Mr C’s Deep Fried Chilli Peppers
Equipment
Ladle
Wide-based shallow pan or wok
Plastic jug for 1 litre of batter
A spoon
A knife
A bowl for the breadcrumbs
Plastic gloves to avoid chilli finger burn – you know what I’m saying!
Oven ring, gas or electric
Ingredients for making the batter. You want to make 1 litre in a large enough bowl
Water
Plain Flour
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra: You might want to add bacon bits. Veggie friendly, just in case.
To make the batter, add the ingredients in the order they appear and whisk after every addition. The batter should not be too watery or too stodgy, but drips steadily off the spoon.
Other ingredients
Lots of vegetable oil in a wide-based shallow pan or wok, filled to 7-10 cm deep or a deep-fat fryer.
Dry bread crumbs in a bowl
Chillies! Deseeded and sliced in half lengthways. You will need about 20 for a party as you will find they are pretty moreish.*
To make the deep fried chillies, here’s what you do;
1. Dip your sliced chilli into the batter then place it in a small bowl of breadcrumbs.
2. Cover with breadcrumbs, trying not to allow too much batter to drip off the chilli into the breadcrumbs.
3. Then put the chilli into the very hot oil. Flash fry for 60 seconds until the batter seals and darkens lightly. Put in as many as you can so that they fry under the surface of the oil.
4. Remove and add to a Tupperware bowl with kitchen roll in the bottom to absorb the extra oil.
5. When you have removed a pan full into the Tupperware box taste one. You may want to add salt. I suggest you only use sea salt crystal for this bit.
6. Back to step one. Keep filling the pan up with chillies for the frying process and , once removed , wait for the oil to heat up before adding more.
*The Russian roulette of finding really hot ones, approx 1 every 6, if you use jalapeño that is, will attract the attention of both sexes! If you make them correctly they should fly out of the bowl.
Important: Do not cover your bowl of fried chillies until they are room temperature otherwise they will sweat and become soggy.
You now have the secret recipe, enjoy!
Monday 5 May 2014
First Time Selling, But Would People Like Them?
The Reading Food Festival will go down as a huge success for me, not so much for the Chilli Cook off result ( I finished 4th ), but for how well received my DFC’s were received. This was the first introduction of my DFCs to the public at large ( a great phrase) and I was extremely nervous about how well they would go down, and possibly back up again!
This whole idea was five years in the planning, but it didn’t seem that long ago that I took along to a party a medley of deep fried vegetables, as snack food. By the end of the night the broccoli florets , cauliflower and courgettes were still sitting forlornly in their jackets of batter, but the chilli’s has go down a storm. That was the moment.
It could be that people had just been polite all these years about how much they liked them, true, I hadn't checked the pot plants or book cases for discarded chillies. The proof of the pudding would always be if people would be prepared to part with their hard-earned cash for them. That was the challenge and here I was.
I was prepped: I had a second gas burner; a second wind-break; a huge Mothership wok ; a natty banner that advertised ‘Deep Fried Chillies’ and, most importantly, a large box load of sliced peppers. I was set. I also, for the first time, had a partner: my niece Alex. With a the bag of skittles as a softener, she agreed to come along and give me a hand, as long as the other hand was free to text her friends about every passing moment.
I had spent a good four hours the previous evening peeping my ingredients for the chilli con carne and the DFCs. When the countdown elapsed and the ‘start cooking’ was announced, it took me little time to throw my Chilli Con Carne ingredients into my pan and start them off. The smell was great, but I knew my attention today would be on the DFCs. The wok sparked up and we were off. I had Alex display samples at the front of the stall, so people could taste what they were getting. The More-ish nature of the peppers would be the hook. I was relying on that.
For a good twenty minutes, no customers approached the stall, and if they did walk pass they peered quizzically at us and passed by. For a moment, I feared I had made a huge and almighty error of judgement. Had I created something that was ridiculous? Could it be that all this time I was fooling myself, I mean, who the heck would want to buy a deep fried chilli pepper, anyway?? And then eat it?!
Alex looked up at me sympathetically.
My heart sank…. but then, bungie like, it shot straight up again!
