Originally published on the CGS blog on October 9, 2007.
According to The Times (of London, not New York), the recipe for a perceived chemical attack includes charred extra-hot bird’s eye chillies.
For three hours a mysterious cloud of acrid smoke hovered over some of London’s busiest streets. As shoppers ran coughing and spluttering for cover, police sealed off three roads and evacuated homes and businesses in the heart of Soho, fearing a chemical attack or a dangerous toxic leak.
As the ambulance service sent in its Hazardous Area Response Team Unit, firefighters wearing specialist breathing apparatus entered the deserted streets to seek out the source.
Soon after 7pm on Monday they emerged from the smoke carrying a huge cooking pot containing about 9lb of smouldering dried chillies.
The firefighters had smashed down the door of the Thai Cottage restaurant in D?Arblay Street and seized the extra-hot bird’s eye chillies which had been left dry-frying. They were being prepared as part of a six-month batch of nam prik pao, a super-hot Thai dip to accompany prawn crackers.
Hmm. I wonder under which of the Chemical Weapons Convention’s three classes of controlled substances do bird’s eye chillies fall?
Money quote:
It’s the hottest thing we make. We are very proud of this dish. It is home cooked and the customers love it.
?Thai Cottage owner Sue Wasboonma, after smoke from a chili-based specialty produced by the restaurant sparked fears of a chemical attack in London’s Soho district.
Money recipe:
Nam prik pao
4 tbsp oil; 3 tbsp chopped garlic; 3 tbsp chopped shallots; 3 tbsp chopped dried red chillies; 1 tbsp fermented shrimp paste; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 2 tsp palm sugar
Heat the oil, add the garlic and shallots and fry briefly. Remove from oil and set aside. Add chillies and fry until they start to change colour. Remove and set aside. In a pestle and mortar, pound the shrimp paste, add the chillies, garlic and shallots. Over a low heat return all the ingredients to the oil, and fold into a uniform paste. The resulting thick, slightly oily red/black sauce will keep almost indefinitely. If you wish you can add more fish sauce and/or sugar to get the flavour you want.
