Subway T.L.C (Tastes Like Chicken) Tikka Review

 Hey everyone! 

I recently had to go out to run some errands. Whilst on my little trip outside, I decided to grab one of the new T.L.C (Tastes Like Chicken) Tikka Subs from Subway UK. I thought that today I would talk to you all about my thoughts on this new Vegan Fast Food product. 

'Introducing our new plant-based T.L.C.® Tikka, unbelievably delicious. Packed full of flavour with traditional Indian spices, loaded with crispy veggies.' - Subway UK. 

As you know, Subway is the land of imagination and choices. I decided to choose Hearty Italian bread, Vegan Cheese Toasted, Red Onion, Mixed Peppers and Gherkins with Garlic Aioli as the components that would be helping the Vegan Tikka sing when it came to consuming this sandwich.

The texture of the TLC Tikka itself reminded me of a very succulent strip of Chicken. I will probably use this reference many times throughout this post, but, imagine a piece of the ready cooked chicken that you can get for picnics and such in the supermarket but more succulent. I love that Subway have decided to ensure that these TLC pieces were in strip form rather than in chunks as it made for a more easy eating experience in my opinion. The soft and succulent TLC pieces contrasted with the crisp vegetables and slightly crunchy bread is what really made this sandwich an amazing product to consume. 

When I wrapped my mouth around this perfect product, the first flavour that jumped onto my tongue was the slightly spicy yet slightly sweet Tikka flavouring. To me, it reminded me of a classic Tikka flavouring that you can find in many products around the UK but with a little bit more sweetness to it. It made me think that Mango or something fruit based had been added to the Tikka paste as it had a slightly fruity yet slightly sweet tang to it. This flavouring was the main star of the show. However, once this flavour had flown from my tongue, the flavouring of the TLC came through. To me, the flavour notes of the pieces themselves reminded me of a sort of a savoury broth. Not too strong in flavour, but enough to add a bit of umami to the pieces and Tikka flavouring that coated them. Finally, the last flavour that hit my palette was the mixture of sour and heat from the mixture of Onion, Gherkins and Garlic Aioli. The Peppers did add a bit of sweetness but I noticed that the sweetness mainly didn't stand out unless it was paired with the TLC pieces. This mixture of sour and heat was amazing against the slightly sweet bread. I love anything that has a Garlic kick to it so it made me enjoy this superb Sub even more. 

Would I purchase this again? Definitely. I would get it again and maybe change some of the vegetables that go into it up a bit. The Tikka pieces themselves were great and I would love them to be around all year round! I'm glad that Subway are adding more meat free options and hopefully the T.L.S (Tastes Like Steak) comes to all stores soon. Definitely a bright burst of flavour that we all need during this very cold January! 

Have you tried the T.L.C Tikka? Let me know down below! 

Thanks for reading!

Jamie x

S&B Foods & Hyper Japan Virtual Japanese Dinner Party Event

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I was invited to a virtual Dinner Party by the wonderful guys over at S&B Foods and Hyper Japan, so I thought that today, I would talk to you all about it. 

Since 1923, S&B Foods has been producing a marvellous mixture of food products including, curry sauce mixes and much more. You may know S&B for their gorgeous Golden Curry Mixes and their terrific Tube Wasabi products that have made the brilliant brand become world-wide. Personally, I believe that if it wasn't for S&B and their amazing products, the majority of the UK's population, would be scared and confused when it came to cooking Japanese food at home. 

Before the Virtual Dinner Party, Hyper Japan kindly sent me a box of the S&B Golden Curry Japanese Curry Mix In Block in Medium Hot to cook with to make my own personal Japanese Curry, so I had something to bring and talk about to the Dinner Party. I followed the recipe on the back of the box, which I will include below this paragraph, but I added a few extra things, including, Chilli Paste and some Garlic to garnish the dish with. 

Golden Curry Recipe: 

This recipe makes 5 servings, but you can always make more or less. 

Ingredients: 

Protein (This could be Beef (or Chicken, Tofu etc, chopped - 450 g

Medium Onions, minced - 1 3/4 (350 g)

Medium Carrot, chopped - 1/2 (100 g)

Potato, chopped - 1 (150 g)

Vegetable Oil - 1 Tbsp

Water - 540 ml

S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix - 1 pack

Directions:

Stir-fry meat and vegetables with oil in a large skillet on medium heat for approx. 5 min.

Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until ingredients are tender, approx. 15min.

Turn the heat off, break S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix into pieces and add them to the skillet. Stir until sauce mixes are completely melted. Simmer approx. 5 min., stirring constantly.

Serve hot over rice or noodles.

