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Who in the American cuisine puts tomato sauce on chicken? Those poor Italian ancestors are spinning in their graves.
The secret ingredient of tomato is naturally occurring MSG. ๐
Plus if we're talking chicken parm here, breading and frying just about anything in oil makes it 10 times tastier.
Relevant, love me MSG.
It tastes like savory magic, like the fructose of savory
Is that rooted in its umami or what is the relation between umami and msg?
IIRC, MSG is one of the compounds that gives food an umami flavor. It at least brings out the food's natural umami-ness when used as a spice.
Tomatoes provide both sweetness and sourness, and meats in general benefit from both.
It doesn't need to be from tomatoes, though. My go-to recipe for air fryer chicken wings uses a splash of vinegar + brown sugar instead; and for teriyaki, the sourness is from sake and sweetness from mirin.
this post was submitted on 31 May 2026
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