Spices and Chillies Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets

Raymond Blanc is opening the doors of his kitchen for a journey of discovery...

Cooking is about curiosity and if I can inspire you to be curious,

I'll be a very happy man.

..divulging the secrets of his simplest...

-Perfectly cooked.

-..and most dazzling dishes.

-Glorious food!

-Be inspired by his passion.

Food is so much more than cooking and eating, it's about living life.

Share the secrets of his success.

The wonderful thing having cooking secrets is the ability to share them with you.

Tonight on Kitchen Secrets, Raymond takes a journey through Southeast Asia,

sharing recipes packed with exotic spices and fiery flavour.

From a sweet and zesty green papaya salad...

It's very rare that a dish has so many compounds of flavours.

..to an aromatic and tender slow-roasted pork.

And to finish, an intricate exotic dessert

layered with coconut and mango.

So it looks like ravioli. Of course, there's no pasta.

Raymond reveals how his travels through Asia have influenced his cuisine.

I love Asia.

To me, it has inspired me so much.

And its street food, it's so inexpensive

and beautifully prepared, and they can produce the most amazing dishes.

In Raymond's Oxfordshire kitchen,

his team are preparing for the hard day's work ahead.

HE CHUCKLES

I've been promoted, so I'm Monsieur Executive Chef.

I feel a big boss, the big fish.

That is so cool. Adam, you push it here, please.

-This way.

-I might push you off.

That's perfect. I like that.

With his first recipe, Raymond takes inspiration from his love of Thailand.

A fresh and crunchy green papaya salad,

bursting with chilli and lime.

We are going to do one of the most loved salads in Southeast Asia

and the most popular one as well.

And the dressing is really lovely. So simple - no oil, no richness, OK?

It's fresh and amazing, tangy, sharp, spicy, sour, sweet flavours.

And everyone can do it in their home like that. Adam, please!

Could I have a papaya, please?

First, Raymond needs an unripe papaya.

So you can see it's an incredible difference.

Crunchy and it will have this undernote of sourness behind, OK?

The magic of this dish is the bitterness of that papaya.

Its unripe flesh also makes shredding it simpler.

Just roughly, very fine.

I've found a very old instrument that

I bought about ten years or so in Malaysia.

It's great for papaya.

It's a lovely little gadget, a lovely little gadget.

Peel your cucumber.

If Malaysia is a bit too far to go, a simple grater will work just as well.

We're going to mix the cucumber with the papaya.

Next, the dressing.

This will infuse the salad with sharp and sweet Thai flavours.

It's very, very simple. Fish sauce is very much a wonderful seasoning,

which is used across Southeast Asia.

Taste it on its own, it's vile, but you use only a little bit,

and that's a fantastic, wonderful catalyst of flavour.

To the salty fish sauce, Raymond adds two cloves of garlic.

-Voila.

-Next, he needs palm sugar,

which tastes similar to brown sugar,

to give the dressing a caramel sweetness.

So I'm going to grate the sugar. Adam, please,

-have you got a grater somewhere?

-There's one.

Then the juice of two limes add a zesty kick.

There's a lot of lime juice, but the sugar counterbalances it very, very nicely.

Again, you're creating an exchange.

It's a firework, it's really a firework. So a little chilli.

Everyone thinks, actually, that the seeds are

the most fiery, the most devilish. They're not.

It is the membranes,

the filaments holding the seed, that's the strongest part.

Anyway, just try it yourself at home if you don't believe me.

Voila.

Next, Raymond uses a pomegranate

to add a burst of colour and a juicy crunch.

Look at that, beautiful inside.

If the fruit is not ripe, the seeds are not going to come down, OK?

It's a little secret, not a big one, a small one.

So make sure the pomegranate is ripe.

So you avoid putting all the pith...

I called it pith, pith.

I always have hated those words, that "th", you know, that pith.

The pomegranate seeds, without any pith, will be added to the dressing.

It's very rare, actually, that a dish has so many compounds of flavours.

