Tag Archives: Chili pepper

The term chili (vegetable green, yellow, orange or red) is a common name used in French to designate several species of the genus Capsicum family of solanacées.Tous peppers, mild or strong, are part of the same family, the Solanaceae, which also includes eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes and tobacco. The pepper belongs to the genus Capsicum. There are generally hot pepper such as paprika peppers.

Last came among the spices, chilli is today that we consume the most in the world itself is so uneven across countries. This is in hot regions (Africa, America, Southeast Asia, Caribbean) it is most appreciated. But in recent years, the chili is more and more popular among Western populations to the point that selling chilli sauce exceeds that of ketchup in the United States.

Why you burn it?

This is the Capsaicin, which is responsible for the spiciness of the pepper. Pure, its power is such that it is detectable in diluted 10,000,000 its weight in water (1 g of capsaicin per 10 cubic meters of water!).
This molecule is present throughout the pepper but you can find in larger quantities in the seeds.
Depending on its concentration, the chili will be stronger or weaker.

When capsaicin comes into contact with mucous membranes of the mouth and causes the burning sensation, the brain secretes endorphins, a molecule similar to morphine. This natural painkiller causes mild euphoria that the subject will want to hear again by repeating the consumption and increasing the dose resulting in a dependency and addiction in the long run. But rest assured, so far, we have never seen civil disturbances accompany addiction to chili, so do not hesitate to consume!

Peppers contain medicinal properties many and varied. Attributed to the antiseptic powers of peppers.
The capsaicin content in chilli promotes increased production of saliva and other gastric juices thereby improving digestion.
Notably, when fresh, it helps digestion of starchy foods.

Consumption of pepper causes dilation of blood vessels so that blood pressure decreases and the blood cleared, thereby reducing the risk of stroke.

The local application of a poultice of pepper leaves heals bruises and rheumatism.

The dried leaves into powder have an anti-parasitic. Added to food or used in purgative, they are effective in the treatment of pinworms.
Avoid touching your face, lips and eyes when cutting hot peppers, as this can cause irritation. Once we finished with the knife and cutting board, take care to the soap and hands.

According to the concentration ratio of capsaicin in the chili, simply can manipulate them to tears.
If the skin is very sensitive hands, wear gloves when handling hot peppers.

To reduce the taste of hot peppers, you must remove their seeds and inner membranes whitish and spongy on which the seeds are attached. Alternatively, place the peppers soaked in vinegar and cold water for about an hour.
Generally, one must be careful with the quantities, because the flavor and the spicy pepper develops during cooking.

To fight fire pepper it is useless to drink water. Indeed, the Capsaicin is fat soluble, that is to say, it dissolves in fat.
It is therefore more helpful to drink a tall glass of iced milk preferably or absorb ice cream or yogurt.

Kimchi – fermented cabbage

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Ingredients :

  • 1 large Chinese cabbage
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 spring onions chopped
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1 or 2 teaspoon of nuoc mam
  • 3 chilis chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • salt

Preparation :

Remove the cabbage leaves and slice them on lengthwise and put it in a bowl.
Sprinkle with coarse salt and stir, then let sit and drain for a night, the next day, rinse the sliced ​​cabbage with water and drain.

For make the spice paste :

Put in a blender, the ginger, red chilis, the garlic, onions, the sugar and fish sauce, mix everything until a red paste.

Spread this paste on the cabbage leaves, place the pieces of cabbage in an airtight container.
Wait 4-5 days for the kimchi ferments and is ready and can be kept for three weeks in the fridge.

Tips: There are different kinds of Kimchi and with various sauces.

Anecdotes : Kimchi is the Korean national dish served at every meal. The Kimchi is the fermented spicy cabbage, and is often accompaniment of main course. It smells very strong, but let’s say like French cheese, more it smells more good it is.  Many koreans you will count the kimchi beneficial virtues.

spicy sauce

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Ingredients :

  • 1/2 cup of chili powder or 3 fresh red chillis
  • 3 cups of sugar
  • 740 ml of white vinegar
  • 375 g of dry grapes
  • 8 cloves garlic crushed
  • 3 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger

Preparation :

Remove seeds and chop the chillis.
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil.
Let simmer until dry grapes are tender.
Let cool and cutting all in a blender. Place in an airtight jar or serve it.

