We all love the satisfying flavor of our favorite restaurant meals, but those dishes often pack a hefty dose of sodium. What if you could recreate the same flavors at home while significantly cutting down on salt? You can with the help of MSG (monosodium glutamate).
MSG is the purest form of umami, which is often described as a savory or meaty taste. The glutamate in MSG naturally occurs in foods like aged cheese, cured meats, and tomatoes. By adding a touch of MSG to a recipe, you boost the inherent umami of a dish and enhance the other flavors.
MSG can also be used to lower the amount of sodium in a food since it contains about a third less sodium than table salt. When a small amount of MSG is used in place of some of the added salt in a recipe, the dish will taste just as salty, but contain less sodium. Studies have shown that using MSG can reduce the sodium content of recipes by up to 40% without compromising flavor.
Ready to swap out some salt for savory satisfaction? Here are three restaurant favorites you can master at home with the help of umami:
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
For a crispy chicken sandwich that rivals that of a certain immensely popular chicken restaurant, add a teaspoon of MSG to the spice blend used for seasoning the chicken. This allows you to add less table salt and still achieve the right balance of salt and other flavors. MSG is a key ingredient in the original restaurant version and the Homemade Chick-fil-A Sandwiches Recipe by Serious Eats.
Beef and Broccoli
Asian-inspired dishes often contain high levels of sodium due to sodium-rich ingredients like soy sauce, stock, and salt itself. By reducing the salt slightly and supplementing with MSG, you maintain that essential savory flavor without getting excessive sodium. This tweak allows the fresh flavors of the beef and broccoli to shine through, creating a balanced, flavorful option that is healthier than your typical takeout order. This Restaurant Quality Beef and Broccoli recipe walks you through how to recreate your favorite restaurant dish with less sodium.
Ramen
Ramen is naturally rich in umami thanks to the mushrooms, soy sauce, and miso paste often used as ingredients. Swapping some of the sodium in the broth base for MSG will create a deeper, more complex flavor while lowering the sodium. Adding a little more MSG in conjunction with a lower-sodium soy sauce will further lower sodium and amplify flavor. This Easy Vegetarian Ramen with Rich, Savory Broth recipe will walk you through the steps of recreating a lower-sodium version of this favorite restaurant dish at home.
Check out our Savory Recipes page for even more restaurant favorites you can make with less salt and all the umami including chicken wings, clam chowder, and crab rangoon.
Chicken Sandwich Photo by Hybrid Storytellers on Unsplash
Ramen Photo by Michele Blackwell on Unsplash