I cooked my food and waited for the Zoom call to start up. After a few minutes, we all joined and said hi. The Party was about to begin! We all talked about how we made our Curries and presented them to the camera. A fair few members of the group, said that the sauce itself needed a bit more heat for their liking, and, I agree. If you like your curries on the slightly mild sweet side then this block will definitely suit you. I love Japanese Curries, so this block was an easy way for me to get my fix, but I have started to like a touch of heat with my Curry which is why I added a touch of Chilli Paste to my dish. Other members of the party talked about using a Rice Cooker, I have been meaning to invest in one for a while and hearing how easy this appliance makes cooking for some of the members of the party has made me want one that little bit more! 

After we talked about how we had personalised our dishes, we were introduced to Avinash Shashidhara. They talked to us about three different recipes that can be made with the S&B Golden Curry Block. I loved this, as I never end up using a whole block in one go if I'm making a Japanese Curry just for myself. The dishes that he made with the block include, a Lentil and Vegetable Curry, Mixed Vegetable Puffs, and,  Monkfish Curry but other Fish or Seafood could be used. I thought that I would include the recipes below. I know that I will be making the Lentil and Vegetable Curry as it sounds amazing to have on those cold Autumn nights, or for me, after a virtual day at University. 

Lentil and Vegetable Curry: 

Pigeon Peas/Any Lentils - 150g

 Carrots (diced) - 2

 Potatoes (diced) - 2

 Tomatoes (diced) - 2

 Green beans - 100g

Turmeric - 0.5 tsp

S&B Golden curry mix - 0.5 block

Tamarind juice - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Tempering:

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaf - ripped up

Method: 

Wash the lentils.

In a heavy bottom pan, add the lentils (pigeon peas) and tomatoes. Cover with water about 1 inch above level. Add turmeric and start cooking over medium heat.

Cook until lentils are really soft (top up hot water if needed), keep stirring occasionally. This should take about 25-30 mins.

Once lentils are nearly ready, add the rest of the vegetables, tamarind juice and half a block of the curry mix. Cook until the vegetables are ready. Keep on low heat and get ready to temper.

For the tempering, heat oil in a small frying pan, add mustard seeds, once they crackle, add the curry leaves and dry red chilli and toss lightly. Once fried, add the tempering to the lentils, stir it in and turn heat off

Serve hot with steamed rice. 

Mixed Vegetable Puffs: 

Filling:

Cabbage - 0.25 chopped fine 

Onions - 1 finely chopped 

Green Chilli - 2 finely chopped 

Potatoes - 1 peeled and chopped 

Carrots - 1 peeled and chopped 

S&B Golden curry mix - 0.5 block 

Oil - 2 tsp 

Salt to taste

Pastry:

Ready to roll puff pastry sheet - 2

Egg - 1 for coating/wash 

Method: 

Prepare the filling by frying onions in the oil, followed by chilli, once fried, add the vegetables – potatoes and carrots first followed by cabbage. Season with salt and the S&B golden curry mix. Allow the vegetable to cook until soft and ensure the mix is dry. Allow this mix to cool. 

Prepare the pastry sheets by rolling them out on a dry and cool surface, divide each sheet into 6 rectangles.

Prepare a tray lined with greaseproof paper and lay one of the rectangles on it. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C for fan assisted)/425°F/Gas Mark 7). 

 

In each rectangle, add a tablespoonful of the cooled down mix on one half, leaving a little space on the sides to be able to fold over the second half and seal three sides. Use a bit of egg wash if needed to glue the two sides together.

Leave enough gaps between the puffs and prepare the trays. Brush the tops of the puffs with egg wash.

Place the trays in oven f and bake or approx. 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is risen and golden brown.

Monkfish Curry: 

S&B Golden curry mix - 0.5 block 

Monkfish fillet(cut into cubes) - 1 fillet 

 Tomato ripe chopped - 3

Onion chopped - 1

Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp 

Turmeric - 0.5 tsp 

Coconut milk - 250ml

Fish/shellfish - 500g 

Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp 

chopped ginger garlic - 2 tsp 

Method: 

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions, and ginger garlic and cook till light brown

Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes till it turns into a smooth sauce

Add the curry block and the tamarind paste and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes Add a tin of coconut milk and cook till the sauce thickens

After watching these recipes being made, we asked questions that we all had about the dishes that had been created. These questions included adjusting certain ingredients to adapt the dishes to our needs and dietary requirements. 

After this, we watched an amazing video about S&B and then we said our goodbyes. 

I had such a wonderful time, creating my Curry and hearing other peoples thoughts and ideas on how to make the dish that little bit more delicious for when I cook it again in the near future. 

What's your favourite Japanese dish? Have you cooked Japanese Curry before? Let me know down below!

Thanks to the wonderful staff at Hyper Japan, S&B and Avinash Shashidhara for inviting me to the Dinner Party and holding the event.  

Check out S&B Foods. 

Check out Hyper Japan. 

Check out Avinash Shashidhara. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x 

Thanks to S&B Foods and Hyper Japan for inviting me to this event. This post was created in exchange for an invitation to the event. All views and opinions are my own.