Experimental cooking awesome

[maradydd]

Sometimes when I'm hungry but don't feel like making anything complicated, I'll whip up a batch of fry bread. It's one of the simplest things I know how to make, consisting of a 16:2:1 ratio by volume of flour, shortening (or other non-dairy hard fat, e.g. lard or coconut oil) and baking powder, with a dash of salt for every tablespoon of baking powder. (Blend dry ingredients well, work in shortening, knead in some water until dough sticks together, knead till smooth, make into fist-sized balls, squish balls flat, fry in oil till golden brown on both sides, drain and serve.) As it's such a simple recipe, it lends itself well to being a carrier for other flavours; you can add shredded cheese, herbs, crumbled bacon, or pretty much anything savoury and not too wet to the dough, or you can serve the plain breads with jam, molasses, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, or just about anything sweet. Also they keep for days and you can warm them in the oven or, if you've just woken up and are too bleary to work the oven, on the radiator.

Today's experiment was a simple one: while frying, add a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce to the hot oil. I was frying in a blend of olive and coconut oil (ran out of olive oil -- I know, I know, inexcusable), and did not expect the Worcestershire sauce to cause the oil to foam, which was a little startling. However, it did not foam over, and I am pleased to report that the sauce adds a very pleasant tamarind-and-anchovy tang to the crust which goes very well with the ginger tea I am drinking right now. Next time I find a ridiculously sharp Cheddar, I'm going to try grating it extremely fine, adding it to the dough with some rosemary, and doing the Worcestershire trick again.

Comments

[songblaze.livejournal.com]

I'd also suggest asiago as a really good cheese to use that way. It has the advantage of being a comparatively hard cheese, which IME is good for baking with. I'd think that might carry over to frying.

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

Mmm, yeah. I bet a pecorino romano would be pretty awesome too.

[bowtomecha.livejournal.com]

interesting. i think i'll try that sometime.

[mycroftxxx.livejournal.com]

You might also consider the tiniest splash of hot sesame oil if you're the type to have it lying around. YMMV but, on my tongue low enough amounts of burn are processed as a "HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO THE NEXT FLAVOR YOU EXPERIENCE!" notice. This might, _might_, allow you to do interesting things to the flavoring of the crust with your sharp cheeses or say, tiny amounts of dried apricot or some citrus flavor.

[mutiny.livejournal.com]

The foam was probably from the water in the Worcestershire sauce flash boiling. Usually adding liquids to hot oil is inadvisable.

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

Soy sauce has never done that, which is why it surprised me.

[vatine]

There's more... bulk (particulates?) in Worcestershire sauce, if my memory serves correctly. That MAY explain it (crushed/pressed garlic makes hot oil foam a lot and has a fair bit of particulate as well as moisture).

[ab3nd.livejournal.com]

I tried this with oregano, rosemary, pepper, and basil in the dough and a mix of olive oil with splashes of sesame oil, chili oil, and garlic oil.

It came out pretty tasty, but I suspect the nutritional value is just this side of "hey, at least I'm not getting all my energy from meth".

[madeofmeat.livejournal.com]

I do something similar, but use a dry pan. It's from the tortilla recipe here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBgsLmDcL78), but I use whole wheat flour and more baking powder and fat. I'd call them more like flatbread than thick tortillas.

Imma try the fry next time.