Fresh chilli question

Mad Dan said:

Someone just gave me (as a present) a whole load of fresh red chilli
peppers.

Does anybody know any good recipes using them? I've only ever used
dried or powdered chillis before.

I hope this is the right place for this question, and appreciate any
replies.

Cheers!

MD

Rather a broad question... what kind of chillies are they? Mild, hot or
very hot? One thing I find with fresh (hot) chillies is that the really
hot parts are the seeds. If you like really hot food, use them whole or
remove the seeds if not. If you like Thai-type food and fish, I have a
great recipe that uses whole roasted chillies. Lemme know if you are
interested.
Cathy

On 12 May 2005 01:42:38 -0700, "Cathyxyz" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If you like Thai-type food and fish, I have a
great recipe that uses whole roasted chillies. Lemme know if you are
interested.
Cathy

I'm not the O.P. but I'm interested.

Hope

On 12 May 2005 01:42:38 -0700, "Cathyxyz" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Rather a broad question... what kind of chillies are they? Mild, hot or
very hot? One thing I find with fresh (hot) chillies is that the really
hot parts are the seeds. If you like really hot food, use them whole or
remove the seeds if not. If you like Thai-type food and fish, I have a
great recipe that uses whole roasted chillies. Lemme know if you are
interested.
Cathy

Yep - a very broad question!

I have no idea how hot they are - they're Malaysian, red and big (Stop
me if I get too technical here!)

Basically, any ideas of how to use them would be welcome - in curries,
with chicken (etc), with pasta. You know.

However, I *do* like hot food

I *do* like Thai-type food (in fact, I've got some homemade Thai paste
that needs using too)

And I *do* like fish (which is just as well, living in Japan).

Please let me know your great recipe!

[email hidden]

Thank you very much.

"Cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One thing I find with fresh (hot) chillies is that the really
hot parts are the seeds.

Hi Cathy,

Just to clarify a little - it's not actually the seeds, but
rather the foamy looking membrane bit (usually sort of pink in comparison to
the rest of the chile, with a red chile) that the seeds are attached to that
generally contains most of the chile's heat, so if indeed one wished to make
the chile somewhat milder, that part will need to be removed along with the
seeds.

Cheers!

Shaun aRe

"Mad Dan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Someone just gave me (as a present) a whole load of fresh red chilli
peppers.

Does anybody know any good recipes using them? I've only ever used
dried or powdered chillis before.

I hope this is the right place for this question, and appreciate any
replies.

Cheers!

MD

Use them in any recipe you require heat and chile flavour - there's
thousands upon thousands of recipes you could use them in. They're good in
stir fries, soups, on pizza, sliced very thinly on sandwiches - all sorts.
Of course you are best testing them to gage their heat before deciding how
many and how to use them.

Basically, most if not all dishes that you can use dried or powdered chile
in, you can use fresh.

Do you have rather a substantial amount? Any left over that are looking a
little past their best can be dried, usually quite easily (I just put fresh
chiles in a bowl on a few layers kitchen paper and se them when I want, with
them slowly drying over time, so that after a while I have a bowl of the
remaining dried chiles which I can then either dry a little further with
warmth before putting into a jar, or I can dry out and powder myself (I use
a coffee grinder).

Otherwise, you have the option of making a chile sauce with them while still
fresh (you can do this still with dried, but I find fresh better
personally) - again, heaps of chile sauce recipes on the net. If you would
like, I can let you know a couple of the ways I make sauces from them, but
they're not in recipe format - they're more just a basic rough procedure...

Cheers!

Shaun aRe
--
Life is the dream you wake up to.

Mad Dan wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

And I *do* like fish (which is just as well, living in Japan).

Please let me know your great recipe!

