.

I'm not sure that the buttermilk mostly available now works well, as it has no active cultures, and may never have had any.

A few weeks ago I "fermented" some pork, don't recall the cut, possibly slices from a butt. 5 days in a mix of cultured buttermilk and heavy cream. Then 7 more with salt and nutmeg added to the ferment. I was mostly hoping for the tenderizing effect, but the flavor was pretty good.

@gdenby nearly all buttermilk available to me is "cultured buttermilk" made with lactic acid cultures. If I want traditional buttermilk, I have to drive a looooong way to a farm in PA that sells raw milk.

gdenby · March 2015

Quote: "nearly all buttermilk available to me is "cultured buttermilk" made with lactic acid cultures. If I want traditional buttermilk, I have to drive a looooong way to a farm in PA that sells raw milk. "

The key is active cultures. The only place near me that sells something that lists active cultures in the ingredients is Whole Food$.

According to the fellow who made a presentation about the matter, some commercial buttermilk is soured artificially, vinegar I s'pose. Kind of like some "sourdough" bread.

Buttermilk works as a good marinade, but if there are active cultures, the meat can ferment. My experiment produced a slightly tangy flavor and the pork flavor was a little more complex.

HendersonTRKing · March 2015

2 words: Anchovy Paste.

1 Action: add it to all sauces/marinades.

This pleases the umami gods and is far easier than finding a virgin to throw into a volcano. Infinitely more effective, too.

SmokeyPitt · March 2015

HendersonTRKing said:

2 words: Anchovy Paste.

1 Action: add it to all sauces/marinades.

This pleases the umami gods and is far easier than finding a virgin to throw into a volcano. Infinitely more effective, too.

...and don't forget the Caesar dressing.

Umami and the egg

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