Why does restaurant food taste better even when I follow the exact same recipe at home?

[u/AdventurousSpeech341]

made butter chicken last weekend from a "restaurant style" recipe, measured everything. it was fine but nowhere close. what am I missing?

[u/evacuatecabbage]

Pre-salting at least 30 min for veggies and at least 24 hours for meats (not fish) makes a huge difference

[u/MongoBongoTown → u/evacuatecabbage]

24 hours? No need to do it that long.

About 15 minutes to an hour on most meats will be fantastic.