Mine probably isn’t that secret these days, but almost every sauce I add nutritional yeast to. Curry, chilli, bolognese, it just makes them all better.
Couldn’t tell you. Every time I make something really good that’s worth repeating, the recipe is immediately wiped from my mind forever. It’s like some monkey’s paw curse that I can only make the thing the most delicious way once.
Also, butter.
Acid. Lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, and/or wine. Salt and acid make the existing flavors fucking pop.
For anything cheesy, add a touch of nutmeg. Not enough to identify it, but enough to know that something changed.
Taste as you go.
MSG. It’s amazing.
Beans (usually black beans, but I’ve been looking more into other varieties lately), lentils, peas, soy curls, tofu, tempeh, tvp, rice, oat groats, barley, quinoa, bulgur, amaranth, other grains I can’t remember at the moment, and seitan: wherever most people would use mutilated body parts.