“I can’t think of anything better than the thought of deep fried peppers’, I looked up and saw a middle aged man in his 50s approaching our stall with vigorous enthusiasm. I’ll never forget his face. He was like a bespectacled, slightly balding, angel. Wonderful.
Alex offered him a sample, ‘I don’t need a sample, I know i’m going to like them,’ but he took one anyway. He chewed and chewed. I knew it takes a while for the sea salt to take the sweet,peppery flavour to all parts of the tongue and then for the heat to kick-in, but it still felt like an eternity of chewing. Suddenly “I love them! I’ll take one!” The wallet was out. Alex handed him a small polystyrene cone crammed with chillies.
That was it, the first customer and from that moment it went totally crazy. I fried my life out trying to keep up with the demand, Alex did her best to keep the customers amused (with her total lack of chilli knowledge) while I produced batch after batch of DFCs. It was manic at times! People loved them and several came back for more. The compliments kept coming too.
Within an hour and half we had sold out of the lot and made a swift 122 pounds. Almost apologetically, we took down the sign and put away the pans while customers continued to come. I could have easily sold three times as many, but what a lovely position to be in, I guess. I gave Alex her generous cut of the makings and she was duly grateful. However, I was soon snapped out of my rosy trance:
“Contestants for the Cook-off you only have an hour left before judging!” the announcement came.
I had totally forgotten about my chilli con carne. It was sitting in the pot, tepid, watery and in dire need of some more ingredients and no small amount of heat and flavour. I got to work immediately and did want I could with it, staying close to my recipe.
Soon after, I delivered the sample to the judges for their perusal and returned to dish the rest unto the customers in small sample pots. But only those who had paid for a sample spoon. Once they had a spoon they could go to each and every contestant , 9 in all, and taste their creations.They could vote on which they thought was the best chilli. They could cast their vote by putting a spoon in the special box on each stall’s table.
In the end, I finished with just one miserable spoon, and even then I was convinced the guy was looking for a bin to put it in. Alex and I were not disconsolate, we had a chance to taste some of our co-competitors food and felt that some of them were terrific. The standard, I thought , was so much better than last year. If I was to reach the UK finals again this year, I needed to pick up my game.
Eventually, the announcement of the winners came; 200 pounds to the winners, BigCook , Little Cook and to second place, 50 pounds to The Grumpy Old Men, I was reflective in defeat.
Later, I discovered I had finished a surprising 4th in the judge’s opinion. I knew my chilli was good, but next time I must give it’s preparation the time and attention it deserved.
I resolved to reach the finals a the next heat , in Hatfield, not far from where I live and to produce twice as many DFCs. It going to prove a busy day. I will need my Wingman with me.
This whole idea was five years in the planning, but it didn’t seem that long ago that I took along to a party a medley of deep fried vegetables, as snack food. By the end of the night the broccoli florets , cauliflower and courgettes were still sitting forlornly in their jackets of batter, but the chilli’s has go down a storm. That was the moment.
It could be that people had just been polite all these years about how much they liked them, true, I hadn't checked the pot plants or book cases for discarded chillies. The proof of the pudding would always be if people would be prepared to part with their hard-earned cash for them. That was the challenge and here I was.
I was prepped: I had a second gas burner; a second wind-break; a huge Mothership wok ; a natty banner that advertised ‘Deep Fried Chillies’ and, most importantly, a large box load of sliced peppers. I was set. I also, for the first time, had a partner: my niece Alex. With a the bag of skittles as a softener, she agreed to come along and give me a hand, as long as the other hand was free to text her friends about every passing moment.
I had spent a good four hours the previous evening peeping my ingredients for the chilli con carne and the DFCs. When the countdown elapsed and the ‘start cooking’ was announced, it took me little time to throw my Chilli Con Carne ingredients into my pan and start them off. The smell was great, but I knew my attention today would be on the DFCs. The wok sparked up and we were off. I had Alex display samples at the front of the stall, so people could taste what they were getting. The More-ish nature of the peppers would be the hook. I was relying on that.
For a good twenty minutes, no customers approached the stall, and if they did walk pass they peered quizzically at us and passed by. For a moment, I feared I had made a huge and almighty error of judgement. Had I created something that was ridiculous? Could it be that all this time I was fooling myself, I mean, who the heck would want to buy a deep fried chilli pepper, anyway?? And then eat it?!
