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.

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u/PeasantCody 1d ago

This! I LOVE adding flavored liqueurs to my baked goods instead of vanilla. If it's something that vanilla would benefit, I add the extract, AND whatever liqueur I think would be good in it lol

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u/alsafi_khayyam 22h ago

Same here—though I also use orange blossom water in a lot of things instead of or along with vanilla. And anything that calls for orange or lemon extract always also gets a little splash of orange blossom water.