Here goes!
I chose the RED MUSHROOM CURRY from Jack’s website, as I thought it sounded relatively inoffensive. As it turns out, I was wrong.
I decided to half everything to make 1-2 servings (instead of 2-4). Here’s the link:
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/02/13/red-mushroom-curry-40p-vg-v-df-gf/?amp=1
Ingredients:
She calls this a “hot spicy little number”, but it only has 1/8 tsp chilli flakes for 1-2 people. This is barely visible to the naked eye. FFS. Has she no taste buds?
View attachment 1712213
Cost:
I had everything in already apart from the mushrooms, which cost 60p.
Making the “curry paste” in the blender:
Why is there passata in this? A teeny tiny amount, but still. Red curry paste gets its colour from dried and fresh red chillies, there’s no tomato. (There’s also things like lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce etc. none of which is here.) But passata is red, I suppose, so there is that. But what do I know, Jack is the self-proclaimed food expert.
Anyway, the “paste” is not a paste - slurry is more like it. It is pinkish and tastes overwhelmingly of raw onion. Really unpleasant.
View attachment 1712218
Cooking the “curry”:
The instructions said wash the mushrooms, which I did. Then halved (although Jack’s photo shows them whole), and into the cold pan with a “dash” of oil and some salt until “gently browned”.
I then added the “paste” and simmered for 20 mins, as per instructions.
View attachment 1712231
And here’s the finished product.
View attachment 1712239
Nutrition (for the whole 1-2 person serving):
Calories: 250 (181 from the coconut milk)
Carbs: 16g
Saturated fat: 16g (that’s pretty high for a tiny meal)
Protein: 5g (very low)
That is quite bad enough as a single portion, but if you split it between 2 people, that’s 125 cals each FFS. I’m actually furious that she is passing this off as a meal.
Verdict:
A red curry that’s neither red nor a curry. The dominant taste is raw onion (due to the main ingredient in the “paste” being blended raw onion, I guess), with an unpleasant muddy back note. There is no heat in this at all, and it looks like slurry. Nutritionally, it barely qualifies as a side dish.
Taste: 1/5
Visual appeal: 1/5
Nutrition: 0/5