curry diary

Curry Diary 8/13/2013: Return To Cinammon

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Originally when I added cinnamon to my Japanese Curry it really didn’t seem to work for me.  Too hot, not quite right, didn’t add the richness that I’ve quested for.  But that was quite a few experiments ago, so I decided to revisit using it on that big batch of curry I made awhile ago.

The result was different – it added heat, but also hinted at an increase in richness and taste complexity.  I’m not entirely sold that it’s a must-have, but I’m thinking that it’s something to at least consider.

The cinnamon brought not just heat, but it played well with the other ingredients – the cocoa powder and maple syrup.  In fact, I’m thinking that if I used cinnamon, I could remove either the black or the red pepper from the mix and maintain a balance of heat while keeping the complexity I’m looking for.  Not entirely sure, however.

This is a great reminder that when you’re evolving a recipe that you need to revisit ingredients.  When enough elements of a recipe change, what failed in the past should be reviewed, especially if the failed ingredient seemed like a good idea at the time.  Maybe it was a good idea, but just not then.

So not sold, but I can definitely say if you’re pursuing Japanese Curry, keep it in mind.  I can see why it’s one of the spices I’ve seen recommended in my research.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Curry Diary 8/3/2013: Red Wine

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So as noted earlier, I’ve got several servings of my Japanese Curry, and each time I make it I reheat it I try tweaking it with another ingreedient.  Today was red wine.

To do this I heated up about 1/4 cup of red wine (Rosemont Estate Shiraz if you’re curious), let it boil for about 10 minutes to get the alcohol out, added a bit more when it reduced more than I expected, and reheated the curry in the same pan, mixing it all together.

The color, obviously, ended up a bit darker.  But how did it taste?

This got interesting.

First, I think the taste of the wine amplified the spices.  Maybe it was the further cooking, but it was “more” than I’d expect that to do based on past experiences.

It did add a definite richness to the sauce, enough to impress me and make me think.  This may be a direction worth exploring.

Clearly a lot of Japanese curries use fruits or fruit juice components.  Also wine, like beer (and other alcohols, but mostly I see wine, beer, and sake used) has a very rich, unique taste due to the ingredients and fermentation progress.  That fruity taste combined with the richness of a fermented product was interesting – and richness has been what I’ve been seeking in my current stage of my quest for curry.

So I’m very much thinking next experiment I’m going to try a 2-to-one ratio of broth to wine and see how it goes.  I think going full-on-wine could really overdo it.  Also, obviously, there are many red wines to choose from so I’ll need to pick an appropriate one.

This also makes me wonder what wine-curry pairings could be done in other forms of cooking.  Dahl perhaps?  Or maybe red wine in one of my baked bean recipes could be delicious as that is spicy.

Very educational and worth trying.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

Curry Diary 7/30/2013: Turmeric

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I made a mess of curry (well, six separate servings – nearly 7, I think my recipe scales weird) so I could have curry, and so I could tweak it by adding ingredients.  I kind of want to get over that plateau I’m at right now because I’m me.

This by the way is one of my ways to improve cooking I should write on – using leftovers and experimenting on them.

So anyway I added a few dashes of turmeric.  I’ve used it in a few dishes, but am frankly not that knowledgeable about it – I’ve used it out of recipes, not as a tweak.  But I’ve heard of it being used in Japanese Curry so hey, time to learn.

Also it has a fascinating history and some of its components may have health benefits!  So it was time to shake hands with turmeric.

It added some interesting heat, but it didn’t seem to make the flavor more complex or deeper – which is what I’m seeking.  It might be worth swapping out one of the two peppers I use (red and black) for it to see how it affects the flavor at a future date.  Also it’s mild bitterness may play really well with the cocoa powder in a different combination.

So I’m thinking next I should add a bit more maple syrup OR cocoa powder, which appear core to the flavor I’ve gotten so far.  I’ve also wondered about some red wine since I’ve heard of it being used in Japanese Curry as well.  If you have any thoughts, let me know!

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.