Well guys, here it is:

Fish fillets in coconut milk

Serves 4

2 long green chillies
2 small red chillies
(we have used one or the other when we didn't have both and it's still good)
400g firm white fish fillets (we normally use kingklip, but any firm
white fillets will do)
2 stems lemon grass
2 coriander roots
4 kaffir lime leaves, plus extra for garnish
2cm piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 spring onions, white part only, finely sliced
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut cream
(you can use just 1 1/2 cups cream if you don't have both)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
salt
2-3 tablespoons lime juice

1. Heat a wok or large pan until hot; add the whole chillies and roast
until just beginning to brown all over.
(NB: remember to poke a few small holes in the chillies!! if you don't
they may *explode*. This can be fun - not.... been there, done that!)
Remove the green chillies from the wok, cool and slice. Cut the fish
into 5cm pieces.
2. Bruise the lemon grass and coriander roots by crushing them with the
flat side of a knife.
3. Add lemon grass, coriander roots, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, garlic,
onions sugar and coconut milk to the wok. (and the whole red chillies).
Stir to combine, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered
for 2 minutes. Add the fish pieces and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes or
until the fish is tender. Stir in the coconut cream.
4. Just before you serve, stir through the chopped green chillies, fish
sauce and salt and lime juice, to taste. Garnish with kaffir lime
leaves, if you like. (we often use coriander leaves and this is nice too).

Enjoy, hope I didn't make any typo's!!
Cathy

Shaun aRe wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Hi Cathy,

Just to clarify a little - it's not actually the seeds, but
rather the foamy looking membrane bit (usually sort of pink in comparison to
the rest of the chile, with a red chile) that the seeds are attached to that
generally contains most of the chile's heat, so if indeed one wished to make
the chile somewhat milder, that part will need to be removed along with the
seeds.

Cheers!

Shaun aRe

You are so right... we planted some chillies (of various hotness) in our
kitchen garden, and of course forgot which ones were witch (pun
intended). Some of them looked the same, but the only way to tell was to
taste them. Well.... when I bit into some of the membrane on one of
them, it nearly took the top of my head off..... if you removed it
however, it had a very mild taste. Moral of the story, next time, use
one whole chilli instead of 3 or 4 "cleaned-up" ones!!

"cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Shaun aRe wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Hi Cathy,

Just to clarify a little - it's not actually the seeds,

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rather the foamy looking membrane bit (usually sort of pink in

comparison to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the rest of the chile, with a red chile) that the seeds are attached to

that

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

generally contains most of the chile's heat, so if indeed one wished to

make

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the chile somewhat milder, that part will need to be removed along with

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

seeds.

Cheers!

Shaun aRe

You are so right...

Heheheh, it has been known to happen ',;~}~

Quoted message said:

we planted some chillies (of various hotness) in our
kitchen garden, and of course forgot which ones were witch (pun
intended). Some of them looked the same, but the only way to tell was to
taste them. Well.... when I bit into some of the membrane on one of
them, it nearly took the top of my head off.....

There's a phrase I heard on the chile-heads mailing list 'lick the
placenta', the placenta being where the stalk has just been removed and is
of the same pith/membrane stuff - supposedly, if you get all the green out
pulling the stalk and the pepper is fresh... well... heheheh...

Quoted message said:

if you removed it
however, it had a very mild taste. Moral of the story, next time, use
one whole chilli instead of 3 or 4 "cleaned-up" ones!!

Yup! The only time I would consider sacrificing that lovely hot and tasty
inner part, is if I had meal guests that didn't like it too hot, all I had
were too hot chiles, and the dish needed the colour. ',;~}~

Cheers and be well!

Shaun aRe was eating raw yellow Scotch Bonnet last night with his cheese and
crackers - lovely! But this morning was not pleasant...
--
May all your wishes be both wise and fulfilled.

Shaun aRe wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Yup! The only time I would consider sacrificing that lovely hot and tasty
inner part, is if I had meal guests that didn't like it too hot, all I had
were too hot chiles, and the dish needed the colour. ',;~}~

Cheers and be well!

