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Season with MSG to Amp Up the Umami in Your Salads

umami salad seasoned with MSG

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “salad?” Excited? Bored? Blah?

I’ll be honest: when I see it on a menu when I’m dining out, I’m either thinking, “I could make this at home,” or “Wow! That sounds like an incredible combo!”

Merriam Webster defines salads as, “any of various usually cold dishes: such as raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing, small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin, a green vegetable or herb grown for salad especially : lettuce, or a usually incongruous mixture : hodgepodge.”

Despite this expansive definition that really could be just about any combination of things, salads just don’t hit the mark consistently. One thing that could really make them well-rounded and full of flavor each and every time? MSG (monosodium glutamate)! Salads need seasoning just like any other dish, whether you season the items before serving, during cooking/prepping, or tableside before digging in. Here are some ideas on how to amp up the umami in your salads that will surely please any palate!

Season with MSG before:

An easy non-recipe salad I love encompasses all the tastebuds, and is heavy on the umami. I’ll roast whatever odds and ends of vegetables I have in my pantry/fridge until they’re nice and crispy in oil, MSG, and black pepper. Once they’re done and still warm, I toss them with a big squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of maple syrup, crumbled goat cheese, and serve as-is. Eat it by itself, alongside some greens, or over pasta – whatever fits your fancy as a “salad!”

Season during:

In the case of Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad), the ingredients are all mixed together with a blend of fish sauce, palm sugar, and lime juice. The fish sauce naturally has umami and MSG, but if you want to boost it up even more, feel free to add a shake of MSG right into the salad. Typically served on its own, it also makes a killer side-salad for freshly steamed sticky rice and grilled chicken.

Season after:

Chicken Salad SandwichNostalgia often hits when you whip up a batch of egg salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad. Often times it’s just the protein, mayo, and debatable additions of raisins, walnuts, and/or celery. While we won’t argue with whichever direction your preferences lean, make sure it’s seasoned well! Once you have mixed together all the ingredients, season it with MSG to ensure the umami is popping before you spread it on a piece of crusty bread, crispy crackers, or dolloped onto a plate of mixed greens.

As you can tell, there are plenty of access points to amp up the umami in your salad, regardless of what your definition of a salad may be. Not only is MSG an affordable and accessible seasoning, it’s an easy way to add something to your salad when you feel like it’s missing “something,” but you’re not quite sure what that something is. Life is too short to eat a salad, or any food, just because you think it may be healthy for you, but it’s lacking in flavor. The one ingredient that should be front and center each time, whether you lean savory or sweet, is MSG!

green papaya salad
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Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)

Print this out and impress everyone with your worldly cooking skills. Som Tum done right!

Course Salad
Cuisine Asian
Servings 2 to 3
Author Chef Chris Koetke

Ingredients

  • 10 oz. green papaya
  • 5 cloves garlic chopped
  • 4-6 bird’s eye chilies
  • 4 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 3 oz. long beans cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 - 4 Tbsp. roasted peanuts
  • 2 Tbsp. dried shrimp optional
  • 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. palm sugar grated if purchased as a whole piece (can substitute sugar)
  • 3 Tbsp. lime juice
  • To garnish: 1 cup shredded red cabbage, fresh bean sprouts, and ½ cup long beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

  1. Peel papaya. Cut flesh into a fine julienne. Discard seeds. Reserve.

  2. With a mortar and pestle, pound chilies and garlic together to form a chunky paste.

  3. Add peanuts, dried shrimp, tomatoes, and beans. Mix to incorporate.

  4. Add fish sauce, palm sugar, and lime juice.

  5. Add shredded papaya, fold it in.
  6. Put on a serving platter and garnish with red cabbage, fresh bean sprouts and long beans.

Recipe Notes

Recipe courtesy of Chef Chris Koetke

Note: For vegetarian som tum, omit the dried shrimp and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce.

Tessa Nguyen, MEd, RD

Tessa Nguyen, MEd, RD, is an internationally acclaimed chef, registered dietitian, and speaker. As the founder and principal of TN Media, her talents come to life in the form of deliciously diverse recipes, cultural auditing, bespoke content development, speaking engagements, and countless media work. Tessa’s areas of expertise include health equity within the food and nutrition industries, food and agriculture connections, inclusive culinary nutrition applications, accessible and affordable cooking, and food allergies and intolerances including the low FODMAP diet. Connect with her on Instagram. Read more about her background on the About page. Note: MSGdish bloggers are compensated for their time in writing for MSGdish, but their statements and opinions are their own. They have pledged to blog with integrity, asserting that the trust of their readers and their peers is vitally important to them.

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