❓How can vegetarians who are allergic to garlic or avoid alliums add flavor to their cooking?

Cooking without onion and garlic really does mean rebuilding your whole approach to flavor. Here are a few directions worth trying: spices — ginger (which technically isn't one of the "five pungent" vegetables, and works great for cutting odors and adding aroma), braising spices like star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaf, white and black pepper, and cumin. Umami boosters — shiitake mushrooms and mushroom powder, kombu or kelp, tomatoes, doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste), miso, and fermented black beans — these can provide a similar savory base and, to some extent, replace the layer of flavor that onion and garlic usually bring. Herbs — basil, cilantro (if you're not allergic to it), rosemary, and thyme; Western cooking often leans on herbs rather than onion and garlic for flavor, and that approach translates well into Chinese dishes too. There are also garlic-free seasoning powders and "five-pungent-free" compound seasonings made specifically for people with allergies or dietary restrictions around alliums — you can find ready-made products by searching for that term at vegetarian grocery stores or online, which saves you the trouble of testing your own recipes over and over.