Must admit the HD had to train me to eat "hot-stuff", but I am learning
quite quickly to like it a lot!!

Cheers
Cathy

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Shaun aRe said:

"Mad Dan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Someone just gave me (as a present) a whole load of fresh red chilli
peppers.

Does anybody know any good recipes using them? I've only ever used
dried or powdered chillis before.

I hope this is the right place for this question, and appreciate any
replies.

Cheers!

MD

Use them in any recipe you require heat and chile flavour - there's
thousands upon thousands of recipes you could use them in. They're good in
stir fries, soups, on pizza, sliced very thinly on sandwiches - all sorts.
Of course you are best testing them to gage their heat before deciding how
many and how to use them.

Basically, most if not all dishes that you can use dried or powdered chile
in, you can use fresh.

Do you have rather a substantial amount? Any left over that are looking a
little past their best can be dried, usually quite easily (I just put fresh
chiles in a bowl on a few layers kitchen paper and se them when I want, with
them slowly drying over time, so that after a while I have a bowl of the
remaining dried chiles which I can then either dry a little further with
warmth before putting into a jar, or I can dry out and powder myself (I use
a coffee grinder).

Otherwise, you have the option of making a chile sauce with them while still
fresh (you can do this still with dried, but I find fresh better
personally) - again, heaps of chile sauce recipes on the net. If you would
like, I can let you know a couple of the ways I make sauces from them, but
they're not in recipe format - they're more just a basic rough procedure...

Cheers!

Shaun aRe
--
Life is the dream you wake up to.

Or just chop them into bits and eat with cheese and crackers...... ;-)
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

Big thanks to everyone who responded here. I'll definitely be
following all your advice.

And (I suppose) not being so damn unadventurous in future!

Thanks again.

MD

"cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Shaun aRe wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Yup! The only time I would consider sacrificing that lovely hot and

tasty

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

inner part, is if I had meal guests that didn't like it too hot, all I

had

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

were too hot chiles, and the dish needed the colour. ',;~}~

Cheers and be well!

Must admit the HD had to train me to eat "hot-stuff", but I am learning
quite quickly to like it a lot!!

Cheers
Cathy

Heh, similar thing with my wife Kath - she did like some heat, but nowhere
near what she's grown to like after meeting me (the first hot thing she
tasted at my place, was raw, salted red habanero mash, just a teensy bit -
blew here head off but didn't put her off!). Now her favourite store bought
hotsauce is the original Encona (S'bonnets and habs) and she uses plenty -
I've made her a big bottle of my own version using my own grown peppers, ad
it goes on almost everything - salads, sandwiches, meats - the lot. once
bitten by the chile bug, even if you don't go much further forward with it,
there's no going back ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

"Katra" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Shaun aRe" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Use them in any recipe you require heat and chile flavour - there's
thousands upon thousands of recipes you could use them in. They're good

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stir fries, soups, on pizza, sliced very thinly on sandwiches - all

sorts.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Of course you are best testing them to gage their heat before deciding

how

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

many and how to use them.

Basically, most if not all dishes that you can use dried or powdered

chile

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in, you can use fresh.

Do you have rather a substantial amount? Any left over that are looking

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

little past their best can be dried, usually quite easily (I just put

fresh

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

chiles in a bowl on a few layers kitchen paper and se them when I want,

with

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

them slowly drying over time, so that after a while I have a bowl of the
remaining dried chiles which I can then either dry a little further with
warmth before putting into a jar, or I can dry out and powder myself (I

use

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a coffee grinder).

Otherwise, you have the option of making a chile sauce with them while

still

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

fresh (you can do this still with dried, but I find fresh better
personally) - again, heaps of chile sauce recipes on the net. If you

would

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

like, I can let you know a couple of the ways I make sauces from them,

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

they're not in recipe format - they're more just a basic rough

procedure...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Cheers!

