Whenever I eat chicken karaage in a Japanese restaurant, the taste and texture are superb.  Whenever I try to re-create it at home (e.g., this evening) the results are poor beyond belief.  Does anyone here cook chicken karaage, and if so, could they please share their recipe and technique ?
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** Phil.

Too oblique for me, sorry.  But why does Cliff look such a prat ?  I'm sure that when he recorded that video his "animation" wouldn't have seemed in any way unusual, but viewed today, I'm sorry, but he just looks a complete prat.  He should have stuck to singing with the Shadows !

What am I missing ?  Robbo's link takes me (at least) to a video recording of Cliff Richard, I have no idea what "`Strue" means, and I cannot see any connection between 100 posts, 10 pages, 10 contributors and the need to archive.  Someone please explain ...

Quote from: natterjak on July 26, 2024, 03:36 PM
Maybe I have to venture over to Chatham or Rochester, which seem to have some good shops according to google maps.

I would recommend Ashford in preference to either of those — an excellent Nepali community, well-served by equally good Nepali shops.
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** Phil.

Quote from: Robbo141 on July 05, 2024, 03:31 PM
Lots of videos but the few I looked at had no ingredient lists / measurements that I could see. Needs to stick the recipe in the description box.

I think that funpage4520 observed much the same in the comments —

Quote@funpage4520
2 years ago
Ingredients ki quantity to bat den plz!

It didn't "understand" anything, George — AI as we currently know it is incapable of understanding anything.  What it did was to use your prompt to constrain and focus its response — nothing more, nothing less.
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** Phil.

Masala Chicken

In this chicken dish from Chetna Makan, a crispy, well-seasoned exterior gives way to juicy meat inside. Makan says that after she developed this recipe, she couldn't stop eating it, and we can see why.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) chickpea flour
• 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (see Notes)
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kasoori methi
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon kala namak
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 to 6 chicken thighs, halved, or quartered if large (1 1/4 pounds total)
• 3 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
• Ginger-chili chutney, for serving (optional)
• Cooked white or brown rice, for serving (optional)
• Naan or flatbreads, for serving (optional)

Directions
Total: 30 mins

• In a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet over a low heat, toast the chickpea flour, stirring constantly, until it starts to darken, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and carefully wipe the hot pan clean.
• To the bowl with the flour, add the yogurt, chili powder, fenugreek, garam masala, kala namak and cumin and stir until well combined. Add the chicken and toss until well coated.
• In a skillet over a medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chicken in a single layer — it's okay if some pieces are touching. Cook, undisturbed, until the chicken turns brown and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Watch carefully and reduce the heat if the chicken starts to burn. Flip the pieces and continue cooking until the chicken is golden on all sides and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees C, 3 to 5 minutes. (Thicker pieces of chicken may take a bit longer.) Divide among shallow bowls and serve with chutney, rice and/or naan, if using.

Notes

Be sure to use plain yogurt, not Greek yogurt, when making this recipe. If you have only the latter, thin it with a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock until it is the consistency of plain yogurt.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350-degree oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes, or until heated through.

Adapted from "Chetna's 30 Minute Indian: Quick and Easy Everyday Meals" by Chetna Makan (Mitchell Beazley, 2021).

Quote from: Robbo141 on June 28, 2024, 11:14 PMChopsticks stuck into a bowl of food mimics the incense sticks planted in containers of the ashes of deceased people.

Now that is interesting.  We have one of those containers at home on the family shrine (my wife being Chinese/Vietnamese) but the ashes that it contains are volcanic ashes, not the ashes of her/our ancestors, and these are replaced or topped up on an annual basis ...
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** Phil.

Thank you Onions, and welcome back from your trip !

"a massive four weeks in the freezer" — crikey, if it won't keep for longer than that then there must be something seriously wrong with Chef Dean Edwards' freezer.  I would have no compunction about storing uncooked base for several years in mine ...

But now I look, I see that "a massive four weeks" is the Huffington Post's version of Dean's original "or three months in the freezer" — no wonder Huffington Post is in such difficulties, if that is typical of the care that they take with their reporting ...