An "unbelievably versatile" and "clever" recipe makes any vegetable taste "amazing" using just two ingredients. Su-Jit Lin shared her mum's hack, which has been her "default method" for around 25 years, because it makes any veggie taste instantly "better".

Writing on The Kitchn food blog, she revealed: "No matter the vegetable, this method results in bright, lightly seasoned greens that somehow taste more like themselves — only better." Despite loving the results of all her mum's cooking experiments, it was this "unbelievably versatile go-to formula for cooking fresh vegetables that is used most in our daily lives". The two ingredients are Chinese dried shrimp and fish sauce, which are available in Asian grocery stores, or in the international section of supermarkets.

She added that you only need around two small dehydrated shrimp, so a bag stretches a long way, making it quite cost-effective.

The savoury and salty fish sauce adds a "nice char" to stir-fries or sautés, and it can even be used as a light broth to enhance flavour during steaming - her favourite brand is Three Crabs.

To recreate her dish, you simply add two dried shrimp to a pan with cold olive oil, and turn up the heat.

Once it starts sizzling, toss in the veggies and fry them for a few minutes, remembering to stir midway.

Then, add two to four generous glugs of fish sauce if you are cooking an entire pan’s worth of vegetables, which can be increased or decreased to your taste.

To stop the vegetables caramelising and to mellow the fish sauce, add about half a centimetre of water to the pan, and continue cooking until the vegetables reach your desired texture.

Her mum's recipe can be used on any type of veggie, from carrots to beansprouts or spinach.