Here's What I Had For Dinner - Part III - Don't quote pics!

woodchuck

I saw these jars in The Butlers Pantry today and thought they looked familiar from this thread :P

I didn't pick any up, but if I did, how do you actually use them? And are they very spicy? In terms of heat, a Tikka Masala would be my upper limit 🙈

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815797#Comment_118815797

The peanut one is not spicy at all, the black bean one is quite spicy. I haven't tried the cashew one.

Personally, I like them as a dressing on cucumbers. Others might find different uses. I find the peanut one a bit lacking in tang, so I add vinegar.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815797#Comment_118815797

My local grocer sells these, I am also curious what to do with them .

Dave_The_Sheep

I'm not above eating them with a spoon myself.

Thus far I've been using the peanut and black bean rayu ones as toppings on rice, cucumber and raw carrots, adding to noodles, etc. The blackbean/chilli ketchup one is ace on sandwiches in place of normal ketchup which I don't really like.

woodchuck

Thanks guys, I might give the peanut a try sometime so :)

The Nal

Peanut one is lovely stirred into a couple of mashed eggs in a cup

SourSessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118815252#Comment_118815252

COVID is weird!!

Dave_The_Sheep

Chilli cabbage noodles with cashews thrown in just because. Fired some of the chilli bean oil on top. Damn tasty and damned quick to make too. One of my partner's better ideas in the kitchen.

Dave_The_Sheep

Lunch for the aul one for Mother's Day. Leek/mushroom/ricotta tart (I hate working with pastry), chicory/blue cheese/walnut/apple/orange salad and roasted beetroot/carrot/feta salads. Honey mustard dressed leaves. Pea puree and salmon pate-ish dips. Not pictured, spinach, blue cheese and walnut tartlets, because my mother's partner is awkward and can't eat onions/leeks for health reasons, something I forgot until an hour beforehand. Panic last minute.

Dave_The_Sheep

woodchuck

Enchiladas

cubatahavana

Ribs and margaritas

Dave_The_Sheep

Made a stab at Hainan chicken and rice, ish. Not necesarily the most authentic but Jesus Christ is was **** delicious. Broth was lovely, chicken was moist and tender, I still haven't gotten the hang of doing jasmin rice, but still. I always make it too sticky and that's even with adding more water. Wait, maybe I should add less. Ah sure we'll see.

beertons

I tried making a chicken diavola for herself a few times. Looked up a bajillion recipes, it never seemed to have the wow factor. Till today.

Left over roast chicken, shredded. 2 cloves garlic, half an onion. No laughing please, that's all we had left. Carton of passata, shake of chilli flakes and coriander leaf. Fresh penne mixed in later. Unreal.

The gas thing is, it was probably the cheapest dinner I ever threw together.

woodchuck

Hake with a slightly spicy panko crumb

woodchuck

Sweet and sour chicken with lots of fresh veg

cnocbui

I found a pork loin fillet offcut in the freezer that's been there at least a couple of years; so that with a green peppercorn sauce, spinach, asparagus and chips. No great shakes on presentation but it was well edible, though there was a bit too much.

The green peppercorns were stupidly hard to find. Not in: Tesco, Aldi, Lidl or Dunnes. Eventually found them in an an Indian food store.

sporina

@cnocbui looks fab

TheKBizzle

Made up a load of peanut rayu and had some with a poke bowl.

Gloomtastic!

This is the easiest dinner I’ve made in a long time! It was also delicious. 😋

Bacon and White Bean Stew served with a crusty sourdough roll.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bacon_and_white_bean_68475

sporina

@Gloomtastic! sounds and looks delicious - hearty for these cold days..

miamee

A chickpea curry based on the Happy Pear 5 minute meals recipe. It took me longer than 5 minutes 😁 but about 20 mins from start of prep to finish and I left it on the hob a little longer as I had time.

Shenshen

A variation of German comfort food - Kaesspaetzle. But instead of layering regular Spaetzle with fried onions and cheese, I made spinch Spaetzle an topped them with a cheese sauce instead.

lenscap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118876925#Comment_118876925

@Dave_The_Sheep For the rice, did you rinse it in cold water to remove the starch before putting it into boiling water and stirring?

I used to have the same problem, till I tried rinsing it. I use a small bowl and put the rice and water into it. Then with my fingers, I "massage" the rice and the water goes cloudy and then drain the water. I repeat this until the water is clear, saves running a tap.

If you do try this, let us know how you get on.

Dave_The_Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118887189#Comment_118887189

Oh you magnificent bastard. What recipe did you use?

Dave_The_Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898827#Comment_118898827

Yep. Washed it four to six times til water was totally 100% clear. It's quite strange.

TheKBizzle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898853#Comment_118898853

Just my own. I didn’t think the white mausu one had much going on. Grind up some dried chillis and Sichuan pepper and add some Korean red pepper. Fry off some leeks and ginger and garlic then add the sichuan pepper and some salt. Then add in a load of oil and let it come to a boil and add in all the spices and the peanuts and sesame seeds.

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118899778#Comment_118899778

My theory on rice is that stickyness is due to overcooking. When rice is fully cooked, it stops absorbing moisture so if at that point its still in water, I think the outside of the rice grains dissoleve slightly and start to get sticky, and stay like that after you drain as the grains can't absorb anu more moisture. So I think undercooking the rice slightly and then draining it, has the effect of the still hot rice grains continue to absorb any moisture on their surface, ending up with a dryer, less sticky surface.

If I cook Basmati for 10 minutes, it ends up a bit sticky, but when I cook it for 9 minutes and drain immediately, it ends up perfect. I never rinse it, just drain and use.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118899778#Comment_118899778

It can't do jasmine rice either. Something intrinsically sticky about it, although I do love proper sticky rice. We could do with a rice thread...

Have been so lazy here, out of all patterns. Going to have a ready-made chicken jalfrezi in a while.

the beer revolu

Jasmine/Thai rice should be a bit sticky. For some reason, I think Irish people obsess a bit about rice grains not sticking together, at all. You can't eat it with chop sticks if it's not a bit sticky!