Quote from: Secret Santa on September 01, 2012, 02:04 PM
I was just offering it as information Phil.

I know : I was just trying to point out that /everything/ is "a concoction" of something, and that there are times when it is better to buy a concoction than to attempt to replicate one.

QuoteOf course, if keeping to the task at hand is foremost then one could argue that suggesting the use of an ingredient that almost certainly has never seen the inside of any BIR establishment, is rather counter to that goal.  :

I agree : but as the issue of MSG had reared its head, it seemed only helpful to point out that there were alternatives that one might consider.  My wife, for example (75% Chinese, 25% Vietnamese) never uses MSG per se, but uses great quantities of (catering) Knorr Chicken Stock powder and thereby adds the necessary MSG content that way ...

** Phil.

As others have pointed out: MSG is actually in many instant stocks and other sauce mixes. So, you might be using MSG without knowing it.

Also, mono-sodium glutamate comes naturally in tons of food (such as Bovril and Marmite, for example). Since MSG is closely connected to the "Umami" taste I was always under the impression that you actually NEED msg (be it naturally obtained or via explicitly adding it) in Chinese cuisine in order for things to taste "authentic".

Now, whether MSG gets deliberately used in BIR curries I have no idea - I suspect other (indirect) sources of MSG, for sure, even though I can't find classic MSG sources (such as Worcestershire sauce) in any of the recipes.

Quote from: chewytikka on September 03, 2012, 01:13 PM
Worcestershire Sauce is used in old School recipes, like my Madras and Dhansak

We must have gone to different schools.  ;D

Ripped out of context from another site:

"Glutamate and Glutamic acid are naturally occurring amino acids present in a large range of foods. It is free Glutamate that provides the unami taste.

They are most concentrated in sharp cheeses (like Parmesan), yeast and yeast extracts, anchovies, fermented fish sauce (and hence Worcestershire sauce), fermented bean products (hence soy sauce), sea-weed/vegetables and savory mushrooms (like Shiitaki). Tomatoes also contain reasonable amounts, which in the quantities of a tomato sauce, have a strong unami taste."

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on September 03, 2012, 02:25 PM
As some of the ingredients for Worcestershire Sauce came from India (Lea and Perrins dates back to 1838), and we no doubt sent it over there during the days of the British Raj, I guess that's where its use in Indian cuisine originated - and continues to this day

If I recall correctly, I think Worcester Sauce was actually originally invented/discovered/created in India (by Lea and Perrins), during the Raj, and the recipe was brought back to England (by one or the other of them) for manufacture.  I recall reading (on their website, I think) that the original mixture was left and subsequently found fermenting, in a barrel, somewhere, in India.