Alex looked up at me sympathetically.
My heart sank…. but then, bungie like, it shot straight up again!
“I can’t think of anything better than the thought of deep fried peppers’, I looked up and saw a middle aged man in his 50s approaching our stall with vigorous enthusiasm. I’ll never forget his face. He was like a bespectacled, slightly balding, angel. Wonderful.
Alex offered him a sample, ‘I don’t need a sample, I know i’m going to like them,’ but he took one anyway. He chewed and chewed. I knew it takes a while for the sea salt to take the sweet,peppery flavour to all parts of the tongue and then for the heat to kick-in, but it still felt like an eternity of chewing. Suddenly “I love them! I’ll take one!” The wallet was out. Alex handed him a small polystyrene cone crammed with chillies.
That was it, the first customer and from that moment it went totally crazy. I fried my life out trying to keep up with the demand, Alex did her best to keep the customers amused (with her total lack of chilli knowledge) while I produced batch after batch of DFCs. It was manic at times! People loved them and several came back for more. The compliments kept coming too.
Within an hour and half we had sold out of the lot and made a swift 122 pounds. Almost apologetically, we took down the sign and put away the pans while customers continued to come. I could have easily sold three times as many, but what a lovely position to be in, I guess. I gave Alex her generous cut of the makings and she was duly grateful. However, I was soon snapped out of my rosy trance:
“Contestants for the Cook-off you only have an hour left before judging!” the announcement came.
I had totally forgotten about my chilli con carne. It was sitting in the pot, tepid, watery and in dire need of some more ingredients and no small amount of heat and flavour. I got to work immediately and did want I could with it, staying close to my recipe.
Soon after, I delivered the sample to the judges for their perusal and returned to dish the rest unto the customers in small sample pots. But only those who had paid for a sample spoon. Once they had a spoon they could go to each and every contestant , 9 in all, and taste their creations.They could vote on which they thought was the best chilli. They could cast their vote by putting a spoon in the special box on each stall’s table.
In the end, I finished with just one miserable spoon, and even then I was convinced the guy was looking for a bin to put it in. Alex and I were not disconsolate, we had a chance to taste some of our co-competitors food and felt that some of them were terrific. The standard, I thought , was so much better than last year. If I was to reach the UK finals again this year, I needed to pick up my game.
Eventually, the announcement of the winners came; 200 pounds to the winners, BigCook , Little Cook and to second place, 50 pounds to The Grumpy Old Men, I was reflective in defeat.
Later, I discovered I had finished a surprising 4th in the judge’s opinion. I knew my chilli was good, but next time I must give it’s preparation the time and attention it deserved.
I resolved to reach the finals a the next heat , in Hatfield, not far from where I live and to produce twice as many DFCs. It going to prove a busy day. I will need my Wingman with me.
Monday 14 April 2014
You've heard of KFC.... Now meet DFC !
Ok, I'll make it simple because we are all busy people, right?
Chillies has been a passion of mine since I was about 15. I think it started with my introduction to hot food through my dad. Saturday night was always curry night. I started with a novice, frilly-knicker option of madras, but soon was matching my dad with his bottom-scorching Vindaloo option.
I couldn't believe that there existed a food which you could bite in to and it bit you right back!
Around the same time I remember that my dad always had a bottle of devilish-red West Indian hot sauce on the dining table. He added it to most meals...and puddings! He called it 'Man Sauce', and with three sons sitting around the table, we all aspired to be men. My brothers tried taking some of the sauce with certain meals, but I think what made me different to them was I really and truly enjoyed it.
How can one describe the sensation of extra hot sauce and hot food? I guess for me it's exhilaration. I simply get a rush from eating hot food. A doctor would say it's the endorphins rushing around my body, well, whatever it is , it's a wonderful feeling.
It's more that that though.
A chilli pepper is, for me , a beautiful thing to look at. No matter what the variety, they are colourful, shiny, curvaceous... almost sensual. Ok, did I go a bit far? Well I'm not apologising, I really do LOVE them.
