Pork ribs with a kombu, salt & lemon pepper dry rub.

So, if you want umami (essentially glutamates) in your food, there’s many ways to go about it. Soy sauce, fish sauce, miso, parmesan, tomatoes, mushrooms, plain ol’ MSG, heck, even green tea has some, and there’s many more sources. What really fascinates me about kombu right now is how it totally adds a savory taste to whatever you throw it on, but at the same time it seems to be much more subtle than the other ingredients. Your ribs just happen to taste more mouth-watery all of a sudden.