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Chinthe Burmese Curry Review

by Martin 'Scooby' Arnold on December 13, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

Chinthe Burmese Curry

Chinthe Burmese Curry

Winter warming Burmese curry paste goes down a treat.

Hands up who wants to try some Burmese curry paste? I DO!!!! Luckily for me I have a jar from the guys at Chinthe based in London. Saying that, I swiftly changed my mind when I saw what was inside the jar. It looked like my son had tipped in a load of red glitter into the jar. It glistened intensely and I could not believe that this is actually for consumption. Bright fiery red that would shimmer and shine all day long. It was only when I took the lid of to have a smell that I realised that this is actually the proper curry paste, if this tastes as good as it looks then rock on! The look was just so deceptive you have to see it to believe.

The label on the jar has a very oriental style and feel to it. Large yellow label with bold black lettering on. Not the most of eye catching labels but when you have a sauce that shines brighter than floodlights at the world cup, who cares.

Smelling the paste I don’t get a great deal, mainly Paprika and onion. The smell is extremely mild. On closer inspection its clear to see that a lot of fresh spices have gone into this and not just a load of powdered ingredients like you can find down the supermarket. Very oily in texture on the surface, but when you dig in with a spoon it’s fairly solid and takes a bit of digging to get it out.

Ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Paprika, Chilli, Onion, Ginger, Fish Sauce (Fish Extract, Water), Garlic, Spices.

Jar kindly provided by chinthe.com

Nothing over the top in this list of ingredients, so on with the cooking. 2 Table spoons per 500g of meat or vegetables, cover with water, and cook. Simple.

Just finished in the kitchen at the smell of this sauce amplifies greatly when cooking. The onion and garlic and thrown into the air and sent soaring around the house making a glorious aroma. Time for the taste test.

Mass infusion straight away of the Chilli, onion and ginger swamping every part of my mouth. The spices are powerful and yet mild, all of which make an amazing taste. The heat is nice, not blistering but enjoyable. The real beauty is the longer you cook this the thicker it gets and the flavours amplify so you can play around and get the right taste and texture for you. The heat lingers for quite a long time and brings home a lovely warm feeling with a slight kick in its tail. The blend of spices compliments this heat in a beautiful way and as for the colour????? Well, I swear there is some glitter in it, it still glistens on the plate. Amazing.

This can be snapped up from chinthe.com and for a 270g jar (Good for about 3 curries, is a crazy £2.79. Go to the site and take a look, couldn’t believe it myself. So if you get snowed in this winter, be sure you have a jar of this ‘glitter’ with you.

Remember, if it burns going in, It will burn coming out!

Flavour
(8/10)
Heat
(5/10)
Packaging
(6/10)
Value
(9.5/10)
Overall
(8/10)

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Christmas Gifts Ideas for Chilli-Headz – Day 11 (a little late)

by Hot Juan on December 12, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

What do you give the Chilli Head who has everything for Christmas…

The Chilli Pepper Company - The Wizard

The Chilli Pepper Company - The Wizard

Now this stuff can warm up the whole of Christmas, it may be only 35g, but it is packed with lots of Naga Viper, a little Vinegar, Garlic, Ginger and Sugar.

You can order this winter warmer on www.chileseeds.co.uk for only £3.00

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ChilliPepperPete’s Fiery Jamaican Chutney

by Hot Juan on December 12, 2011 · 1 comment

in Product Reviews

Since I visited ChilliPepperPete for the first time back in 2005, the business has just keep growing, not only do they have a much expanded website and a new retail shop in Brighton, they also manufacturer a massive range of products and import containers of chillies from around the world.

ChilliPepperPete's Fiery Jamaican Chutney

ChilliPepperPete's Fiery Jamaican Chutney

The product I have from them today has been around for a while, only the label seems to have changed, but when you have a product right, why change. On opening it has that unmistakable Jamaican aroma, of Scotch Bonnets and Allspice.

The chutney is dark brown and nice and thick, this ain’t going to pour from the jar, this needs spooning out, and so it is out with the spoon, this is not like pickle you get in a supermarket, this is almost a  very hot paste with lumps in it.

