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To my mom, Vegeta is like salt and pepper. She and my grandmother always have a bag of it in their pantries, and they use it in anything from stews and goulash to iconic Serbian dishes like cabbage rolls, known as sarma, and ćevapčići, the minced grilled meat that’s loved throughout the Balkans. In my family it’s a spice cabinet staple along the likes of paprika and dried dill.
Vegeta is a seasoning invented in 1959 in the former Yugoslavia in what is now Croatia. Mainly salt, dehydrated vegetables, and MSG, it has no relation to Vegeta of Dragon Ball Z fame (though it’s similarly powerful to the Saiyan Prince himself). Vegeta lends a savory and umami taste to just about anything, and you can find it online and in most Eastern European delis. It’s truly ubiquitous when it comes to Balkan cooking, and as a third-generation Serbian-Canadian, I find ways to work it into anything I make, Balkan or not.
Similar to bouillon powder or instant dashi, Vegeta is a cheat code for boosting flavor. The dehydrated vegetables lend effortless complexity to meals, and the MSG adds satisfying umami. Gone are the days of fearing MSG—it really makes everything taste better.
I recommend that you taste as you go when it comes to Vegeta, since its flavor is salty and potent. You never really need more than a tablespoon for a dish serving four, but it also comes down to personal preference, and you can always adjust accordingly.
My favorite way to use it is in stews to enhance the vegetal, meaty flavors already present. I add a tablespoon of Vegeta to the pot after frying my aromatics, at the same time that I add other spices, so it has a chance to toast in the oil before I add stock. But if I taste the stew later and think it could use more oomph, I’ll add a pinch and it’ll dissolve as easily as salt.
Another way to use the seasoning is in fried rice. Regardless of how many vegetables and seasonings you add to fried rice, there’s no harm in adding more of that savory goodness. I like to add it in after the rice has been added to the pan and broken up, so it can coat the rice and bloom in the oil, but not long enough to burn.
So take a cue from my family and keep a bag of it in your pantry. Try it out and you’ll taste the humongous difference it makes.