Guy Fieri's Go-To Seasoning For Extra Flavor In Any Dish

Beyond his signature look and many bizarre sayings and catchphrases, Guy Fieri brings a unique flair to the world of cooking through the signature ingredients and sauces he likes to add to many of his key dishes. Some may initially think of Fieri's love of Donkey Sauce — a mixture of mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic that the chef suggests you add liberally to your burgers. But the chef also loves to use chicken powder whenever its applicable to really amp up some of his favorite dishes.

Chicken powder, also known as powdered chicken stock, is a traditionally Chinese ingredient that is made up primarily of chicken extract and salt, with some commercial versions also adding MSG and some other spices to the mix. Fieri revealed his love for the under-utilized ingredient in a 2024 interview with Food & Wine, explaining exactly why he adores the chicken-based additive. "It enhances flavor," Fieri noted, "A little tablespoon will elevate the regular everyday jasmine rice to the next level."

This burst of flavor that Guy Fieri is referring to can be used for countless different recipes, but is unsurprisingly seen as the most ideal when added to chicken-based recipes like pot pie or chicken noodle soup. "Where you would typically add chicken stock but you don't wanna add the extra liquid, [this] little trick — I call it the little magic flavor enhancer," Fieri praised. "A little sprinkle into a chicken dish that you're making will give you that little flavor, a little sodium kiss." (Per Food & Wine.)

While some are quick to mistakenly think that chicken powder and bouillon are the same thing, chicken powder specifically provides a much more focused chicken flavor as a result of having minimal other ingredients propping it up. For this reason, powdered chicken stock also works extremely well when implemented into delicate chicken recipes that could potentially be thrown off if additional flavors are added to the mix. A great example of this is chicken congee, a Chinese rice porridge that benefits greatly from the flavor boost of chicken powder but wouldn't work with the additional ingredients found within chicken bouillon.