Shaun aRe
--
Life is the dream you wake up to.

Or just chop them into bits and eat with cheese and crackers...... ;-)

CHOP them? Why that's what we have teeth for me dear!

This is chiles cheese and crackers:

1 plate.

Many crackers.

Lumps good cheese(s)

Whole raw chiles.

Beer/wine.

Arrange on plate all but liquid.

Retrieve cracker, piece cheese and a chile from late, bite chile, bite
cracker, bite cheese, chew, fall in love, swallow, take sip of BEvERage,
float off to heaven.

',;~}~

Shaun aRe - The order of biting is important BTW!

Shaun aRe wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Must admit the HD had to train me to eat "hot-stuff", but I am learning
quite quickly to like it a lot!!

Cheers
Cathy

Heh, similar thing with my wife Kath - she did like some heat, but nowhere
near what she's grown to like after meeting me (the first hot thing she
tasted at my place, was raw, salted red habanero mash, just a teensy bit -
blew here head off but didn't put her off!). Now her favourite store bought
hotsauce is the original Encona (S'bonnets and habs) and she uses plenty -
I've made her a big bottle of my own version using my own grown peppers, ad
it goes on almost everything - salads, sandwiches, meats - the lot. once
bitten by the chile bug, even if you don't go much further forward with it,
there's no going back ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

Must admit don't know enough about all the different names/types of
chillies yet... Like I said we planted a selection, so I am trying to
learn! Do like a lot of curries... Musaman Curry is one of HD's
favourites, along with Green Chicken Curry.... the MIL is very into
Thai/Indonesian cooking and she has taught me a lot... I still do
"boring" stuff like roasts etc. but I also like Beef Wellington, one of
my favourites.
Cheers

Cathy

In article <[email hidden]>,

Shaun aRe said:

"Katra" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Shaun aRe" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Use them in any recipe you require heat and chile flavour - there's
thousands upon thousands of recipes you could use them in. They're good

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stir fries, soups, on pizza, sliced very thinly on sandwiches - all

sorts.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Of course you are best testing them to gage their heat before deciding

how

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

many and how to use them.

Basically, most if not all dishes that you can use dried or powdered

chile

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in, you can use fresh.

Do you have rather a substantial amount? Any left over that are looking

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

little past their best can be dried, usually quite easily (I just put

fresh

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

chiles in a bowl on a few layers kitchen paper and se them when I want,

with

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

them slowly drying over time, so that after a while I have a bowl of the
remaining dried chiles which I can then either dry a little further with
warmth before putting into a jar, or I can dry out and powder myself (I

use

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a coffee grinder).

Otherwise, you have the option of making a chile sauce with them while

still

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

fresh (you can do this still with dried, but I find fresh better
personally) - again, heaps of chile sauce recipes on the net. If you

would

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

like, I can let you know a couple of the ways I make sauces from them,

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

they're not in recipe format - they're more just a basic rough

procedure...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Cheers!

Shaun aRe
--
Life is the dream you wake up to.

Or just chop them into bits and eat with cheese and crackers...... ;-)

CHOP them? Why that's what we have teeth for me dear!

This is chiles cheese and crackers:

1 plate.

Many crackers.

Lumps good cheese(s)

Whole raw chiles.

Beer/wine.

Arrange on plate all but liquid.

Retrieve cracker, piece cheese and a chile from late, bite chile, bite
cracker, bite cheese, chew, fall in love, swallow, take sip of BEvERage,
float off to heaven.

',;~}~

Shaun aRe - The order of biting is important BTW!

Kinda like doing tequila shots... Lick the salt, bite the lemon, then
add the tequila... <lol>

Seriously tho', I remember last year you told me the chile petin's were
ideal for a single cracker w/cheese. ;-)

My cockatoo gets most of them, but only because there are PLENTY. <G>
That little thing will get hyooge in about 3 to 4 years. Those seem to
be more of a perrenial than just about any species I've grown... But,
you have tried more varieties than I have.

