Onion

Celebrate Chinese New Year – Recipe 1 – Szechuan Style Hotpot

by ChilliPepperPete on January 23, 2012 · 0 comments

in Recipes

Hotpot - (Borrowed image)

Hotpot - (Borrowed image)

ChilliPepperPete has just sent us his recipe for a Szechuan Style Hotpot. Hotpot are available on Amazon, there seem to be two main types, the Mongolian type with 1 bowl and a centre for grilling/bbqing, while the Szechuan Hotpot has a bowl split in half so 1 side has a stock with lots of spices and chillis and the other a nonchillied stock with lots of herbs and onions. If you don’t have a Hotpot you can always use a saucepan and a portable burner or a camping gas burner.

You can put in what you like but the idea is to have it at a rolling boil in the centre of the table and to drop or hold in whatever you have prepared. Its a very leisurely way of eating and theres no rush to finish it. Meals can take all afternoon and evening. The flavours get more intense as the level in the pot drops and more water can be poured in to keep it going.

Suggestions for the stock are chicken bones and bits with a chopped leek and onion, carrot and some herbs boiled for an hour or so until it has reduced to a nice thick stock. Or it can be made with a few stock cubes veggie or meat etc if home made stock is not an option.

Once its drained with all the bits taken out chuck in the spices typically: 1 or 2 whole star anise, 1 or 2 whole nutmeg, various seeds like coriander and cumin with bay leaf, parsley and coriander with 20 facing heaven chillies cut in half with scissors. If you want it hotter add some Naga or Habanero or some Chipotle to make it smokey. Sichuan pepper lightly crushed is a must.

Pour water in to near the top of the pan and bring to a rolling boil. Keep it boiling while you play with it.

You can dip or drop anything you have into the boiling stock. Sliced meats, chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, sausages, noodles, potatoes etc etc. Whatever you have in the fridge really.

This is as much fun as you can have while eating and its very sociable with friends and families.

Possibly Related Articles:

Don't forget to enter our competition for a complete growing kit by Greenhouse Sensation

{ 0 comments }

The Smokey Upton Dragon

by Hot Juan on December 29, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

The Smokey Upton Dragon

The Smokey Upton Dragon

The residents of Bristol I hear tell stories of a not so far off land to the east, where there be Dragons in the hills, the smoke  from these Dragons can be seen billowing gently from behind farms, in  the little hamlet of Upton Cheyney. 

I guess the traditional Chilli that we smoke is the Jalapeño which becomes the Chipotle, well over the past couple of years I have tasted all sorts of Chillies that have been smoked with all sorts of woods. You may think that we would have a tendency to smoke here in the UK as our weather is not up to drying under the sun.. but this is much more a gourmet thing.

Today’s sauce is from one of the UK best sauce makers, they have made the one sauce I have awarded an 11/10 for  it wonderful savoury flavour, this is a sweet sauce, which are not always my favourite, and people who know me well know I would pick Pineapple off a pizza.. So fingers crossed this is not going to be a one I wish I had not tried.

Ingredients: Pineapple, Sugar, Honey, Onion, Oak Smoked Habanero, Lime, Garlic.

Bottle kindly provided by the dragon keepers of Upton Cheyney

On popping the lid, it does not have the expected sweet smell, but I can detect the Oak smoke and the Lime and Garlic, not what I was expecting, but then Louise (Who I am told is defiantly not the Upton Dragon) is a master in the kitchen. First taste is mildly of sweet Pineapple that followed by the smoked Habaneros, it is sweet but not as sweet as the ingredients make it sound.

While this would make a superb dipping sauce, it works so well as the basis of a salsa adding both heat and flavour, also dripping a little on the last of the sausages rolls is just divine.

The 140ml bottle costs just £4.00, and knowing the smokey flavour comes from Chilli grown and smoked on the farm makes it seem all the better, I must get myself up to the Farm to visit Alex and Louise and see the new smoker in action.

Don’t forget that The Upton Cheyney Chilli Co put one a great Chilli Festival each year, we would not miss it, visit their site for more details and to order on-line.

Flavour
(8.5/10)
Heat
(6/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value
(7/10)
Overall
(8/10)

Possibly Related Articles:

Don't forget to enter our competition for a complete growing kit by Greenhouse Sensation

{ 0 comments }

Sinful Sauces – Scotch Bonnet and Pomegranate Pickle

by Darth Naga on November 21, 2011 · 1 comment

in Product Reviews

Word up my chilli padawanz, how are you all doing on this crisp autumn day? Its bloody sunny and quite warm here..doesn’t really feel like autumn at all! Sooo where shall I begin with this review? AH YES! I shall start at the beginning of course! The pickle I have for you today comes from the now well known “Sinful Sauces” a company formed by a lovely couple who go by the name of Paul and Kelly, paul you might know as “DJ Brisk” I think he’s a techno DJ or something like that, I would’nt know specifics as us PithLord’s don’t really get out much you see? But that aside it’s not the music we’re here to review its the pickle!! SO lets get down to it.

