HOW MUCH TO LIMIT MSG TO?
You wouldn’t drown your salad in olive oil just because it’s a heart-friendly oil, or add an extra packet of artificial sweetener to your coffee because it’s better than regular sugar.
Neither should you go crazy with MSG – especially when “there is no set limit for MSG per se” said Reutens. “We should use the same common-sense approach when adding salt, sugar and oils to our foods.”
You could, said Seto, replace some salt with MSG to reduce your daily sodium intake (which, by the way, should be less than 2,000mg, less than 5g or less than 1 teaspoon of regular salt per day), but she cautioned you may miss out on salt’s roles in flavour and texture.
“People with sodium-sensitive conditions such as hypertension and kidney disease should be mindful of their total sodium intake, including MSG,” said Seto.
WHAT ARE THE MORE UNCONVENTIONAL WAYS TO USE MSG?
On social media, whole steaks have been encased in an MSG crust like a salt-baked chicken and cooked in a covered grill.
“I’ve seen people adding MSG to watermelon or mixing it with popcorn,” said Jesper Chia of private diner The Wood Ear.
You could also, suggested Low, add the flavour enhancer to scrambled eggs, already-salted fries, curries and in fried rice – but maybe not the way comedian Nigel Ng champions it in his Uncle Roger skits.
Try MSG in spice blends for rubs on roasted vegetables, recommended Sim, to “enrich their natural flavours”.
