Month: January 2022

January 14, 2022 Accompaniments, Finger Foods, Potato Recipes, Snack Food, Vegan Recipes, Vegetable, Vegetarian Recipes

How did this iconic dish evolve? South African Slap Chips!

Slap chips


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How did this iconic dish evolve? South African Slap Chips!
Author: 
Recipe type: Accompaniments
Cuisine: Fries
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
How iconic slap chips evolved and how to make them at home.
Ingredients
  • Potatoes
Instructions
  1. Today’s episode is a request from Dawie Venter in Australia.
  2. South Africa’s iconic Slap Chips…. Spelled “slap” but pronounced “slup” were not invented by anyone in particular, but instead they evolved through a combination of bad staff training, laziness and the cost savings of running a fryer at lower temperatures.
  3. This may sound harsh, but something good did come from it…. Slap chips!
  4. The owners of the take-out establishments where slap chips evolved realised that running their chip fryers at lower temperatures of around 150c instead of the customary 180c, the oil would last much longer before denaturing and becoming unusable.
  5. To compound this issue, lazy or poorly trained staff would then overload the fryer with a full basket of cold chips instead of a half basket. The oil temperature would plummet to less than 100c, and the chips would boil in the oil instead of frying, for at east the first 5 minutes of the cooking process.
  6. This would effectively partially cook the chips, followed by very slow frying for another 10-15 minutes until the chips floated to the top of the oil indicating they were ready to remove. By the time the chips were cooked, the oil temperature was a mere 140-145c. The result was a whole new type of chip…. Slap chips… which were originally intended to be French fries.
  7. To achieve the same result at home, you don’t need to heat your oil to 150c, or cut a truck-load of chips to overload your fryer. Simply cut 4 medium potatoes into chips of about 12mm in thickness. This is intentionally thicker than a French fry, as slap chips to tend to fall apart if cut thinner than this. Place the chips in very cold water to keep them from discolouring. At this stage you can actually store your chips in the refrigerator for later.
  8. When you are ready to start frying your chips, dry the chips off with a dish towel, place the chips in your fryer basket and lower it into the cold oil. Turn on your fryer to maximum and let the process take its course.
  9. After about 5 minutes, the chips will start to boil in the oil. Notice I say boil, not fry, as the oil is not yet hot enough to cause any type of frying action. This will continue for a few minutes, after which the temperature of the oil will reach around 110c and the chips will start to fry very half-heartedly.
  10. Another few minutes and the frying will increase as the temperature nears 120c.
  11. After another few minutes, the chips will start to rise to the surface. The oil will be at approximately 140c – 145c in temperature, and the chips will only be slightly golden. They are ready to be removed from the oil.
  12. Add a generous sprinkling of white spirit vinegar and salt, and you’re ready to serve.
  13. If you don’t have a fryer at home, you can use a pot, or high side frying pan to achieve the same results as a fryer.
  14. Once again, thanks for watching, please like, subscribe and share this video, and we’ll see you again real soon.

 

