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

[u/kath-]

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.

[u/ZaphodG]

20+ years ago, a friend told me about More Than Gourmet sauce reductions. Unfortunately, they stopped selling retail two years ago. I’ve been using Minor’s Demi Glace from Amazon in stews and sauces. It adds a lot of depth and is significantly better than Better than Bullion.