Tips: For a less strong sauce, add some tomato sauce.

Chicken kurma

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Ingredients :

  • 600 g of chicken
  • 1 cup of coconut cream
  • 50 cl of coconut milk
  • 125 ml of oil
  • 3 of cardamom pods
  • 2 of star anise
  • 1 of cinnamon stick
  • 2 red chili
  • 3 cloves
  • 3 cm of ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 5 tablespoon of Kurma powder
  • 6 shallots
  • 1 cup of water

Preparation :

Mix finely chopped 1 clove garlic and 3 shallots, place in bowl and add thekurma and 1 tablespoon of water : it must make a paste.

Finely chop the shallots and remaining garlic cloves.
Mince the ginger and chillies into rings.
Cut chicken into cubes.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the shallots, minced garlic and spices until the flavors emerge.

Add the paste and fry until the oil separates, then add the chicken and remaining water and cook until chicken is tender.

Add coconut cream, coconut milk and chilli and let simmer 30 minutes over low heat until the sauce thickens.

Serve with rice.

Tips : If you don’t have the kurma powder take : 60 g of coriander, 10 g of aniseed, 10 g of black pepper, 10 g of cumin , 2 g  of cinnamon, 2 g of cardamom, 2 g of cloves, 10 g of saffron or turmeric , 2 g of red chili, 1 g of star anise, 1 g nutmeg and almonds then grind and mix them.

Chicken on spicy Bhutanese red rice

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Ingredients :

  • 1 cup of whole wheat red rice
  • 450 g of boneless chicken breasts without skin
  • 2 tablespoon of cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 1 red onion, cut into quarters
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons of grated ginger
  • 3 red chillis chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 tomato cut into slices

Preparation :

Cook the whole grain red rice in water.
Cut chicken into cubes and put in the corn starch in order to cover the entire surface.
Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat in a wok and brown the chicken until slightly crispy and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of sesame oil and let fry the onion, garlic, minced ginger and chopped chilis. Add chicken, tomato wedges and the soy sauce. Cook, stirring constantly.

Serve with red rice.

Tips: Here is a classic dish of Bhutan in eastern of Himalayas, for a meal less spicy, remove seeds and reduce the number of chilis.

Pho – beef soup and rice noodles

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Ingredients :

  • 3 kg of Ribs
  • 500 g stewing beef or rump steak or other piece of tender beef
  • 4 onions
  • 1 piece fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • salt
  • 500 g of fresh rice noodles or 250 g of dried noodles
  • 500 g of fresh bean sprouts
  • 6 spring onions
  • 4 tomatoes
  • nuoc mam sauce
  • lemon juice
  • 2 green or red chilis
  • chopped coriander leaves

Preparation :

Put the dish of ribs and beef pot roast in a pressure cooker filled with cold water,
add 2 chopped onions, ginger, cinnamon, peppercorns and salt. Cover and let simmer for 6 hours on low heat.

Cook noodles in another pot, they should remain fairly firm.

Put the bean sprouts in a colander and pour over boiling water, remove and let cool, then remove all the blackened tails.

Mince the spring onions, cut tomatoes into thin slices, peel and cut the remaining 2 onions into thin slices. Cut the beef into thin slices.

To serve : Put a certain amount of noodles, bean sprouts, a few slices of beef, sliced ​​tomatoes and onions in each bowl and pour the broth.

The guests add themselves the nuoc mam sauce, lemon juice, chillies and coriander.

Tips : Serve immediately to table, taking the warm broth and adding the various ingredients in each bowl.

Anecdote : This is the national dish of Vietnam! It is rather like the Moh Hin Gha of Burma.

Dak busut jim – chicken with mushrooms

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Ingredients :

  • 10 chinese mushrooms dried
  • 1 chicken
  • 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 box of winter bamboo shoots
  • 4 spring onions
  • 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds and crushed

Preparation :

Rehydrate the mushrooms for 30 minutes in hot water (keep water) and thenremove stems that are inedible and slice the caps.

Cut chicken into small pieces, breaking bones with a cleaver.

Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, cayenne pepper and black pepper and coat the meat. Macerate for 50 minutes.

Drain chicken and then put it in a wok and brown it in hot oil over medium heat and stir constantly.

Add mushrooms, half of the soaking water and the marinade, cover and simmer 15 minutes, until chicken is tender.

