Mine probably isn’t that secret these days, but almost every sauce I add nutritional yeast to. Curry, chilli, bolognese, it just makes them all better.
Not an ingredient necessarily, but I toast rice with spices before cooking it. I throw some oil and garlic in the pot I’m going to cook the rice in, then put in the rice and (for mexican-like dishes) garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, a little oregano, a little cayenne pepper, and salt. I mix that all up continuously over medium heat for a couple minutes, then I add the water and cook the rice. It makes an incredible difference in taste
Not to discount your rice idea, but isn’t this essentially the directions for Rice-A-Roni?
You do similar with risotto too.
It completely is and it completely works wonders.
