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Recent PostsNorth Indian Egg Curry Recipe (Anda Masala)Nearly Instant Fresh Tomato PureeMSG Salt & Mushroom Seasoning: Instant Flavor Fixes?Chile Salt for Fruit and Veggies (Bot Muoi Ot)Stir-Fried Pork with Black Beans and Green Beans Recipe15th Anniversary Mai Tai RecipeThai Melon SaladSpicy Sardine Corn Empanadas RecipeRockin’ Ramen Chef: Noodle Soup Making VideoNavigating Food Safety in Chinese IngredientsAwards + Praise
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July 29, 2011MSG Salt & Mushroom Seasoning: Instant Flavor Fixes?
Months ago while having lunch at a Korean restaurant in Oakland, California, I noticed some skinny long crystals in a container of salt at the table. It was MSG mixed with salt. I asked my lunch companion, Linda (a Korea-born American) about the seasoning combination. Her response was, “Eh, there’s MSG in lots of Korean food. It’s everywhere.”
Then I received several care packages from Yun Ho Rhee, a Seoul-based friend and frequent visitor to this site. Yun Ho was traveling to the U.S. and volunteered to pick up some Korean ingredients that he thought I’d find interesting. “Have you had MSG salt? It’s kind of good,” he remarked in an email. Yun Ho uses regular salt too.
I’m not one to use chemically produced MSG in my cooking. Naturally-occurring glutamates can be found in ingredients such as soy sauce, fish sauce, ripe tomato, dried kelp (kombu), and dried shiitake mushroom, for example. But heck, Yun Ho had tucked a bag of the white granules into one of his care packages and I had to try it out. I found it to be tasty on its own, rather savory sweet.
There was only Korean Hangul (above, left) characters on the plastic packaging and Yun Ho explained that the Korean MSG salt was comprised of 90% salt and 10% MSG. Made by Daesang in Korea, the salt is coated with MSG. At the Oakland restaurant, regular salt was simply mixed with regular MSG.
The funny thing about both of the Korean MSG salts was that I didn’t taste the saltiness when I sprinkled them onto foods. They had a subtle effect on food. I kept putting more on, perhaps because of the effect of the MSG, or because the salt just wasn’t as salty as I am used to. We train our palates to react in certain ways over time.
I found myself using more of the MSG salt when I used it during the cooking process. It’s probably better as a finishing salt for sprinkling on right before serving or at the table for guests to help themselves.
Using the Korean salt led me to pick up a bag of Taiwanese Mushroom Seasoning (above, right), sold at Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. Manufacturer Po Lo Ku Trading touts the seasoning as a substitute for MSG and chicken essence, which many people use in their cooking. “No salt or monosodium glutamate is needed with this product is used,” it claims. There’s Chinese, English, and Vietnamese language on the packaging, signaling that they market to a broad audience of cooks.
The mushroom “MSG” is made of mushroom powder, salt, mushroom extract, calcium powder, and B (Vitamin B?). Whereas the white grains of MSG salt looks just like salt, the beige grains of mushroom seasoning remind me of malt powder but the flavor is nothing like it!
I’ve had the mushroom MSG in the cupboard for months and every once in a while, when I’m making a quick noodle soup in which no broth is used, I’ll add some of the mushroom seasoning to the water (it usually contains some sautéed onion and other vegetables).
The effect is remarkably good, better than the asparagus-based fake MSG that I wrote about earlier. You sense that it’s not full of the chicken-y goodness of a long-simmered broth. Hey, it’s a semi-homemade way to cook. For example, I often have dried Chinese egg noodles on hand for a fast meal. The noodles are ‘instant’ but they don’t come with ‘flavoring’ packages, which basically contain MSG, salt, and sugar. My work around is the mushroom seasoning. The drawback is that the stuff comes in 500g (17 ounce) bags, which is a lot to use. Thank god, the manufacturer says that the seasoning lasts for 3 years!
Because I had so much, I gave some to my mom, who uses a touch of MSG in her food. She looked at the white and beige seasonings with skepticism. Hopefully, she’ll give them a whirl but she’s a diehard traditionalist. Just the old-fashioned MSG, please!
As for me, I like both of these flavor-enhancing seasonings but they won’t become go-to seasonings in my pantry. They are interesting and fun to try, however, as it’s good to understand how other people cook and flavor their food.
Any experience with Korean MSG salt or Taiwanese mushroom seasoning? Share them below.
