Breath of the Wild #57: Gourmet Meat Curry

Ingredients: Raw Gourmet Meat, Hylian Rice, Goron Spice

Description: "The high-quality meat used in this prized dish satisfied meat and curry lovers alike."

How do i top the simmered tandoori beef from prime meat curry? Volume, I guess! I got a whole leg of lamb. And then a bunch of stuff to try and make a curry sauce from scratch. 

Since I got a whole leg on the bone, I guess maybe I'll try and make it manageable by slow roasting it in a pot. I'll throw on plenty of crushed garlic and grated ginger to get the flavours... infusing..?

Once thats had like an hour in the oven, im going to make this sauce. I've got onions, garlic, ginger, fresh mint, chilli paste, star anise, cardamom, dried coriander, garam masala, turmeric, mild chilli powder, and some amchoor someone gave me? It's like.. dried mango powder? Oh yeah also not pictured, nows a good time to steam the rice.

This is my first time using ghee (clarified butter)! Lets gooo. lets gheeee

I've used a blender to grind up the onions, herbs, whole spices, etc.

In goes the paste! I accidentally dropped in way too much amchoor. It's probably fine..?

And let's not forget the tomato passata! Maybe I used too much of that as well... hmm. Well, it is a lot of meat.

It's nice and easy to cut up now, and its ok if its a bit pink because its still got to simmer for at least 30 more minutes with the sauce.

I was going to make a marinade for this before I decided to roast the whole thing... I thought I could make up for this by just mixing the meat chunks in some yogurt and tandoori powder before it goes in. Don't do this folks, this is clearly not correct, look up a real recipe, don't copy this... it's stupid.

It does look like a real curry though!!!

To plate up we have the basmati rice, and fresh coriander for sprinkles. And more of that pineapple relish stuff.

****

It's tangy and flavourful! Was the beef one better though..? I think it was... somehow for all that effort the flavours feel just a little underdeveloped. It's got a perfect heat and sourness, but its lacking in meatyness. I guess winging it can only take you so far. Oh! I just realised I didn't add any salt or sugar.

Breath of the Wild #56: Prime Meat Curry

Ingredients: Raw Prime Meat, Hylian Rice, Goron Spice

Description: "The high-quality meat in this curry has given it a deeper taste than most other curries."

We're on a MISSION...to make a better meat curry than the last one! For the in-between meat ive chosen a delectable beef shin. I've got a much more upmarket pre-made curry sauce, rogan josh style this time. And because the last sauce was so shamefully bland, ive also got some tandoori masala dry spices. And basmati rice, and the garnishes from last time plus a leaf of fresh coriander.

I chopped the meat up into nice big chunks and in goes the tandoori spice as i sear it with some vegetable oil. 

Once thats nicely browned we can put in the curry sauce, and because its a saturday I can actually let this simmer on a low hear for a good hour or so, really try to make that beef reasonably tender. We can add in a bit of water if it threatens to dry out.

That's looking good! Wow those spices have really turned it a rich red, it looks like a restaurant curry. 

*****

Wow! Big difference! The curry is much more flavourful. The beef could be more tender still, but the stewing has made a big difference. So has the tandoori spice, its done a huge amount for the depth of flavour and a pleasant tangy heat. This is probably the most british-indian takeout style curry ive ever made! 

Breath of the Wild #55: Meat Curry

Ingredients: Raw Meat, Hylian Rice, Goron Spice

Description: "The heat from the spice allows you to enjoy the large portion of the meat's savoriness."  

One thing about this game... lots of curries. Being the most basic of the meat curries, I thought i'd try to go the most basic of the basic. Just simple, cheap meat (diced pork), basmati rice, and one of the most cheap and basic curry sauces around here, the mild and popular korma!

Wow huh this meat is a bit cheap huh. I maybe should have drained the extra liquid as its kind added a bit of meat "fluff". I'm cooking it with a tbsp of butter. It's indeed very lean but hopefully stewing it in the curry should soften it a bit?

It's only meat, but half a jar of sauce should be plenty.

Rice looks good at least!

Oh! and we can add a bit of this pineapple relish and the seaweed salt as a nice garnish. This might add significant much-needed flavour.

**

Hmm, yeah, I don't know why I did this. Nobody forced me to get cheap ingredients and not add anything else. The curry sauce is blander than I expected, and the meat is quite tough and dry. I guess its an all-round perfectly edible meal, but the bar has been set for curries and this one... it's a little embarrassing.