It makes it very special.

Now we are ready, actually, to dress our salad.

Some spring onion.

Some mint.

Coriander.

Pomegranate...gives that beautiful jus.

Peanuts.

And those are unsalted peanuts. Stir.

And then you've got your salad here, which you just have to mix.

Oh, look at these wonderful colours.

Here's the pomegranate. To me, food is about connecting with the culture,

one's own or discovering another one.

That dish would do exactly that, introduce you to another culture.

A very different yet very simple salad

bursting with vibrant flavours.

OK, so taste, taste, taste, taste, taste all the time.

It's a little journey back

to these wonderful lands

of Thailand and Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Mmm!

May I introduce my little version of a small Adam?

OK, Kush, who is working with me on the development of recipes.

He's also an intellectual, it helps to have an intellectual to do all the research as well.

Raymond's next recipe is a deeply flavoured Indian curry

infused with complex layers of rich masala spices.

For this dish, the spice trade has taken Raymond to his own kitchen.

Kush, very kindly, OK.

It is actually the recipe of his nanny and daddy, correct?

Yeah, that's my mum's mum and my dad's mum.

So, obviously, I'm very much put to the test here at the moment,

because I've got Kush and 60,000 generations of Indian culture behind.

To recreate this family legacy, Raymond starts with the masala,

a fragrant mix of ground spices.

So I will need three cloves, that's all that I need.

Then you need half a teaspoon of fennel,

one teaspoon of pepper, very hot.

Then you need about five cardamom seeds.

You will need two teaspoons of coriander seeds

and one teaspoon, OK, of cumin.

Put a little bit of cinnamon into it, tres bien.

And we're going to toast them very gently.

I've heated a pan on a very, very low heat, OK?

What you want is the essential oil to seep out very gently,

out of these beautiful seeds here.

And your cuisine will be full of these amazing aromas.

With the spice seeds toasted, Raymond softens onion with a bay leaf in some oil.

Time to add the chilli to it.

A little bit of stirring. Voila!

The masala mix will form the base of the dish, so next,

Raymond grinds the spice seeds using his heavyweight pestle and mortar.

Of course, you can buy some grinders,

but I still love that beautiful old pestle and mortar.

To me, it's about timeless...craft.

Voila. So I've got a nice mix here.

You want it that fine, very grounded.

I'm going to add curry leaves, OK, to the onions.

Now I'm going to add my spices, OK?

To the spices, Raymond adds the freshly chopped aubergine,

courgette and cauliflower.

So I've got all the vegetables, which needs to be stewed now and cooked through.

We're going to cook it about five minutes.

Voila. Just to cook them down a little bit.

So, already a wonderful mix of flavours coming up from that pot.

Lastly, he pours in a generous amount of sweet, creamy coconut milk

-and a dash of water.

-OK.

It's still quite fiery,

but it will round out beautifully, OK, later through the cooking.

For a final burst of freshness, Raymond adds coriander and juicy tomatoes.

Quick stir and cook for another three minutes just to soften them.

So home sweet home. C'est fini, c'est tout.

A home-style creamy curry, pungent with spice and family history.

Despite his great experience, Raymond is always keen to learn.

Today he's come to London, to the home of food writer

and teacher Sri Owen.

Sri has been teaching Southeast Asian cooking for over 40 years.

Here lives probably the most knowledgeable cook and writer on Southeast Asian cuisine

and chiefly on Indonesian cuisine,

so humbly I'm going to turn to student now and learn from her.

Hello, it's that little Frenchman outside of your home.

BUZZER

-Welcome! Welcome, welcome!

-Sri, lovely.

I am your student, and I want to learn as much as possible about Indonesia as I possibly can.

I'm sure you will. You will need an apron, I hope that's all right.

Cute little apron.

-Thank you.

-I can give you a bigger one!

No, no, no, that's OK. It protects the most important part.

First, what are we cooking today?

Oh, we're cooking Balinese duck.

