Topic: UCB Update Please read

[Chilli Prawn]

No probs.  This is my approach.  I marinate the precooked meat in a little tomato puree base.  Fry this on a high heat add the base and whatever spices you want.  Continue to fry stirring all the time.  I have mentioned this many times but a Bir secret is in HOW you stir and fry.  It is not good just moving the mix around as you will not 'fuse' it even if you are using super heat.  The technique is very simple.  Use a very hot pan, plenty of oil, and a metal chefs spoon, you can use a round cup ladle but you need to be good.  When you add anything, eg. the original meat & tomato or the base, spices etc., you press/rub the mix against the base of the pan to fuse it as though spreading butter (don't do this to the meat though!) and then scrape it off almost straight away before it starts to burn.  You just keep doing this for just a few minutes and then you will see the colour change and you will get that so called Bir smell.  It takes some practice to get it right, so be prepared for accidents.  I would also suggest you do not use a non-stick pan as you are likely to blow of the coating; I suggest a bog standard cheap cast iron frying pan as used by a lot of Birs (8" - 10").  You can get them from a lot of Asian grocers & wholesalers.  Treat the pan like a WOK don't wash it in any soapy water, just use plain hot water and a scrubbing brush.  This way you will infuse the flavours and season the pan.

No here comes the issue of water or not.  Birs use water for dilution, I prefer to sue and emulsion like milk of yoghurt as it doesn't change the spice flavour.  However if you are trying to do Bir stuff then use water by all means but the secret is to add very little at a time and let the mix reach temperature between each addition.  If you add too much at one time you will drop the heat too low and you will break up the spices and lose the flavour very quickly.

Hope this helps, good luck.
CP

PS this base stinks (nice stink though) so make sure you freeze it in good quality containers, e.g. the lock type, as it will expand when freezing and creep out like Quatermass's experiment :

[After8]

Hi Chilli,

I had some base in the freezer, so I had a go at 'fusing' as you suggest. I don't think I was very successfully however, but I think that was down to the fact that (I assume ) I may have burnt the spices.

I had the oil at smoking point, then tipped in a few onions, then some puree and the spices. I fried this lot for about a minute on full bore, before introducing the sauce, a bit at a time. I didn't notice any nice smells as I pressed the sauce against the bottom of the pan, but I figured this was because I'd already ruined it by overdoing the spices - maybe I should have started on a lower heat, then turned it up for fusing.

I'm still keen to have another go. I guessed that the fusing is a way of superheating the sauce, the spoon keeping it in contact with the very hot surface and the oil in the sauce (evenly distributed, which is why I blitzed it before use) frying the sauce locally.

I look forward to seeing the your video, but will still have another go in the meantime. I've a feeling that this is one of those things that will take a fair bit of skill and practice. The experts, who do this all the time will make it look effortless, like those blokes that split slates, or put the gold lining on cups and plates.

It still turned out OK though, once I teamed it up with some decent rice and a bottle of Cobra.

A8

[Chilli Prawn]

Ok I think I have spotted the problems here.  Raw ground spices do not need to be flash fried and you should not do this really unless you really are experienced; they will burn very rapidly.  Frying onions and adding spices is the traditional way of cooking not really suited as a Bir method.  You will find many approaches here in this Forum and there is nothing wrong with them just different

1. I dont use onions at the start if I am using a base, as they are already in there.  However I may add onions in one form or another at a later stage depending upon the recipe requirements.

so

2. Fry the meat briefly  (with tomato base marinasde) first
3. Then add the base in one go and heat quickly to bubbling and oil separation
4. Add spices and reduce heat to medium.
5. Now stir and fuse the mix, but remember to press scrape and stir all the time

Dont worry you will get there, we all made and make mistakes; in a while you will master the techniques and then you will be doing your own experiments.  Make sure you read the advice on spices and cooking in the hints and tips as there are a lot of good contributions there.

CP

[After8]

Thanks CP, I'll recover from the last attempt and will have another go.

A8

[After8]

Did anyone see Heston Whatsisface on the box the other night. He was trying to cook the perfact Ragu (spag bol)

I noticed similarities between the cooking sequence he used, and the ones CP suggests in this post. He started with a veggie base and, most significantly, the tomatoes were cooked separately in oil before being added. He went into all the chemical reasons why he did this. He even added a knob of butter (ghee) right at the end

A8