Breath of the Wild #54: Vegetable Curry

Ingredients: Any Carrot or Any Pumpkin, Hylian Rice, Goron Spice

Description: "This healthy curry is popular for its mild flavor and moderate spiciness." 

I thought i'd try another curry paste I bought to mix things up a bit. It's another thai style yellow curry type. Just thought this would go nicely with veg. I've already given the "pumpkin" (butternut squash) a bit of baking in the oven to soften it up, and then we've got a big onion, courgette, tomatoes, and some chives. Oh and not pictured is some jasmine rice in the steamer.

First I'll fry the onions, medium sized chunks I guess i'd call that, in a tiny bit of veg oil.

I want to have some vegetables on the top like in the graphic, so ill chop some bigger and some smaller pieces, and take a few out once they've cooked in the pan before adding the curry.

Same deal with the tomatoes.

And the pumpkin, I guess just half of the thing will be plenty, cutting off the peel and chopping it into cubes, with some half-ring slices for the top.

Hello yello! I guess this is designed for chicken but... well, you gotta try stuff.

In goes the whole thingy of curry paste and a can of coconut milk. It says use half a can and hot water but I don't want half a can sitting in my fridge... very thoughtful of me I know.

Then I leave that to stew for a while, looks good enough to eat. Oh, I will serve it with rice and sprinkle the chopped chives on top.

****

Mild and creamy yet with a subtle spicy aftertaste. The vegetables on top don't really add anything, I guess if I did this again without the oddly specific vegetable choices i'd have used some more fitting ingredients, like... coriander and bamboo shoots or something. The tomato goes surprisingly well though. 

Breath of the Wild #53: Curry Rice

 Ingredients: Hylian Rice, Goron Spice

Description: "A favorite all over Hyrule, this simple dish has a flavor you just won't get tired of."

A favourite to me too, is the classic japanese stewed curry. There's about to be a looooot of curry recipes, but this ones supposedly just rice and spice... im at least going to use some chunky vegetables though! 

The rice is already steaming away, I got some japanese short-grain rice again. Might as well go all out.

I'll start off by browning the onions a bit in the bottom of the pot with some cooking oil.

That won't take long, so lets quicky get everything else chopped, the potato chunks will need a good while to soften. Im coming down with some sort of flu so im very tired today, i want to relax and have dinner asap! At least this is nice and easy.

I use half the packet of curry blocks with the recommended 660ml  of hot water!

And quickly chop the carrots to put them in straight after.

Try not to doze off on the sofa while I wait... this will fix me though!

When its nearly ready we can plate up the rice and add a little extra flair! I have some seaweed & salt seasoning for the rice, and its traditional to have a little bit of pickles on the side, but I don't have any, just this jar of chilli pineapple relish.. I think that will go well!

*****

I'm often coming back to this simple recipe (well, instant curry) because its such a banger! I think each curry has a different strength, some go well with seafood or lamb... this one's strength I think is vegetables. Sure it goes well with most meats, but it really brings out the best in those carrots and potatoes. The relish added a nice sweet and spicy kick as well.

Breath of the Wild #52: Glazed Seafood

Ingredients: Any Seafood, Courser Bee Honey

Description: "A seafood dish that you can actually wolf down whole!"

This ones fresh and will be nice and easy to pan fry. I got plenty of salmon, which seems like the obvious choice to me. (ill just use 2 fillets for this) and ill be mixing the honey with garlic, lime juice, gochujang and soy sauce.

The fish won't take long to cook so ill mix up the sauce first. We've got a generous dollop of honey, one clove of crushed garlic, uh... roughly a tablespoon of gochujang?? a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, and just a little tiny splash of lime juice. Don't want it too bitter.

Swirl it all up, perfect!

Just a dash of cooking oil and two nice looking fresh fillets. I'll make sure they are at least halfway cooked before I add the glaze.

I'll try to sear all the sides gently without breaking the fillet up... ugh its so tempting to move them around lots though..

Now we can throw on the sauce! I want to cook it a bit but ill try not to burn it... We can add a tiny bit of water if it gets too dry?

*****

I think i've finally made a proper glazed meal! It's sweet and sticky like a nice bbq or teriyaki. The skin is crispy and the meat goes great with the nicely balanced sauce. Good job, me.