I already boned it.

Brilliant butchering. Absolutely fantastic.

Traditionally served at Indonesian celebrations, Balinese duck

is marinated and slow-roasted in a rich and spicy paste.

How many spices are you going to put into the paste?

-Probably something like 12.

-12?!

-Yes.

-As many as that?

-Yes.

I mean, look at that, that's a serious spice cupboard, eh?

-You have the long pepper.

-I've never used it, but a wonderful smell, huh?

-It is.

-Long pepper, also called Indonesian pepper,

is similar but hotter than normal black pepper.

Much more complex flavour.

The fire comes at the end, fast and strong.

This very smelly stuff.

Belacan, or shrimp paste, is made from sun-dried shrimps. It adds saltiness.

-The Malaysians call it balachan.

-That is really serious.

-I could faint!

-Yeah, yeah.

-It's amazing.

Next, something also new to Raymond, kencur, or lesser galangal,

which is part of the ginger family.

How about for today we just use the leaves? Because it smells as good.

OK, I learn another thing now?

-Yeah.

-OK, in a little salad maybe?

Yes, yes, you can put it, I put it in my salad dressing.

A little bitterness but more aromatic.

Flavour upon flavour are layered in this dish,

providing quite an education for Raymond.

The liquid will be two tablespoons of tamarind water,

one tablespoon of oil.

Wonderful flavours.

It's amazing, the magic of those spices that's merging together.

Traditionally, the duck would be cooked under coconut husks for a day.

Sri's cooking her duck in an oven, but uses banana leaves and foil to keep the meat moist.

So that this will seal the breast of the duck.

It's cooked for five hours at a low temperature.

That's it, and that's ready to go to the oven.

-You want it to be very, very tender.

-Tender.

And to have all the spices absorbed by the duck, so it's slow cooking.

This succulent aromatic dish is perfect for sharing.

Lovely food. Thank you very much.

The flavour of love. Beautiful.

-Thank you very much, Sri.

-Thank you.

Thank you for the marvellous welcome and for the lovely cooking lesson.

Skewer and, to put them on there, we can go in and out the freezer,

-and then the last one is the jus.

-The jus?

Oh, he says "jus" very well.

-Say it again, Adam.

-Jus.

-Oh!

-It's rubbing off.

-Vive la France, eh? It's coming, it's coming.

What Adam doesn't know, that in every good Englishman

there's at least half of a Frenchman.

Next on Raymond's menu

is an impressive Chinese-inspired slow-cooked pork belly

with crisp crackling and cabbage, drenched in an intensely spiced jus.

When we eat pork, we put apple sauce with it, generally, OK.

That's what the British give, that's the best, wonderful accompaniment.

But also pork goes so well with a number of spices, OK,

especially Oriental spices, which are...

They lend themselves to the pork, the pork loves it.

So what I want to do is to marinate this pork, OK, with certain spices.

Adam, please, put the spices here.

The spices for the marinade have their roots in China.

But first Raymond needs some heat.

It looks a lot but it's quite a mild chilli, very gentle.

Ooh! That was a... Maybe that's enough.

Actually, I'm going to take a few out.

That's a bit on the hot side, actually, this one.

Taste, taste, taste so you avoid surprises.

To roughly chopped garlic, ginger and palm sugar, Raymond adds another

Chinese spice, star anise, to give the marinade an aniseed bite.

You can now find all these ingredients,

and it can only add a bit of adventure in your cuisine,

and fun as well.

Now some Chinese five spice and a good pinch of salt.

The smells and the juices

are just oozing out from the peppers and the ginger.

Voila.

Now I'm going to wrap my pork.

I'm going to rub it...

all over.

Raymond generously coats the pork with the marinade,

-layering the meat with aromatic spices.

-You taste.

And the star anise is there, right up there, perfect, as it should be

with all the sub-flavours underneath.

You can marinate it from two hours to 12 hours, up to you.