So, 3 years ago, I think, I had offered to take something along to contribute to a curry night party or something with family and friends. I had seen something on Keith Floyd in India ( massive fan btw) involving deep fried vegetables, so I tried to make some. So I deep fried broccoli florets, cauliflower, aubergines, etc and of course, chillies.
Well the chillies went down a storm so I was invited back again ( I must have behaved myself that evening) to make some more deep fried chillies at the next big event. So I did. I think I improved the batter that time and they went down an absolute storm. People loved the Russian roulette of the deep fried jalepenos, ie every 6th one blew the top of your head off! I enjoyed the debate too that people indulged in, along the lines of 'Are the red ones hot or the green?'and 'What do I have to do now to make the heat go away?'. The bottom line was , they could not get enough of them. It was all good fun and friends and family began asking for recipes on how to make them.
Soon after I started competing in chilli con carne cook-offs. These were held around the country and I entered several of the more local events. In my first year I finished a creditable second play in one of the heats which meant I qualified for the UK finals in Brighton. It was all really good fun!
However, having to cook a gallon of chilli for lots of people with the very best quality ingredients was not cheap. So I needed to come up with an idea for what I could sell on the side to reduce my expenses. So, what else could I do but to launch my DFCs on the world.
Sorry, that was longer than I had planned for background information, however, you are now up to speed with things.
This May 4th I will be competing in another chilli cook off, the difference is I will also be cooking and selling my Deep Fried Chillies to a whole new audience.
The intention of this Blog is to share that journey of how it all goes. I will always try and keep them short and sweet. Anyway, thanks for reading this far, you deserve a sticker.
Chillies has been a passion of mine since I was about 15. I think it started with my introduction to hot food through my dad. Saturday night was always curry night. I started with a novice, frilly-knicker option of madras, but soon was matching my dad with his bottom-scorching Vindaloo option.
I couldn't believe that there existed a food which you could bite in to and it bit you right back!
Around the same time I remember that my dad always had a bottle of devilish-red West Indian hot sauce on the dining table. He added it to most meals...and puddings! He called it 'Man Sauce', and with three sons sitting around the table, we all aspired to be men. My brothers tried taking some of the sauce with certain meals, but I think what made me different to them was I really and truly enjoyed it.
How can one describe the sensation of extra hot sauce and hot food? I guess for me it's exhilaration. I simply get a rush from eating hot food. A doctor would say it's the endorphins rushing around my body, well, whatever it is , it's a wonderful feeling.
It's more that that though.
A chilli pepper is, for me , a beautiful thing to look at. No matter what the variety, they are colourful, shiny, curvaceous... almost sensual. Ok, did I go a bit far? Well I'm not apologising, I really do LOVE them.
So, 3 years ago, I think, I had offered to take something along to contribute to a curry night party or something with family and friends. I had seen something on Keith Floyd in India ( massive fan btw) involving deep fried vegetables, so I tried to make some. So I deep fried broccoli florets, cauliflower, aubergines, etc and of course, chillies.
Well the chillies went down a storm so I was invited back again ( I must have behaved myself that evening) to make some more deep fried chillies at the next big event. So I did. I think I improved the batter that time and they went down an absolute storm. People loved the Russian roulette of the deep fried jalepenos, ie every 6th one blew the top of your head off! I enjoyed the debate too that people indulged in, along the lines of 'Are the red ones hot or the green?'and 'What do I have to do now to make the heat go away?'. The bottom line was , they could not get enough of them. It was all good fun and friends and family began asking for recipes on how to make them.
Soon after I started competing in chilli con carne cook-offs. These were held around the country and I entered several of the more local events. In my first year I finished a creditable second play in one of the heats which meant I qualified for the UK finals in Brighton. It was all really good fun!
However, having to cook a gallon of chilli for lots of people with the very best quality ingredients was not cheap. So I needed to come up with an idea for what I could sell on the side to reduce my expenses. So, what else could I do but to launch my DFCs on the world.
Sorry, that was longer than I had planned for background information, however, you are now up to speed with things.
This May 4th I will be competing in another chilli cook off, the difference is I will also be cooking and selling my Deep Fried Chillies to a whole new audience.
The intention of this Blog is to share that journey of how it all goes. I will always try and keep them short and sweet. Anyway, thanks for reading this far, you deserve a sticker.
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