I just started a new pot of Anaheims and am looking forward to making
stuffed peppers with them later this year.
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

"cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Shaun aRe wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Must admit the HD had to train me to eat "hot-stuff", but I am learning
quite quickly to like it a lot!!

Cheers
Cathy

Heh, similar thing with my wife Kath - she did like some heat, but

nowhere

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

near what she's grown to like after meeting me (the first hot thing she
tasted at my place, was raw, salted red habanero mash, just a teensy

bit -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

blew here head off but didn't put her off!). Now her favourite store

bought

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hotsauce is the original Encona (S'bonnets and habs) and she uses

plenty -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've made her a big bottle of my own version using my own grown peppers,

ad

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

it goes on almost everything - salads, sandwiches, meats - the lot. once
bitten by the chile bug, even if you don't go much further forward with

it,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

there's no going back ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

Must admit don't know enough about all the different names/types of
chillies yet... Like I said we planted a selection,

Great stuff! I hope they do well for you.

Our's haven't started so well this year - out of lots of seeds, only a few
sprouted, and a lot of those haven't made it. I could cry!

Quoted message said:

so I am trying to
learn!

Heck - as I said before - we're all always learning ',;~}~

Quoted message said:

Do like a lot of curries... Musaman Curry is one of HD's
favourites, along with Green Chicken Curry.... the MIL is very into
Thai/Indonesian cooking and she has taught me a lot... I still do
"boring" stuff like roasts etc. but I also like Beef Wellington, one of
my favourites.
Cheers

I used to make a lot of Indian food, less so these days - I think I probably
over did it and got temporarily bored, heheheh...

Shaun aRe

"Katra" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Shaun aRe said:

Quoted message said:

Or just chop them into bits and eat with cheese and crackers...... ;-)

CHOP them? Why that's what we have teeth for me dear!

This is chiles cheese and crackers:

1 plate.

Many crackers.

Lumps good cheese(s)

Whole raw chiles.

Beer/wine.

Arrange on plate all but liquid.

Retrieve cracker, piece cheese and a chile from late, bite chile, bite
cracker, bite cheese, chew, fall in love, swallow, take sip of BEvERage,
float off to heaven.

',;~}~

Shaun aRe - The order of biting is important BTW!

Kinda like doing tequila shots... Lick the salt, bite the lemon, then
add the tequila... <lol>

Yup! But here, the idea is chile first, then cracker and cheese, as chewing
the cracker on top of the chile helps to mush up the chile evenly in the
mouth, see? Heheheh...

Quoted message said:

Seriously tho', I remember last year you told me the chile petin's were
ideal for a single cracker w/cheese. ;-)

YUP! ',;~}~

Quoted message said:

My cockatoo gets most of them, but only because there are PLENTY. <G>
That little thing will get hyooge in about 3 to 4 years. Those seem to
be more of a perrenial than just about any species I've grown... But,
you have tried more varieties than I have.

Yes - I think most from that family of chiles tend to be hardier. The
Chinense (or Chinensis - can't recall!) family I like the most (Incl. the
habs, bonnets, fatalis etc. - very hot, *very* flavourful, most are fruity
tasting) are really rather tender plants...

Quoted message said:

I just started a new pot of Anaheims and am looking forward to making
stuffed peppers with them later this year.

Superb!

I had meant to buy many more seeds from www.chileseeds.co.uk for this year
but never got around to it - I wanted some milder varieties for similar
reasons. Also, I spotted a kind of Habanero type they were selling there -
it had been 'bred' by a Uni's agricultural dept. to have that wonderful Hab
type flavour, but to be virtually heatless! That would have been a wonderful
one to grow ',;~}~

Next year, I hope to have a whole half of the P/tunnel devoted to chiles
',;~}~

Shaun aRe - Pics of the p/tunnel will have to wait until next week sorry!