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Beginners Guide => Trainee Chefs / Beginners Questions => Topic started by: uclown2002 on November 09, 2012, 05:38 PM

Title: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: uclown2002 on November 09, 2012, 05:38 PM
OK I have some frozen whole chilli peppers I want to use in  2 hrs or so.  I pricked them with a knife before freezing as I read somewhere they turn out better.

Am I OK leaving them out at room temperature before cooking them or is there a better method? 

If I had prepared better and had more time, what would otherwise be the best method for defrosting them prior to cooking?
Title: Re: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: fried on November 09, 2012, 05:57 PM
Put them in a cup of hot water for a few minutes.
Title: Re: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: uclown2002 on November 09, 2012, 05:58 PM
Ah nice one!!
Title: Re: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: curryhell on November 09, 2012, 06:18 PM
I would use them stright from the freezer as they go a bit limp when defrosted :-\
Title: Re: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: Naga on November 10, 2012, 06:25 AM
I would use them stright from the freezer as they go a bit limp when defrosted :-\

+1 - that's exactly what I do with mine.
Title: Re: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: uclown2002 on November 10, 2012, 07:10 AM
I would use them stright from the freezer as they go a bit limp when defrosted :-\

+1 - that's exactly what I do with mine.

That is certainly what I will do if adding the chilli to the dish whole.

I didn't say at the outset that I wanted to slice and de-seed them prior to use, and that looked difficult in frozen state!

So I tried the hot water method but they turned out a little limp and mushy!

So, if I intend to do the same next time and slice and deseed, is it possible to retain that firmness with a different method for defrosting?
Title: Re: Cooking frozen whole chilli peppers
Post by: fried on November 10, 2012, 08:05 AM
I find it depends on their condition when they're frozen. Small ones retain more bite, ones that are a bit less fresh tend to be soggier or the seeds turn black. I usally use frozen chillis for slicing finely, so I'm not to bothered too much by that. I'd probably try to buy fresh if I was doing a Jalfrezi or something like that.

And red ones seem to freeze better than green probably due to their size.