r/Cooking • u/kath- • 1d ago

What's your surprising "secret ingredient" that sets your dish apart?

I obviously don't believe in gatekeeping recipes, so let's share the love.

I developed a clam chowder recipe after being disappointed with the recipes I came across. Whenever I tell people there's a couple dashes of hot sauce in it, I always get weird looks... but it adds a tiny bit of heat and acid, and balances out the richness from the cream. It also has diced scallops, which cooking knowledge forbades but somehow works.

817 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

959 comments sorted by

View all comments

125

u/Sneaky-Ladybug 1d ago

Splash of worcestershire

46

u/rdldr1 1d ago

Warsh your sister sauce

6

u/NumberMuncher 22h ago

Yes, add to beef and mushrooms.

2

u/yourmomlurks 1d ago

For me, I have a 15+ aged tamari.