Sinful Sauces - Scotch Bonnet & Pomegranate

Sinful Sauces - Scotch Bonnet & Pomegranate

Okay, so as you can see, there’s a whole lotta fresh ingedients going on in this pickle, none of that artificial shit here, and quite rightly so, Sinful Sauces (abbreviated to SS from here on in) pride themselves on only using the freshest ingredients and no artificial colourings or flavours, only the best for their customers ya see? Anyway, the jar itself is of SS’s usual high quality gloss finish, with lots of S’s in the background with Sinful’s trademark giant white gothic styled S in the foreground.

Ingredients: Scotch Bonnet Chillies, Pomegranate, Onion, Orange, Red Wine Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Spices, Ginger, Garlic.

Review jar supplied by www.sinfulsauces.co.uk

The pickle inside is a rich reddy brown, with noticeable chunks of chilli, seeds and flecks of black and white running through. Upon opening the pickle, the first thing that hits me hard is the smell..i was expecting pomegranate and yet I got a massive whiff of orange, like someone had smacked me round the face with a bag of satsumas! I LOVE orange, and it’s not surprising I smelt it the most seeing as the third item on the ingredients list, that aside I could tell there was chilli in this, but the main fragrance was that of oranges!

The pickle inside was of an interesting consistency..it was chunkyish, but not so much that there were huge chunks of chilli or orange in it…but at the same time it was smooth enough that it would flow out of the jar albeit very, very slowly..but it still poured!! I decided enough was enough of teasing myself with this pickle, I dipped my spoon in and pulled out a rather large glob of this fantastic looking mash, placing it between my lips and moving it around in my mouth to get a fuller taste of it.

Instantly I was hit by the pomegranate and orange flavours, almost too sweet were it not for the savoury, slightly bitter hit provided by the scotch bonnet peppers! I was surprised that the flavours worked together this well..its not very often you find a sauce that starts off sweet and becomes savoury with a very indian restaurant-like aftertaste coupled with an amazing tongue burn that just keeps you coming back for another hit!

It wasn’t until I gave a single solitary hiccup did I notice that sweat was pouring down my brow, at this point I decided to stop eating the pickle and carry on writing this review.

The more I eat this stuff the more I realise that yet again Sinful Sauces have a winning combination on their hands, and yet again its a very moreish pickle that would not be out of place in an indian restaurant, the fruity zing of the orange and pomegranate, coupled with the scotch bonnet heat makes this a pickle that is well worth trying at least once!! I suspect it would be PERFECT mixed with a little sour cream and used as a nice dip for toasted pitta’s cut into strips!

At only £3.95 directly from www.sinfulsauces.co.uk this is a pickle that will last a while, and considering just how fresh the ingredients are I think its well worth the money, so make sure you get it in ready for your next indian themed meal!

Well, until my next review my chilli padawanz, I will bid you adieu, this old pithlord has gotta get some shut eye! May the sauce be with you, always!!

Flavour
(8/10)
Heat
(6/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value
(6/10)
Overall
(7/10)

Possibly Related Articles:

Don't forget to enter our competition for a complete growing kit by Greenhouse Sensation

{ 1 comment }

The Wiltshire Chilli Farm’s Habanero Hot Sauce

by Marty Greenwell on September 21, 2011 · 1 comment

in Product Reviews

The Wiltshire Chilli Farm - Habanero Hot Sauce

The Wiltshire Chilli Farm - Habanero Hot Sauce

From sunny Wiltshire comes The Wiltshire Chilli Farm’s Habanero Hot Sauce. Created using the peppers they grown themselves, this made in small batches, thick-and-tasty sauce punches well above its weight in the heat stakes.

The bottle is unassuming with a picture of some orange habaneros on the front on the label, almost as if it’s shy of describing the hidden taste within. The sauce is almost mustard coloured and quite thick and pulpy, nearly puree like. Removing the top releases the citrusy aroma mixed in with a slightly bitter scent from the cider vinegar, thankfully it’s not overpowering enough to spoil the sweeter flavours.

Ingredients: Orange, carrots, onion, cider vinegar, water, chilli (3%), garlic and various spices.

Bottle kindly provided by The Wiltshire Chilli Farm

Despite being quite a pulpy mixture, the sauce still pours very easily on to the spoon, making it easy to dispense without spillage. The first taste of the sauce is heavenly, the sweet citrus flavour from the oranges lingers for a little while on the tongue, but it’s not long before the habanero heat kicks in.

Given, according to the label, there is only 3% habaneros contained in the bottle, this mixture certainly gives a solid burn; it feels far hotter than the small amount of chillies would have you believe. The citrus tangs disappear quickly leaving a good heat on the tongue and lips; it builds to its peak very quickly but hangs around for a good five minutes before the intensity begins to tail off. And then you’re ready for another spoonful – that initial orangey fervour is delectable, and the heat that follows addictive – I’m certain this would be great with a ham and cheese sarnie or a chicken stir fry.

The Wiltshire Chilli Farm sell this standard 140ml bottle for £3.75 (the same price as the other sauces in their range) which seems like a decent deal for such a flavour packed mouth burning heat experience.

Just be aware that this one seems a little bit hotter than the ingredients would otherwise suggest.

Flavour
(8/10)
Heat
(7.5/10)
Packaging
(6/10)
Value
(7/10)
Overall
(8/10)

Possibly Related Articles:

{ 1 comment }

Page 1 of 41234