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Is MSG used alot in Singapore cooking?
Is MSG used alot in Singapore cooking?
Over here in Thailand the FDA dont seem to really mind what you put in the food including msg, I was wondering if Singapore are a bit more strict on it?
I guess alot is used due to the Chinese population but is it found in the Indian/Malay food alot aswell?
I swear its the reason why you can get so dopey here.
I guess alot is used due to the Chinese population but is it found in the Indian/Malay food alot aswell?
I swear its the reason why you can get so dopey here.
- sundaymorningstaple
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Re: Is MSG used alot in Singapore cooking?
With regards to Indian cooking - MSG is generally not used. Unless it is Indo-Chinese food like fried riceJames-83 wrote: I guess alot is used due to the Chinese population but is it found in the Indian/Malay food alot aswell?
Not sure how it is in restaurants but I am talking about basic Indian cooking
- sundaymorningstaple
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We rarely eat in hawker stalls because my wife has a reaction to MSG so almost everything you buy has some in something (it allows them to buy cheaper ingredients and still taste somewhat edible). How you think they sell so cheap?
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers
One of the ladies on our Dragon Boat team has a reaction almost instantly if there is any MSG in the food, the couple of times I have seen it , it hasn't been at Hawker Stalls either.sundaymorningstaple wrote:We rarely eat in hawker stalls because my wife has a reaction to MSG so almost everything you buy has some in something (it allows them to buy cheaper ingredients and still taste somewhat edible). How you think they sell so cheap?
Life is short, paddle harder!!
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MSG can be found in many savory Asian packaged snacks e.g. shrimp chip, dried cuttlefish, seasoned nuts ....
I also came across its use in western snack items too but can't recall where. Canned chicken stock and canned soup usually use them too. Many Asians like myself grew up on it and I haven't really heard the population being too affected by it. Do you build a tolerance over time?
I also came across its use in western snack items too but can't recall where. Canned chicken stock and canned soup usually use them too. Many Asians like myself grew up on it and I haven't really heard the population being too affected by it. Do you build a tolerance over time?
There is no Asian food without MSG! (with the possible exception of South Indian vegetarian)
It is a traditional ingredient and naturally occurs in soy sauce, fish sauce and similarly fermented condiments.
It is also present in almost all available pre-prepared dishes and snacks, whether Asian or Western (this includes frozen pizza and all hamburgers and fries).
Thankfully, it isn't very harmful (if at all, the scientific community cannot agree yet) for people without allergic reactions to it.
In Asia it pays to go with the flow and not against it. A billion Chinese cannot be wrong (they eat lots of it and their food is admired worldwide).
Edit: MSG also naturally occurs in seaweed, so most macrobiotic and vegan food has it as well! (Ajinomoto is made from seaweed.)
It is a traditional ingredient and naturally occurs in soy sauce, fish sauce and similarly fermented condiments.
It is also present in almost all available pre-prepared dishes and snacks, whether Asian or Western (this includes frozen pizza and all hamburgers and fries).
Thankfully, it isn't very harmful (if at all, the scientific community cannot agree yet) for people without allergic reactions to it.
In Asia it pays to go with the flow and not against it. A billion Chinese cannot be wrong (they eat lots of it and their food is admired worldwide).
Edit: MSG also naturally occurs in seaweed, so most macrobiotic and vegan food has it as well! (Ajinomoto is made from seaweed.)
Last edited by beppi on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yes SG food is loaded with MSG.
My wife and I both know when we've had a meal with too much in. It sort of leaves your palette beaten into submission. The food often lacks a depth of flavour and comes over in a blunt one dimensional kind of way.
It is little used in western food, as it's flavours tend to come from stocks where the flavours might be built up over days. Whereas in some Asian cuisines one dimensional flavours are flash cooked, and to make them more palatable and add a breadth of flavour MSG is used.
My wife and I both know when we've had a meal with too much in. It sort of leaves your palette beaten into submission. The food often lacks a depth of flavour and comes over in a blunt one dimensional kind of way.
It is little used in western food, as it's flavours tend to come from stocks where the flavours might be built up over days. Whereas in some Asian cuisines one dimensional flavours are flash cooked, and to make them more palatable and add a breadth of flavour MSG is used.
Not sure about 'sprinkled on'... maybe others know?Brah wrote:I'm glad someone asked this as I had been meaning to. I see something get sprinkled onto food in nondescript dispensers and suspect it.
If you watch a dish being cooked, the chef will often add one or two .5-1.0 teaspoons of white crystal powder into the pan. In the flash of the eye. One is sugar, the other MSG...
Pre-made sauces like oyster sauce are almost all loaded with MSG too...
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I know someone who gets palpitations so adverse reactions to MSG is real.sensei_ wrote:while i have yet to see someone with adverse msg reaction, i still believe moderation is the key.
But it could be something like how some people are allergic to peanuts or even chicken.
Anyway, what most people are concerned about is the amount of sodium present in most foods not prepared by themselves...which is a lot.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."
I have no doubt people do get allergic to certain things. Personally, i'm allergic to peanuts, citrus fruits, and even EES suspension (antibiotic).nakatago wrote:I know someone who gets palpitations so adverse reactions to MSG is real.
But it could be something like how some people are allergic to peanuts or even chicken.
Anyway, what most people are concerned about is the amount of sodium present in most foods not prepared by themselves...which is a lot.
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