January 11, 2022 Chicken Recipes, French Recipes, Poutry

New-Style Chicken Cordon Bleau

New-style chicken cordon bleau


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New-Style Chicken Cordon Bleau
Author: 
Recipe type: Chicken
Cuisine: French
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Beautifully tender chicken fillet stuffed with salami and cheese, wrapped in crispy bacon. An umami dream come true!
Ingredients
  • 2 Large chicken breasts
  • 8 Rashers streaky / strip bacon
  • 6 Slices good quality salami
  • 2 Generous handfuls of grated cheddar mozzarella mix
  • Oil and butter for frying
Instructions
  1. New-style Chicken Cordon Bleu
  2. To create this simple chicken masterpiece, only a few ingredients are required, starting with a couple of handfuls of grated aged cheddar and mozzarella mixed.
  3. -4 Rashers of streaky, or strip bacon per portion, and 2-3 slices of good quality salami per portion.
  4. In addition, you will, of course need 2 large, plump, deboned, skinless chicken breast fillets.
  5. To prepare the fillets, start by removing the fillet’ from the breast. Continue by trimming any fat and leftover remnants of the skin from the breasts.
  6. Position the fillet at an angle, with the longer rounded side furthest from your knife. Holding your knife parallel to the work surface, slice through the fillet from the shorter rounded edge, leaving about 10mm or just less than a half inch intact on the longer round edge.
  7. Finish the cut by opening the breast and trimming a little further so that the fillet can open completely.
  8. Repeat this with the second breast.
  9. Place 2-3 slices of salami over the fold of each chicken breast.
  10. Follow this with a compressed handful of the shredded cheese.
  11. Fold the breasts closed and press them down lightly to compact the stuffing.
  12. At this stage, give the breasts a generous dose of salt and cracked black pepper.
  13. Using 3-4 to 4 strips of bacon, wrap each breast with a slight overlap on the edges and the ends of each strip of bacon, until the entire breast is covered.
  14. The bacon must be wrapped firmly, but not overly tight so as to squeeze out the filling.
  15. To cook the breasts, add 2 tablespoons of oil to your pan and heat this over medium heat to 180c. When you reach 180c, add a tablespoon of butter and mix this with the oil. This will help the chicken brown as it cooks.
  16. Add the chicken to the pan and fry this for 3 minutes per side, remembering that each breast has 4 sides – 2 flat sides and 2 edges.
  17. After the first 3 minutes, flip the chicken over to fry the second flat side.
  18. After the second 3 minutes, turn the chicken onto its edge, using the rim of the pan to prop it up.
  19. After the third 3 minutes, flip the chicken once again onto the other edge and fry for a final 3 minutes.
  20. Serve the chicken immediately with the accompaniments of your choice and enjoy this magnificent creation.

 

January 5, 2022 4th of July Cookout, Accompaniments, Mexican Recipes, Snack Food, Vegan Recipes, Vegetable, Vegetarian Recipes

Crispy Fried Cauliflower

spicy bufallo cauliflower wings


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Crispy Fried Cauliflower
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegetable
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
This spicy deep-fried cauliflower is absolutely amazing. Once you have tried it, there is no going back!
Ingredients
  • 1 x Medium cauliflower
  • 2 Large eggs
  • 100ml Milk
  • 1 Cup all-purpose flour
  • 2tsp Dried garlic granules
  • 3tsp Paprika
  • 2tsp Oregano
  • 1.5tsp Cumin
  • 2tsp Dried onion flakes
  • 0.5tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 0.5tsp Salt
  • 1tsp Black pepper corns
  • 1tsp Chilli flakes (optional, or more if desired)
Instructions
  1. Crispy Deep-fried Cauliflower Recipe
  2. To make this amazing crispy fried cauliflower, start by inverting the cauliflower and cutting through the stems that join the florets to the core of the cauliflower.
  3. Once all the florets are free of the core, you will notice that some of the florets are much larger than others. To trim these down, use your paring knife to cut longitudinally through the stems of the florets. It is important to only cut the stem section so as not to damage the florets. Once the stem is cut, gently untangle the one half of the floret from the other half.
  4. Transfer the cauliflower florets to your steamer and steam these for 20 minutes until tender.
  5. Remove the cauliflower from the steamer and transfer this to a platter lined with paper towel to absorb any excess water and cool.
  6. Combine all the dried herbs and spices and place these in you spice grinder. Pulse the grinder until you have a reasonably fine powder, then put this aside.
  7. Crack 2 large eggs into a medium size bowl and add 100ml of milk. Whisk the mixture until well combined.
  8. Measure one cup of all-purpose flour into another bowl and add the herb and spice blend. Mix this well until combined.
  9. Sprinkle an even layer of the herb and spice blend onto a large platter. This will be where the coated cauliflower will rest until it is fried, and the layer of seasoned flour prevents the coated cauliflower from sticking to the platter and damaging the coating.
  10. Working with a few pieces of cauliflower at a time, dip the florets into the egg mixture to wet them all over, then dredge them in the flour mixture to coat. Be sure to shake off any loose flour before transferring the coated florets to the floured platter.
  11. Heat your oil to 180c and carefully drop the florets into the oil, piece by piece. Fry the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes until crispy and golden.
  12. Remove the cauliflower from the oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl lined with paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
  13. Serve these delicious treats as a snack, or as any accompaniment to any meal and enjoy!
  14. If you have any requests for recipes on our channel, please send these through to my email, ctpro@whats4chow.com and I will do my best to accommodate these.
  15. Please like, share and subscribe and we’ll see you again real soon.

 

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