I came across this recipe for Ernest Hemingway's favorite hamburger and it sounded worth a try. I set about gathering the necessary ingredients to give it a go and discovered that Mei Yen was nowhere to be found. I'd never heard of it.
Mei Yen seasoning was a proprietary seasoning blend manufactured by Spice Islands. It was discontinued in 2008. Someone looking for the stuff in 2010 wrote to Spice Islands and they gave a substitution recipe as follows:
- Spice Islands Mei Yen has been discontinued, but you can make your own by combining: 9 parts salt, 9 parts sugar, 2 parts MSG
- Combine and store in tightly closed container. To use, if recipe calls
for 1 tsp. Mei Yen: use 2/3 tsp. substitute recipe and either 1/8 tsp.
bouillon powder or 1/8 tsp. soy sauce.
I tried making it according to those instructions (with the bouillon powder rather than the soy sauce) and I couldn't tell you if it is right or wrong because I never tasted the original. But I can say that the burgers were phenomenal. I've always been a little averse to adding lots of ingredients beyond salt and pepper to a burger patty. If I want meatloaf, I'll have meatloaf. But seriously, these were good and I was wrong.
Anyhow, I had some of this Mei Yen blend left over and I started putting it on things randomly to try. It makes sense that this blend would complement many things. The emphasis is on umami. Bringing out those delicate flavors. MSG, despite all the unfounded health concerns (Chinese Restaurant Syndrome), really makes other flavors stand out. The salt, sugar, and chicken bouillon powder all do the same.
Try it on mac and cheese. It's great on every beef, pork, or chicken dish I've put it on. Anything savory just gets better with a little Mei Yen.
I started using it in my cooking so much that I was going through it about as fast as I prepared it. So I adapted the Spice Islands recommended recipe to make it easier to put together. I assumed they didn't recommend combining the dry ingredients with the soy sauce or the bouillon in order to make it more shelf stable. But I go through it too fast for there to be any stability concerns, so here's what I keep on hand.
9 parts white sugar
9 parts salt
2 parts MSG (Accent)
4 parts chicken bouillon powder
Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulverize to a very fine powder. Store in an airtight container. I use a half pint mason jar.