So, Big Al Whittle, I'm still wondering about the ingredients of your expensive "rubbish stew".

If I had made a rubbish stew it would include seafood - or what I call smelly things. ;-( Not my favourite food group. So, for example, even though I thankfully have never tried either eating or making bouillabaisse, I know that it is important to put the types of smelly ingredients in at the appropriate times so that each type cooks to the right consistency and flavour. So, in my rubbish stew detective evaluation of likely ingredients, this could be high on the list because smelly foods are expensive. (Apologies to lovers of those things. LOL)

Another possibility could be a spicy dish e.g. Indian, Thai, Chinese, Malaysian etc where the spice mix was not quite right. If there was too much chilli for example it could ruin the dish for some people. For me if there is too much star anise it ruins it for me. I actually hid the jar of star anise from my Hubby after he started putting too much in some of the dishes he made. He never knew that. :-D

To solve the problem of spice and flavour balance in Asian dishes I tend to use a jar of paste from a reliable brand as the base and then enhance some of the flavours. For example, I love Thai green curry so the paste I use after trying a few alternatives is Mae Ploy Thai green curry paste. We have lemongrass and a kaffir lime tree growing in our garden so I add some of those fresh ingredients as well.

So, what was actually in your rubbish stew, Big Al? This inquiring mind wants to know and was it the actual ingredients or the balance of flavours, or the cooking method, over-cooked, under-cooked, or something else e.g. it didn't suit your taste preferences?