Related posts:
MSG, Fake MSG & Umami: How bad is MSG and what is umami?Chile Salt for Fruit and Veggies (Bot Muoi Ot) ¦ ? ¦Posted in Asian Food Culture, Asian Ingredients | PermalinkReblog (0) | | Digg This | | Comments
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Very informative post. I'm interested in checking out the mushroom msg. I enjoy the flavor that MSG adds, but I'm sensitive to it - it leaves that unpleasant thirsty after feeling in my mouth.
Posted by:Madeline |July 29, 2011 at 12:29 PMHI,
I am a Korean-American (born in Korea but lived in the US for 25 years) foodie in LA. I recently discovered Mushroom MSG through a u-tube post teaching how to make Gia-ya. I used in in my spring rolls first and it added that Umami taste. Then I started using it on my Korean Kimchi Soups, Tofu Soups and sea food stews that we called Jchi-gae. It is better than using Hondashi which is another form of MSG that is used in Japanese cooking. I feel it does not have that side effect of puffiness and drowsiness that I get when I eat MSG. THe most of Korean restaurants in K town in LA use MSG although they claim they don't. I have a bad reaction to it so I know. But the mushroom MSG tent to cause no reaction and it adds the extra flavor that we are seeking in many of the Asian recipes.
I just want to thank you for writing a wonderful book on Dumplings. I have tried a couple recipes and so far it has been delicious. I am going to write you again after I try more recipes from you book.
Interesting that you bring this up today. I was shopping at my local Korean supermarket yesterday and I saw something called "Flavor Salt". The packaging was actually really gorgeous, that's what caught my eye.
I don't have issues with MSG, so next time I'm there I may pick up a bag.
Posted by:Jennifer |July 30, 2011 at 04:59 PMSaeyoung: Thanks for the low-down on K-town restaurants using MSG, despite their claims. I agree that the Mushroom Seasoning is a nice substitute for Hondashi in chigae. I've recently found hondashi that contains no MSG and will write about it soon. I often make dashi from scratch and keep it in the fridge for several days to use whenever I need it. But I realize that some times you just need a quick (and when possible, natural) source for umami.
Posted by:Andrea Nguyen |July 31, 2011 at 11:48 AMJennifer: I bet that "Flavor Salt" was Korean MSG salt. It is kinda crazy good. Salt is in these days but interesting salts from Asia don't get enough play. Glad you're checking it out!
Posted by:Andrea Nguyen |July 31, 2011 at 11:50 AMP.S... Saeyoung: Thank you for the kind words on the Asian Dumplings cookbook! I'm delighted that it's part of your kitchen.:)
Posted by:Andrea Nguyen |July 31, 2011 at 11:51 AMHi Andrea - I love that mushroom MSG powder! I use it to add depth to vegetarian dishes where I have to forego fish sauce. I've also used it to enhance bland restaurant stir fry noodles. An excellent condiment. There's another product called Taste #5 Umami Paste, which is largely mushroom based (with other 'umami' contributors as well) -- I've been thinking about picking up a tube to see how it compares to the mushroom powder (the powder is significantly more economical, though!).
Posted by:Oanh |July 31, 2011 at 02:39 PMHi Oanh: Thanks for the tips on using the Mushroom 'MSG' especially for vegetarian fare. I imagine that gluten-free people could use it too. I'll have to look for the Umami Paste!
Posted by:Andrea Nguyen |August 02, 2011 at 11:59 AMHi Andrea, as you pointed out MSG salt is usually used to season food almost at the final stage of cooking. Many of the restaurants abuse the use of MSG since it brings out "extra flavor" instantly. I too am very reactive to MSG abuses as I get a bad migraine every time a restaurant overuses MSG. If MSG is used in moderation, it is a very good flavor enhancer. This is why I use MSG Salt because the content of MSG salt only has 10% MSG, a lot less than what restaurants use in their foods.
If you check the ingredients of most of the snack foods such as Doritos, they too use MSG but you don't hear many people complaining about side effects of MSG after eating Doritos. Hence, it is the abusive use of MSG that people are having problems with.
If you are allergic to even a hint of MSG, Many Korean households now make natural seasonings by milling dried anchovies, dried shiitake mushrooms, konbu (sea kelp)and dried mussels and use this powder to flavor soups and chigae. These seasonings should now be available commerically in Korean markets since they have been out in the market for several years here in Korea.
Aah, I always seem to forget an ingredient when I post a recipe on your blog...Dried Shrimp is also milled with above ingredients.
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