I put fennel in my cole slaw. Gives it another dimension.
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Bought this today on Amazon. 1.1 lb bag.
Worcestershire sauce. Bitters. Sugar.
Do you like it better than the Japanese one at Trader Joe’s?
(Sorry for off-topic post.)
In desserts: salt, brown butter, Lyle’s golden syrup
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I feel like soy sauce is not a secret ingredient. 
Part of the challenge is: What makes an ingredient “secret”? Obviously, putting yellow mustard on a hot dog is not a secret ingredient. So the way I define a secret ingredient is something being used at unusual places.
In light of this, I suppose my secret ingredient are: stock, dried cured ham, dried shrimps, and mayo. I suppose I sometime add these ingredients where they are not usually called for.
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Hhmm. Not sure I’ve done a side by side to compare, I don’t buy the one from TJs much.
Maybe not but i put it in unconventional dishes like a basalmic vinegrette so maybe it qualifies there… (It’s like my version of anchovies 
)
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I look at most of ingredients listed here: anchovies, MSG, mushrooms, cheese, cured meat and even soy sauce (which is fermented beans), it seems they all belong to the fifth taste, unami.
I tumbled onto this article that might give some hint…
When you combine ingredients containing these different umami-giving compounds, they enhance one another so the dish packs more flavour points than the sum of its parts.
Umami: why the fifth taste is so important (the Guardian - Amy Fleming)
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I used to love anchovy in pasta sauce, then I went “off” it. Maybe I’ll try again. It saves you the trouble of adding bought olive oil!!
Favorite secret ingredients: a pinch of sugar (after being a lifelong anti-sugar scold, go figure), a pinch of salt (even to sweet foods), orange marmalade to salad dressing, molasses to stuffed cabbage tomato sauce or salad dressing instead of, not including, the marmalade. Not too much. Also, here & there, horseradish & mustard.