The longer you marinate it, of course, the longer the flavour will permeate this beautiful pork, OK?

So in the fridge.

Adam, please.

-Clingfilm, in the fridge, huh?

-Yes, Chef, OK.

Add sliced garlic, and cook on a low heat until softened.

Adam, could I have my pork here, please?

-Thank you very much.

-Oui, Chef.

After resting in the fridge, the pork has absorbed the complex spices and is ready for cooking.

Six hours is a fine marination.

It will give a wonderful little flavour to that beautiful pig.

Raymond puts the pork and 200 millilitres of water into a warm pan.

I'll add my lemongrass,

which I've crushed to get the essential oils out.

I'm going to put it on full, I'm going to cover my pan so the water reaches the boil.

After bringing to the boil, he places it in a preheated oven

at 150 degrees for two and a half hours.

OK, tres bien, excellent. Voila.

Ah, we like to see that.

We love to smell that wonderful, wonderful smell.

I'm going to add 200 grams of water to this stock,

which will create a lovely spicy broth.

Tres bien.

The pork is set aside whilst Raymond warms the broth.

I'm going to bring it to the boil.

So just cut a portion.

Look at that.

To create a perfectly crisp crackling, Raymond cooks the pork

skin side down in a hot pan.

Tres bien.

It's a very nice colour here.

Finally, a bed of steamed cabbage.

Oh, lovely.

The pork here, neatly done.

And the intense broth provides a delicious jus.

Wonderful.

Succulent spiced pork belly,

showing that a little time and effort delivers a stunning result.

Raymond has invited Claire from his office to taste.

-I'll give you some pork, OK?

-Thank you.

-I hope you like it.

You can taste the ginger, but it's subtle so it's not too overpowering.

The meat is really, really tender and as soon as you put it into your mouth it just melts.

Out of ten? Out of ten?

Ten, of course.

She works in PR. That's why.

Taking inspiration from around the world has always been integral to Raymond's cooking.

For years he's experimented by bringing the plants

he loves from warmer climates to his English kitchen garden.

Today, he's invited Sri Owen

to see some of the 53 Asian herbs and spices he's cultivating.

-Voila.

-Voila. Very good garden.

So here we had a number of problems.

You can see my lovely turmeric here...

-It's very sad.

-..Has collapsed, OK.

-Very sad.

-It's the first frost, OK, it's England.

Some plants are very hardy, OK?

You can see, for example, that Vietnamese mint here is very hardy.

It's amazing how so many plants from elsewhere grow extremely well

in this climate.

And you know what I brought you? Lesser galangal.

Ah!

-That's the one I don't have in my garden.

-Yes, you don't have that.

It goes outdoor or indoor?

-Indoors.

-Indoors.

This grows very well in my kitchen.

Along with his Asian herbs, Raymond has managed to produce something quite tropical.

Don't you see anything which is shocking or different?

-Mango!

-Yes. Beautiful shape. But those, I'm afraid, will never ripe.

I will have to put them into a salad, you know?

Like a papaya, you know?

We've got quite a new herb that we are planting, Jamaican broad leaf.

Taste that.

New flavours, new dishes that you can create.

I can use this in my cooking, too.

-I know you like this herb.

-Lovely!

-I'd like to give it to you.

Good, good.

That's to be planted here.

OK. Thank you very much. I will plant it myself.

Come, my lovely flower. See, just come through here.

-See, we've got all the natural herbs here.

-Right, yes.

Raymond's final dish is an imaginative tour de force,

a stunning dessert bursting with the flavours of the tropics.

Exotic fruit ravioli is pasta free

and brings vibrant mango and papaya together with creamy panna cotta,

encased in jelly, topped with coconut sorbet.

The recipe I'm about to make is exotic fruit ravioli.

Through a sort of shift of cultures,

we can actually enrich ourselves from it,

from our multicultural background, from all the spices to be discovered.

And you will see here, you will have a very French dish at the end.

So French you wouldn't believe it,

yet there's nothing French in it but myself.

