My jarred pasta sauce game fell off a cliff for years until I started adding a spoonful of fish sauce

I used to just dump a jar of Rao's or whatever on noodles and call it dinner for way too long. Then I went to a friend's place three months ago and he threw a splash of Vietnamese fish sauce into his simmering sauce and I almost lost my mind at how good it was. The before was flat and sugary, the after was deep and savory like the jar had been simmering for hours. I started doing it myself and now I can't go back. The trick is adding it early so it cooks down and doesn't smell like a pier. Anyone else got a weird pantry staple they sneak into pasta to fix the jarred stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmag224d ago

Oh man the fish sauce trick is legit! I started using it in my bolognese too after a buddy showed me and it's wild how much depth it adds.

stellaa694d ago

Yeah anchovy paste works the same way. Just a little squeeze before the tomatoes go in and nobody knows it's there except the sauce tastes like it's been bubbling all day.