Chinese Chips and Curry Sauce - Khin's Kitchen | Takeout recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is Chip Shop curry sauce the same as Chinese curry sauce? ›

In my experience, chip shop curry sauce is milder and a little fruitier. I find Chinese curry sauce also has a more complex flavour when it comes to the actual curry flavour, often using things spices garam masala, turmeric and sometimes cumin. Other flavourings can also include soy sauce and ginger.

Basically, the curry sauce base is made with curry powder, turmeric and Chinese five spices. To thicken the gravy corn starch and plain flour are added.

Add one part curry sauce concentrate (100g) to three parts hot water (300g), bring to the boil and simmer on the hob for approximately 2 minutes whilst stirring continuously for the perfect curry sauce. Serve with fish and chips, make into a tasty curry or use as an ingredient in a multitude of different dishes.

It originated in the 1970s when many fish and chip shops in the North of England were owned by Asian families. Just over the Irish sea, the Irish take on curry sauce is a darker and richer sauce than its English counterpart and typically contains the flavour enhancer Monosodium Glutamate or MSG.

Some curry sauce has lumps of textured soya protein in it, the same sort as you'll find in a Pot Noodle for example.

Cornflour

Ideal for Chinese sauces or Thai curries but can also be used for Indian curries. Add one tablespoon of cornflour to two or three tablespoons of cold water and stir. Pour the mixture into the sauce and allow to simmer until the sauce begins to thicken. Which doesn't take very long.

Indian curries often use a wide variety of vegetables such as eggplant, okra, and spinach, and can be made with a variety of meats and seafood. Chinese curries, on the other hand, tend to use a narrower range of vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers, and meats like chicken, beef, and pork.

If you like your chips covered in curry sauce, then add half a tin of coconut milk (200ml) or creme fraiche / natural yoghurt to one jar of Chinese Curry Sauce and reheat either in a pan or in the microwave. Transfer to a suitable container and heat on high for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar can cut through the spiciness and provide a tangy flavor. Yogurt or sour cream can help cool down the heat and add a creamy texture to the curry. By using starchy foods like potatoes or rice, you can counteract the spiciness and mellow out the flavors.

What thickens Chinese sauce? ›

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

Some called it prawn crackers or prawn chips. In Chinese cuisine, Chinese shrimp chips have different colors like yellow, green, pink and white.

Why does the Chinese food in restaurants taste better than that cooked at home? Restaurants will have a long list of ingredients prepped, including stocks, sauces, lots of different spices, dark, light, and regular soy sauce, etc.

They seem deep fried but are so much less greasy than your typical British chip. It's Feng Shui; the orientation of the fryers polarises the potato molecules into crunchy crystals. And MSG, lots of MSG. If there was lots of MSG in them, you'd taste it, it has a rather strange taste.

Japanese curry is a roux based on stock and flour, whereas Cantonese curry is thickened with cornstarch, resulting in a clearer, more transparent sauce. Japanese curry appears a bit more opaque, although they are roughly of the same consistency.

Red curry was made with several red chilies for a fiery hot dish, while green curry was made with green chilies and yellow curry was made with yellow chilies.

What Makes Japanese Curry Different from Other Curries. Japanese curry is quite different from most other curries worldwide — it has a thicker consistency, and the taste leans on the sweet and savory side. The unique sweetness comes from onions, carrots, and other additions like honey and grated apples.