This Needs Something: 5 Flavor Enhancers when a dish is a little too bland. by Melissa Vickers

My husband and I try to avoid salt where we can, so I rarely add it (or as much as is called for) to my cooking. I’m still learning the art of using a good spice blend to replace the salt’s place in the overall flavor of a dish, but I do have a few things that we often add to dishes after the fact. These are not necessarily salt-free (though we’ll use lower salt versions when available), but it takes less of something added to the top of a dish to satisfy your taste buds than having salt mixed in.
Here’s my top four:
1. Ketchup: Okay, this one is on the list for my husband. Bob will reach for the ketchup bottle before he tastes a cooked meat. It can provide a little sweetness and replace some of the missing salt flavor.
2. Teriyaki Sauce: We keep a supply of PF Chang’s Teriyaki Sauce on hand and put it on meats, veggies, rice, etc. It’s good for anything that you can imagine having a Chinese/Japanese zing to it.
3. Low Sodium Soy Sauce: Similar to the teriyaki sauce in its oriental origins, it works when you want more of a taste that’s salty savory rather than sweet savory. Regular soy sauce is very high in sodium though, so if your goal is to reduce the salt, go for the low sodium version.
4. Ranch Dressing: Need a creamy savory taste? Ranch dressing is good on veggies (cooked or raw) as well as meats and fish. You can also add the powdered mix, which is actually lower in sodium than the bottled dressing.

What are your after-the-fact favorite flavor enhancers?