MacKenzie Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 According to Tekobo, this is a milder version, so yours could be very hot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 1 hour ago, MacKenzie said: I just had to try some of that Suya spice on my leftover chicken. I can tell you I was cautious, better safe than sorry. 1 hour ago, MacKenzie said: This was tasty, I had to go back and put more Suya Pepper on my chicken. Tee hee! To coin a phrase: Welcome to the Addiction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 I just came back from town and on the way I thought, "I bet that spice would be good on potato chips."That would be crisps to you, I think. Next time I make them I must sprinkle some on them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 I'm looking forward to what everyone comes up with using this nice rub. I'm going to keep working on my recipe - which is taking some direction from tekobo's. @MacKenzie - any fried potato would likely benefit from a sprinkle of this rub! I've used busted up pieces of cocochar to use in my yakitori grill. Works great. But, as you all know that have it, it's a PITA to start on its own. The benefit is the clean smoke - similar to binchotan; and both have high heat and are long burning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 7/2/2018 at 3:02 PM, _Ed_ said: @Pequod yep, I agree re Milk Street. If you haven't already, try the Fattoush recipe from the same issue as the suya / piri piri - it really is very good indeed. My main objections are, as always, the whole cups/tablespoons thing - please, just some nice, simple metric measurements would be a treat. Great tip on the Fattoush, @_Ed_! Wife made that recipe tonight for dinner as a sort of cleansing purge after the July 4th festivities. Very, very good. Now back to our regular programming on the finer points of Nigerian cuisine! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 Picked up the Suya pepper from Bazaar Spices in downtown DC today. That’s the Bazaar Spices version on the left and Nigerian version by way of the UK on the right. First thing you notice is the color is very similar. A side-by-side taste test proved them to be similar in flavor profile as well, although the Nigerian version has more heat. Neither has an overt peanut flavor like the Milk Street recipe does. These are much more similar to each other than the Milk Street version is to either (I smell Americanization!). Looking forward to a near future cook with these two and the Milk Street recipe side by side for a taste test. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 Game on! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2018 18 hours ago, Pequod said: A side-by-side taste test proved them to be similar in flavor profile as well, although the Nigerian version has more heat. Neither has an overt peanut flavor like the Milk Street recipe does. These are much more similar to each other than the Milk Street version is to either (I smell Americanization!). Nowt wrong with Americanization. It drew you lot in didn't it? It will be interesting to see how you find the original and what tweaks you choose to make. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Tonight's dinner was a double experiment - a second try at the Japanese charcoal on the yakitori grill and another side-by-side of my recipe and tekobo's on some suya skewers, with some ponzu shrimp thrown in for a palate cleanser! First, ckreef gets a shout out for his tip on getting this Japanese charcoal to stay lit on the yakitori grill. Pictures? Of course there's pictures! Skewers prep'ed and ready to go - my suya recipe is on the left, tekobo's on the right. On the yakitori grill. Had to stagger the cooks to fit. Tekobo's suya on the left, shrimp on the right. Each side had a different charcoal. Both worked very well and produced a nice steady heat. They are still going a couple of hours later. This stuff compares favorably to Dennis' cocochar - albeit a bit more pricey! Plated, with a nice side salad, crisp rose wine and some Caribbean yellow rice (done in the donabe). It was such a nice day, that I had to eat outside on the deck. Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up! My rub on the left and tekobo's on the right, with extra sprinkles after cooking. By the end of the meal, I was hitting that rose hard! Thankfully there was a salad at the end. But, I do have to say that my recipe had a tad more heat than tekobo's. Gonna have to work on it a bit more. I like the peanut in mine, but the earthy flavors in tekobo's are nice. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 6 hours ago, tony b said: Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up! My rub on the left and tekobo's on the right, with extra sprinkles after cooking. By the end of the meal, I was hitting that rose hard! Thankfully there was a salad at the end. But, I do have to say that my recipe had a tad more heat than tekobo's. Gonna have to work on it a bit more. I like the peanut in mine, but the earthy flavors in tekobo's are nice. That looks great @tony b. I would love to try your rub recipe when you have finished refining it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Been trying to catch up reading through this thread, you guys are having way too much fun 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 @tony b- did you use dry roasted peanuts again or did you try the peanut butter powder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ed_ Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 @tony b that looks really good! If it's earthier flavours you are after, one of the things