On 11/2/2016 at 2:01 AM, JeanneCake said:So I was browsing the Chef Rubber site today and …
Interesting reference, so I looked it up. Its available via Modernist Pantry.
http://www.modernistpantry.com/crisp-coat-uc.html
On 11/2/2016 at 2:38 AM, Kerry Beal said:I think that Crisp-Coat is the same as Trisol - makes for a lovely tempura that is wonderfully crispy and remains so when it cools - but I suspect it wouldn't give the texture that he is after in this application.
When I read that it needs to be kept in motion to keep it in solution I immediately thought of corn starch. It turns out that its a modified corn starch. Yes it would give a crisper texture, like tempura.
Which begs the question, Is the texture I'm looking for, a function of the dough's reaction to being immersed into hot oil? OR, is the texture built in, as part of the ingredients used to manufacture the dough?
Originally, the dough was supposed to be an, "egg batter dough." What does that even mean? (In a 1950's Australian context?) I can't find any contemporary references to such a dough. 1940's-50's Australia (Victoria) was predominately Australian/British cookery with ethnic cuisine inroads from Chinese/Cantonese (goldfields), Greek, Italian, & post-War European migration.
The roll was developed in direct response to Chinese Spring Rolls, which in Australia, grew or bloated into a similar sized 20cm long roll. Did this occur before the development of the Chiko Roll or in response to its popularity? I don't know and I'm not sure we'll ever know. What I do know is that the Chiko Roll and the Spring Roll are two very different beasts that share a similarity in shape only. The texture of a deep fried Spring Roll wrapper is very different to that of a Chiko Roll casing.
I cannot find anything remotely like it. The modern, commercial version is a savoury, deep fried, unbreaded, dough that exhibits sand-like, surface textural features that look like tiny explosions/ruptures, that casually resembles breadcrumbs or polenta/semolina.
We have French, British, possibly Italian, & Greek/Mediterranean culinary traditions to draw upon. I have looked at hot water pie dough, soda bread dough, pancake batter turned into dough, pasta dough, and variations on each of these themes. I have looked at rolling the dough in grits, in breadcrumbs, etc. The problem I feel is that I guess I've not had a systematic plan for approaching this challenge.
In other words, until now, I've not articulated clearly the either or question above and how the target cuisines might inform answering that question. How's that for clarity? Thanks folks. btw., experimenting with making a egg batter past dough using soaked/cooked semolina as an ingredient. Will let you know how that turns out, in order to bring previous endeavours to a close.