I think this chutney is not for cheese, there are not many I can think of that would survive being paired with this on a cracker. I think this comes into its own with some nice BBQ chicken, or even spread on the skin as a marinade before cooking, there is nothing that says Chutney has to go with cheese and stuff.

Ingredients: Onion, Tomates, Papaya, Ginger, Dried Fruit, Water, Capsicum, Scotch Bonnets, Vinegar, Herbs, Sunflower Oil, Sugar, Salt.

Jar Kindly provided by www.chillipepperpete.com

Reading the description on the web site, Pete recommends it to go with jerk chicken or goat curry and I have to agree, both these dished need strong complementary flavour to work with them.

I like the style of the new ChilliPepperPete labels, with the stylised red head logo on the  green background, they stand out well, it is great to see some consistency, and just to because they can, they break the rules with some interesting specials every so often.

At £3.50 for a 199ml jar, this is in today’s money spot on for value ‘vs’ quality and flavour, you can spend much less in the supermarkets for Jamaican style products but they will leave you greatly disappointed, while this just brings pleasure to the lips.  So take a trip to the Shop in Brighton or shop on-line at www.chillipepperpete.com

Flavour
(8/10)
Heat
(6.5/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value
(7/10)
Overall
(8/10)

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Grim Reaper Foods – Rookie Goblin

by David Kelly on December 7, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

Grim Reaper Foods - Rookie Goblin

Grim Reaper Foods - Rookie Goblin

I had read lots of positive feedback regarding ‘The Evil One’, a great sauce made by Russell Williams who is the owner of “Grim Reaper Foods”. Russell has had great success in the Fiery Foods festival competitions over the past few years in both the Amateur & Professional award categories, so when I received a bottle of ‘Rookie Goblin’ in the post I was very much looking forward to tasting it.

The labelling is very catching with an image of the Grim Reaper along the bottom and an outline of a Goblin at the top. The contents are quite fluid and I can see flecks of seeds amongst the strikingly goblin green coloured sauce. Looking at the list of ingredients I note the use of coriander and baby spinach which explains how it gets its striking colour. I also note the use of orange, which I have to admit has to be one of the more unusual ingredients I’ve come across in a chilli sauce; lemons or limes seem to be the preferred choice when imparting citrus flavours in sauces. However knowing that coriander works well with orange and that Russell is a trained chef, I was expecting to find a great tasting product.

Ingredients: Cyder Vinegar, Jalapenos, Oranges, Sugar, Limes, Spring Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Coriander, Baby Spinach, Salt & Vegetable Oil.

Bottle kindly supplied by Grim Reaper Foods.

Opening the bottle and inhaling, I’m greeted with a rich smell of greens: I can smell the coriander and spinach working together and there’s a hint of the jalapeños. There’s also an aroma of garlic in the base notes but the citrus fruits stop this from being overpowering. Overall it’s a very fresh aroma and a unique one that I’ve never encountered before in a chilli sauce.

The sauce pours very easily from the bottle onto a spoon and I can clearly see jalapeño seeds and flecks of garlic. The coriander & spinach are still somewhat ‘fleshy’ giving some texture to the sauce. Tasting the sauce is just as a stimulating an experience as smelling it. I can clearly taste the coriander & spinach at first, then there’s a wave of citrus orange & sweetness which ultimately gives way to the flavours of the garlic and spring onion. I can begin to feel some burn from the Jalapeno chillies on my lips but it’s a pleasant, mild warmth and nothing alarming.

The ingredients used here make for a really interesting combination. Being a curry fan I’ve encountered plenty of pickles accompanying the customary poppadoms that use coriander as a base ingredient, so in some ways this sauce reminds me of them. However it’s the combination of savoury & sweet elements that give this sauce much more depth and I find its taste very appealing & rather addictive.

I think this sauce is ideally suited to being used with fish (I used some inside the cavity of a Sea Bream I cooked and the taste was superb) but I could also see it working really well if added to a salsa verde or green pesto to give them a little warmth. At £4 for a 100ml bottle this is sauce I definitely recommend trying, not for the heat but for it’s unusual but great taste. It’s available from many chilli stockists such as ChillipepperPete, The Devils Garden, Scorchio and Hotheadz.

Flavour
(8/10)
Heat
(4/10)
Packaging
(7.5/10)
Value
(7/10)
Overall
(8/10)

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