On 18 April 2023, 19:12:41 I reported on a rather poor attempt at chicken bhuna which had been made with pre-velvetted chicken, as opposed to normal BIR-style pre-cooked chicken.  I later discovered that it had not only been velvetted but also marinated in soya sauce. whence the rather poor chicken bhuna.  So, with quite a lot of the velvetted chicken left over, I made a chicken with chilli and black bean sauce earlier this week, which lasted me two or three days, after which I made a further (and final) portion today, using up the last of the velvetted chicken.  Now, this chicken was already two days past its hotel "use-by" date when I received it, and that was about a fortnight ago, yet the chicken with chilli and black bean sauce that I made this evening lacked any trace of taint, and tasted just as good as if I had used fresh chicken.  Now I do keep my refrigerator at a steady 3℃ rather than the more normal 5℃, but even so, for chicken to last this long without any decay whatsoever seems quite remarkable to me.  To what extent it was the marination, to what extent the velvetting, or to the lower-than-average storage temperature we shall never know, but it certainly confirms my belief that, as I wrote in an earlier post, "use-by dates are for the guidance of the wise and the blind obedience of fools".
--
** Phil.

Merry Christmas, one and all ! / सभी को मैरी क्रिसमस ! / ! میری کرسمس ، ایک اور سب / મેરી ક્રિસમસ, એક અને બધા ! / ಮೆರ್ರಿ ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್, ಒಂದು ಮತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ! / आनंददायी ख्रिसमस, एक आणि सर्व ! / ! میری کرسمس، یو او ټول

For those who failed to spot it, the Co-op recently ran an Indian meal promotion, with two main courses, two side dishes, and 4 x 330ml Cobra beers, all for the princely sum of just £8-00.  Quite superb value, really, and clearly a loss-leader.  As I had food in the 'fridge which needed eating up first, I was able to benefit from the advice of two friends/colleagues who went in for the same deal, which was that more chicken was needed.  I therefore cut and pre-cooked two free-range chicken breasts, and added these to the two main courses I had selected (Chicken rogan josh and chicken tikka).  Much to my surprise, it was the latter I preferred, although as it transpired it wasn't chicken tikka at all but rather chicken tikka masala.  As well as the additional chicken, I added liberal quantities of garlic-infused and chilli-infused rapeseed oils, plentiful fresh coriander (both during cooking and for presentation) and a coffee spoon of kala namak.  I just had a second portion for lunch today, served on a freshly cooked paratha, and it really was excellent.  I think that I may well be willing to pay full price for this dish in future, given the ease with which it can be enhanced to yield a really flavoursome and satisfying meal.
--
** Phil.

Pho is a chain of Vietnamese restaurants started by a British couple, Stephen and Juliette Wall, after they visited Vietnam and fell in love with the cuisine.  A branch has now opened sufficiently close to the hotel for my wife to try their food, and she brought me back a portion of their chicken curry for me to try.  As most of you know, my wife is Vietnamese by birth, and cooks Vietnamese curries professionally for her hotel, and she felt that the Pho version lacked authenticity, being (to her palate) more like an Indian curry.  I tried my portion this evening, and for me it was nothing like an Indian curry, but being familiar with her Vietnamese curries I can also see why she feels that the Pho version lacks authenticity.  So, I would be interested to know if any CR0 member has visited any of the Pho branches, and if so, what their impressions were.  Incidentally, there was nothing wrong with the curry, and although I added some chilli pickle it would have been quite edible without — it just wasn't a Vietnamese curry, any more than it was Indian.
--
** Phil.

Searching Youtube for a recipe for bhuna onions / service onions, as referenced by Latif in his BIR bhuna chicken recipe, I found a recipe by Steven Heap.  I am certain that I have encountered his name before in a BIR context, but cannot find any mention of him here ("here" being CR0).  Does anyone know why I might be aware of his name ?
--
** Phil.