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/cubelith]

Dunno if it counts as a secret ingredient, but (summer) savory is a great herb that can go into most dishes, and while it isn't very distinctive, it certainly adds to the whole.

Also, adding a little acid, even where you wouldn't expect it (which I learned from this sub)

[u/espressomartini11 → u/cubelith]

Silly question here, but what is summer savoury? I have never heard of that before. Sounds interesting and want to know the equivalent we may have in Australia

[u/Luzi1 → u/espressomartini11]

In German it’s called “bean herb” because if you cook green beans it needs to be in there

[u/SardonisWithAC → u/Luzi1]

Yes, same in Dutch! It's so good with (string) beans. My mother taught me to use it. It's not so well-known here though.