missing in the Milk St recipe is either (a) a sufficient amount of black pepper or (b) try some grains of paradise, long pepper, or other varieties. There are all sorts of spices used in W Africa that are not typical to the Euro/American experience - Calabash nutmeg, for example, is a nightmare to find here. Ditto Uda seeds and Alligator Pepper - both of which are used for the pepper soup spice mix, but almost impossible to find in the UK. In fact, the spice element of pepper soup has a lot in common with suya spice, absent the ground nuts and ginger elements. So I can see why the milk st recipe has a 'lighter' taste than the authentic Nigerian version - just a question of availability. To be quite honest, I have often replicated the lack of depth of the suggested substitutions with ground black cardamom (NOT green), which does help ground it a little bit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 (edited) @Tony, what an awesome dinner, perfect. What a great way to have this fabulous dinner, outside on a summer's evening. "First, ckreef gets a shout out for his tip on getting this Japanese charcoal to stay lit on the yakitori grill. " I missed his tip would you mind directing me to it, please and thank you. Edited July 8, 2018 by MacKenzie 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 (edited) 13 minutes ago, _Ed_ said: @tony b that looks really good! If it's earthier flavours you are after, one of the things missing in the Milk St recipe is either (a) a sufficient amount of black pepper or (b) try some grains of paradise, long pepper, or other varieties. There are all sorts of spices used in W Africa that are not typical to the Euro/American experience - Calabash nutmeg, for example, is a nightmare to find here. Ditto Uda seeds and Alligator Pepper - both of which are used for the pepper soup spice mix, but almost impossible to find in the UK. In fact, the spice element of pepper soup has a lot in common with suya spice, absent the ground nuts and ginger elements. So I can see why the milk st recipe has a 'lighter' taste than the authentic Nigerian version - just a question of availability. To be quite honest, I have often replicated the lack of depth of the suggested substitutions with ground black cardamom (NOT green), which does help ground it a little bit. Excellent points, @_Ed_. This is why I have hope for the suya pepper from Bazaar Spices. If you look at their African selection, they sell many of the things you list: https://www.bazaarspices.com/african-cuisine. This gave me some hope that they actually used those ingredients in their Suya. Still need to cook with it, but the flavor profile is very similar to the Nigerian original. It just seems to be lacking the heat. I’m hoping this will prove to be my base from which I can dial in. Edited July 8, 2018 by Pequod 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ed_ Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 @Pequod that makes sense! I think a lot of the way I make up for spice differential is a dusting of cayenne after cooking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 47 minutes ago, _Ed_ said: @Pequod that makes sense! I think a lot of the way I make up for spice differential is a dusting of cayenne after cooking. That was exactly my thought! If the base is right, and it seems to be, I can dial the heat to my tastes with cayenne mixed into the post cook dusting mixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 7 hours ago, Pequod said: @tony b- did you use dry roasted peanuts again or did you try the peanut butter powder? This was the last of my 1st batch, so it was dry roasted peanuts. I haven't tried the PB powder yet. @_Ed_ - I'll give the black cardamom a try in the next batch, as I have some in my pantry. I also usually have grains of paradise around in the brew room. Not sure if I have any at the moment though. @MacKenzie - you didn't miss it, as it was a PM. I should have figured it out myself, as it's pretty obvious - use the chimney with some regular lump in the bottom as a kickstart to the Japanese charcoal. Once it's going well, just use some tongs to transfer the Japanese stuff to the yakitori. Easy, peasy! On the downside, I just had to let it burn itself out, as I didn't have a good way to snuff it. Guess I could have put the whole thing in the KK and sealed it up to put it out, but I wasn't using that much charcoal anyway, so not a lot of wastage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 @tony b, I've been meaning to comment on your use of the yakitori grill for suya. Great idea. The KK does the job well with the lower grate in but, when you have a lot of skewers to serve and distance between the KK and the eating location, you can end up with cold meat very quickly. That is where the cut and wrap in newspaper method from back home would come in handy! Looking forward to receiving my konro grill eventually. Getting the meat from grill to mouth should be much quicker. To your other point about putting out your Japanese charcoal: I thought I read somewhere that you can quench binchotan in cold water and re-use it. That is one of the factors that convinced me to add a bag of binchotan to my konro order. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 I've seen it used to purify water by immersion, but not as a means to extinguish it. Saw a "special" ceramic pot for putting it out - $39 and it was small (less than 7" dia and 5" tall). If I choose to try re-using it, I'll just put the whole grill inside the KK and button it up. Especially if I splurge on the white binchotan charcoal! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
