Some things, like love or a delicious shrimp base, can't be hurried, but a lot of things can be approximated. Though there is no substitute for a true dry-aged steak, there are two ingredients that food geeks swear help you get pretty close: koji and fish sauce.
The best vegetable is a roasted vegetable, and the best roasted vegetables are finished with fish sauce. The pungent, salty and sweet sauce is the perfect companion for all sorts of earthy plant parts, from starchy potatoes to cruciferous sprouts.
"Umami", also known as "the fifth taste", is a flavour that is kind of hard to describe. It's savoury, but not salty, though it is usually accompanied by salt. It's been described as "meaty", "mushroom-y" and "brothy", but I prefer to describe it as "that flavour that makes you eat an entire bag of Doritos in one sitting".
Fish sauce is a glorious condiment that gives South Asian cuisine its distinct, delicious flavour, but if you're vegetarian (or allergic to fish) you're living your life without it, and that's very sad.