Entre temps, émincer l’oignon et séparer les couches. Couper les pousses de bambou en quartiers puis en tranches. Couper les oignons nouveaux en petits morceaux, y compris les parties vertes.

Stir all these ingredients in the wok stir well and cook another 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.

Dahl Bat – traditional dish of rice and lentils

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Ingredients :

  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 cups of lentils
  • 1 cup of rice
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of Spice
  • ½ teaspoon of allspice
  • 1 pinch of cardamom
  • ½  teaspoon of salt

Preparation :
Wash rice until water runs clear, drain and cook with 2 cups water in a rice-cooker.

Wash and rinse the lentils, then put them in a pan add water, ginger, 4 spices, salt,pepper, cardamom, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes over low heat until the lentils are tender.

Serve.

Anecdote : It consists of white rice (bhat) and a bowl of thick soup with lentils (dal). It is accompanied by a vegetable curry (tarkari) and sometimes a mixture of spicy ingredients (achards). The meat is inaccessible and non-traditional, it is generally vegetarian. The proteins present in the lenses, however, make a balanced meal. The Nepalese eat with the right hand, without a spoon or fork. It is often served at will and it is polite to be reused at least once, even if we have hungry anymore.

Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes

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Ingredients :

  • 1 medium cauliflower
  • 1 kg of potatoes
  • 2 tablespoon cooking oil
  • ¼ teaspoon seed cumin
  • ½ teaspoon Saffron Coffee
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 small green peppers
  • 1 cup peas
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (or curry)
  • a little fresh coriander leaves

Preparation :
Separate the cauliflower into small florets. peel and cut the potatoes into french fries. in
a Wok or large skillet heat oil. Add cumin, bay leaf. Add the
potatoes and fry 10 minutes. Then put the cauliflower, saffron, salt. Bake 10 minutes.
Add ginger, garlic, pepper, peas, and garam masala. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Add the fresh coriander leaves.
Serve with rice and chapatis.

Astuces : you can decorate your plate with small hint of carrots or peppers.

Bulgogi – spicy beef

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Ingredients :

  • 1 kg of rump steak or fillet of beef thinly sliced ​​
  • ¼  cup of soy sauce
  • ¼ cup  of water
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon of pepper
  • 2 teaspoon of chili paste
  • 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds

Preparation :

Slice steak into thin slices, then into a rectangle of 3×6 cm, and then prepare the marinade by mixing soy sauce, onions, water, ginger, sugar, pepper and pepper.

Cover and marinate meat at least 3 hours in refrigerator.

Just before serving, make leather quickly in a pan, then place in a dish and sprinklewith sesame seeds.

Serve with rice and sauce.

Tips : You can add 1 cup of rice wine in the marinade or the korean pear juice (nashi). You can also use pork instead of beef. You can also cook as in Korea, on a special fondue where the central part is used for cooking meat. There are many variation of this famous Korean dishes.

Tom Yam Kung (Shrimp Soup)

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Ingredients :

  • 12 raw shrimp
  • 2 bulb of lemongrass
  • 2 kaffir leaves
  • 3 red chilis
  • 1 lime
  • 1 galangal
  • 1 L of water
  • 50 g of coriander
  • 2 tomatoes or 100 g of cherry tomatoes
  • 1 box of straw mushrooms
  • 1 cube of chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons of nuoc mam sauce
  • 1 tablespoons of Thai chili paste
  • 1 ½  tablespoons of sugar

Preparation :

Flatten citronella and cut them diagonally, then remove the stem leaves of kaffir.Cut into thin slices galangal and tomatoes into quarters and mushrooms in half.

In a large saucepan put 1 L of water, the chicken broth, the bulb of lemongrass, kaffir leaves, galangal and cook over high heat until boiling.

Shell the shrimp, leaving only the tail and then incise the back of the shrimpand remove the black vein. Add the mushrooms and shrimp in the pan and let simmer 10 minutes.

In a bowl put the chilli paste, add a little broth to dilute well then pour into the pan and add the nuoc mam sauce, the sugar and mix.

Flatten red chilis and cut them diagonally and add them and the tomatoes to the pan then let simmer 5 minutes over medium heat.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve

Astuces : if the soup needs more salt, add the nuoc mam sauce but no salt. You can use prawns instead of shrimps.