I made two versions of pad kee mao, with and without Maggi, and while both were good, the one with MSG had the kind of round flavor I’d normally associate with homemade chicken stock or some form of professional expertise.

Tasted straight, though, the sauces had the chemical, tangy aftertaste common to many processed foods.

“Too much MSG and you get that harsh, acrid taste,” said Mr. Pelaccio, who uses an empty barrel of Ajinomoto-brand MSG he found on the street as a plant stand in his Chinatown apartment. “But get it just right and that dish will sing.”…

The role of MSG in food, and its effects on health, remain controversial…MSG is blamed by some groups for a range of serious neurological and physiological disorders…But no large-scale clinical research has been done since the F.D.A.’s 1995 review.[/more]