improve it if you can

[Steve Kroll]

ok i give up , whats umami ?

Yeah, that's one of those flavors that's hard to describe. But most flavors are like that when you think about it. How would you describe "sour" or "sweet" to someone that has no taste buds?

I remember my daughter asking me that question when she was about 15. I just tried to give her some examples of umami foods: parmesan cheese, certain mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce.

And she said, "Oh you mean food that tastes kind of funky?" I thought yeah, that's a pretty good description.

It also describes foods that can take a little getting used to on their own, but enhance the flavor of other foods.

Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[pictonguy]

I use fish sauce a lot but in those related Asian dishes I use fermented shrimp paste more and I'm yet to find a friend or customer say, oh, you used shrimp paste didn't you, but they do say wow your stir fry are so much tastier than what I'm use to eating. Basically you can't taste it.

 

[FrankZ]

It looks like a good recipe to me. The one ingredient I've seen in a lot of Carolina sauce recipes is the addition of mustard. So that might be worth trying. And maybe swapping out some or all of the brown sugar for honey. I like brown sugar myself, but honey and mustard are a great combination.

NC sauces use cider vinegar with ketchup. The proper amount might make a discussion not polite enough for this forum. It seems though east to west is least to most in terms of ratio.

SC uses a mustard based sauce, thinned with vinegar and sweetened with honey usually.

When I make pulled pork I make both to accompany.

 

[jennyema]

me thinks i'll pass on this last one !!
there is no way i would ever put fish sauce in BBQ sauce ,
thanks, but no thanks

You really should consider thinking outside The box. Fish sauce would be a superb ingredient to add to your BBQ sauce. So would soy sauce.

They add umami, which looks like your sauce might lack.

You ask for our suggestions but you reject most of them. Almost all the people offering them are accomplished home cooks and even professional chefs. We know our stuff.

 

[grumpyoldman]

i thought when i started this thread it would be a light hearted fun discussion, boy was i wrong it seems to have become about 1 single ingredient " fish sauce "
Jennema : i did not reject all suggestions,
only 1 ( the fish sauce )
if everyone here like the stuff . thats ok with me but i will not use it, not now not ever !!!
i will no longer ask for suggestions on anything because it seems to me that if i don't like something then it becomes an obsession for others to force the issue
my intent was just to have a bit of fun kicking around ideas that i was free to use or reject depending on what other's came up with that I hadn't thought of,
not to be ganged up on over a single ingredient !!!

 

[Andy M.]

ok i give up , whats umami ?

For a long time, we were told our tastebuds could detect sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Turns out there is a fifth taste our tastebuds can identify-Umami.

Umami is the taste of meats and savory foods. Adding certain things to a dish will enhance the flavors of that dish enhancing the dish's flavor without your tasting the added item. Umami enhancers include soy and fish sauces, tomato, wine, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, to name a few.

 

[grumpyoldman]

MODS : please close this thread , i am tired of hearing about FISH SAUCE !!!!

 

[Andy M.]

i thought when i started this thread it would be a light hearted fun discussion, boy was i wrong it seems to have become about 1 single ingredient " fish sauce "
Jennema : i did not reject all suggestions,
only 1 ( the fish sauce )
if everyone here like the stuff . thats ok with me but i will not use it, not now not ever !!!
i will no longer ask for suggestions on anything because it seems to me that if i don't like something then it becomes an obsession for others to force the issue
my intent was just to have a bit of fun kicking around ideas that i was free to use or reject depending on what other's came up with that I hadn't thought of,
not to be ganged up on over a single ingredient !!!

Sorry you feel that way. You asked for suggestions. Someone suggested an addition that you rejected without even knowing what it was or why it was suggested. Maybe some of us know something you don't and are trying to share that knowledge with you. Consider giving it a chance.

 

[grumpyoldman]

what is it about the folks here that will not take the word NO for an answer ? this was supposed to be a fun thread, not a thread about damn fish sauce

there is MORE than 1 ingredient in the world folks !!!
i CHOOSE NOT to use this one !!! get over it

 

[jennyema]

You choose not to try an ingredient you know absolutely nothing about, despite the advice to you from experienced cooks that it will not make your sauce taste like fish. If I may ask... why?

Umami=savory taste

 

[Badjak]

I'm reading through @grumpyoldman recipe again...

Is it just the consistency you don't like? But taste is fine)
I read the "too thin" as like "too thin in taste/weak).

If just the consistency, then you could try thicken it by boiling the sugar and vinegar together till syruppy, or maybe use gelatine to thicken

 

[Kathleen]

Actually, there were several suggestions for addition of umami that have been mentioned. Parm cheeses, certain mushrooms, etc. Sun-dried tomatoes could add some. Smoked meats can but I think your recipe would benefit from something more than your smoking of the ribs.

You asked for suggestions. No one has ganged up on you. Have you looked up umami and sources as there are many. Yeah, fish sauce is an easy way to add it but there are oodles of other things. In scrolling, there seem to be several who have tried to have a discussion with you, and you can easily say that you will not eat anything from the sea or lake. Simple. But it started as you didn't know what it was, several have tried to direct you to gather information, and others still have given their own favorite recipes.

In re-reading the thread, it seem this is your tried and true recipe and you are not really looking for suggestions as to how you should improve it. I thought you wanted to know what *we* would do that we felt might improve it.

If you simply want to thicken it, use some gelatin, cook the sauce down a bit, or add some cornstarch in at the end before serving. All would work.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

me thinks i'll pass on this last one !!
there is no way i would ever put fish sauce in BBQ sauce ,
thanks, but no thanks

It is mandatory for making Korean tacos!

BTW, Korean tacos are best when topped with kim chee instead of shredded lettuce.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

MODS : please close this thread , i am tired of hearing about FISH SAUCE !!!!

You need to widen your horizons, grumpy. There are a world of flavours out there that you obviously haven't experienced. I was that way once myself, when I was in my teens, but I outgrew it. Now I will eat anything that doesn't eat me first.

BTW, do you own this shirt? I do!

 

[grumpyoldman]

i must admit i DO like the shirt but thats something else i hate T-shirts !! stopped wearing them when i was about 12