To start, panna cotta, a gently set custard.

To pineapple puree, Raymond adds coconut cream and 30 grams of sugar.

OK, so, quick boil.

Next, another 30 grams of sugar is whisked with six egg yolks.

Voila, that's enough.

And I'm going to pour the hot pineapple and coconut milk

onto the egg yolk.

But if you put the egg yolk in here that will curdle like scrambled eggs,

a nightmare in your hands, then you blame me.

Tres bien. So, voila.

To cook the eggs, the creamy custard is heated to 85 degrees Centigrade.

Perfect.

Then, to set the mixture, Raymond uses gelatine.

You can see it, they've melted completely.

-And for a taste of the tropics...

-White rum and the coconut liqueur.

The cooled panna cotta mixture goes into the freezer to set.

OK.

450 grams total.

Why do I have two pairs of glasses? I don't need these.

I don't need two pairs of glasses.

One is...

Next, Raymond prepares the exotic fruit filling.

Passion fruit is mixed with mango puree,

diced ripe papaya, mango and pineapple.

Voila.

To give depth and brightness to the fruit, Raymond adds herbs and spices.

If you want it a bit more peppery, tiny bit of cayenne pepper will lift the dish, OK?

Or herby, I've got a bit of Vietnamese mint here and a bit of English mint.

Oh, yeah, the peppermint! Oh!

So very, very finely...

Tres bien.

Voila.

A silicone mould will give the dessert its ravioli shape.

So I think it's about two tablespoons, roughly.

-Adam, can you get me my panna cotta?

-Oui, Chef.

Merci, Adam.

The frozen panna cotta will form the base of the ravioli.

It must be cut precisely.

-Voila.

-The disc is pressed firmly into the fruit,

so the juices rise to encase the panna cotta.

And back to the freezer to set.

Now for the jelly that will enclose the fruit ravioli.

Gelatine and sugar syrup

are mixed with passion fruit juice and mango puree.

So, again, taste.

Ooh! Wow!

I'm going to put a tiny bit more sugar in that.

So undo it, voila.

So then you've got your ravioli shape.

A great, extraordinary lollipop.

And then you dip your ravioli right up to there, huh?

What you're going to do now is to defrost them in your fridge

for six hours, and they're ready to serve.

The dessert now defrosts.

This allows the fruit and panna cotta to soften

and become liquid again inside the jelly dome,

which still holds its shape.

And the jelly will hold beautifully the ravioli.

The ravioli will be served with a cool coconut sorbet.

Lime juice adds sharpness to sweetened coconut milk and coconut cream.

Next, it goes into Raymond's new ice cream maker.

So far so good, yes.

I'm a genius.

And all that you have to do, even with your eyes closed you could do it.

HE LAUGHS

I can't... Hey!

Voila. Now. ICE CREAM MAKER WHIRS

Oh, life is so complicated.

With me, anyway, and machines, I'm not very good.

I nearly forgot. You add a little bit of coconut rum.

The ravioli has defrosted and is a perfect consistency.

Raymond serves it with a delicate coconut and lime leaf foam.

So you've got your lovely foam here.

It's like air, really you're putting air on the plate.

Of course, to finish it all off we get our sorbet.

We add zest of lime, which I've powdered with sugar.

So it looks like ravioli.

Of course, there's no pasta.

Raymond's commis chef, Alex, has come to taste.

Dessert?

Oh, yeah.

-Coconut milk, the passion fruit...

-Yeah.

-Explosion...

-Explosions? Whoa! We have explosions!

RAYMOND LAUGHS

I like explosions! You like the pasta?

Yes, Chef. I really like the pasta.

It's made with puree?

-It's made with a jelly.

-Mmm!

It's passion fruit, OK, with a bit of jelly,

which creates the illusion of a pasta.

OK, so out of ten?

From me, for this dish?

-Yeah.

-I will say ten.

See, Alex is a generous man.

Always has been.