Piquant Post is a monthly subscription box that offers a variety of freshly ground, small batch spice blends with their very own chef developed recipes that feature a new region each month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Piquant Post
The Subscription Box: Piquant Post
The Cost: $11.99 a month, $65.94 for 6 month pre-pay, or $119.88 for 12 month pre-pay.
ACTIVE DEAL: First Order 10% off. No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: 4 spice blends from a single region or country, 4 chef-developed recipes showcasing each of the spice blends, plus online access to recipes and ingredient substitutes.
Ships to: Worldwide with free U.S. shipping
Piquant Post April 2018 Review
Each box comes with four spice blends and coordinating recipe cards. Let's get into this month's spices!
Furikake Spice
Our first spice blend of the month is made with seaweed which gives it that deep dark color, white sesame seed, black sesame seed, and sea salt. Nothing too fancy! This is more of a table salt that you can find many different versions of. This is a vegan version because it does not contain any sugar or tuna (which can be found in some blends). According to the Piquant Post Blog, this is traditionally used to season rice, but you can use it on just about anything!
Okonomiyaki (Savory Pancake) Recipe
This recipe comes from South-Central Japan. This dish is normally prepared on a grill right in front of diners at restaurants where you can select which ingredients you would like in your pancake. How fun! The base of the pancakes is shredded cabbage, flour, egg, and broth batter. I didn't have many of the basic ingredients that this recipe called for like flour and baking powder, so I decided to hold off on cooking this when I have a bit more time to prepare. I would love to have a few different ingredients on hand so that each member of my family can select what they would like in their own pancake. I can't wait to cook this!
Shichimchi Togarashi Spice
This blend is spicy, spicy, spicy! It is filled with sansho pepper, chili flakes, tangerine zest, white sesame seed, black sesame seed, ginger, and seaweed. This is a traditional Japanese 7 spice blend that can be found as a table seasoning. The Piquant Post Blog recommends adding a pinch of this spice here and there where you want to taste a zesty citrus flavor with a big spice kick. My husband tasted this one for me because spicy foods have been triggering my pregnancy heartburn lately, and he said that this is something he wants to keep to add as a rub to things he grills this summer!
Udon Noodle Soup Recipe
I have never made my own broth before, but this recipe makes it look rather simple! Noodle soup like this is a wonderful way to dress-up your bowl the way you like it! You can add beef, chicken, egg, scallions, bacon, you name it. We are kicking off summer with some well above 80 degree days here in Pittsburgh, so I think I am going to save this recipe for when the weather cools down a bit. However, I am very excited to try my hand at making some homemade Udon Noodle Soup, especially since it is something that I already know my family loves.
Sansho Pepper Spice
This blend is so spicy I started coughing when taking this photo. So if you don't like something with a ton of spice, this blend might not be for you. This particular pepper is related to the Sichuan pepper and has a similar flavor just with ore of a citrus flavor that cuts through the spice. According to the Piquant Post Blog, this spice is used on many fish dishes but they recommend using only a pinch at first and then add more after tasting if you are feeling up to it.
Black Cod with Mushrooms Recipe
This recipe looks delicious and rather easy to make! Plus, cod is a fish that is rather easy to find at my local grocery store. I am going to have to save this one for when I am cooking solo though as my husband refuses to eat anything with mushrooms, and it looks like the mushrooms are what add the layers of flavor to this dish. I can only imagine how tasty the spicy spice blend makes that buttery fish taste!
Japanese Curry Spice
This spice blend so amazing! It is filled with coriander, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, cloves, honey powder, fenugreek, ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper. It really doesn't have any spice to it, but rather I found it to be very sweet and savory, which I loved! I was excited to see how unique this blend was from a traditional curry blend that I am used to so I knew that I needed to use this spice blend right away.
Japanese Beef Curry Recipe
I mentioned before how warm it has been in Pittsburgh so I debated if I wanted to cook such a hot and hearty meal. However, I love thick stew-like dishes so I knew I had to! I have been experiencing some food sensitivity with my current pregnancy so I had to exclude the ginger, garlic, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and the mushrooms since my husband does not like them. Even though I had to keep some ingredients out, I found this recipe to be incredible! See below on how I cooked this traditional recipe.
We tend to eat dinner very late most days, as I'm often waiting to eat with my husband after we get our son down to bed. So I wanted to adapt this recipe a bit to allow me to cook this during the day without having to touch it much and then having it ready to serve once he got home. I added all of my vegetables into my dutch oven along with butter and some olive oil to let it all simmer together. Here you see onion, one full potato, and carrots. About half-way through cooking down, I added a cup of beef broth.
Once my vegetables were soft, I added my cuts of beef that I already browned a bit in a separate pan. After adding the beef, I added 3 more cups of beef broth. I let this all come to a boil and then let it simmer to ensure the meat was cooked through.
While I let my stew cook, I made the roux which didn't take long at all! This roux is unlike any that I have made before, this one basically turns into dough. Very interesting! In a pan I let my oil and butter come to a boil, and then I slowly added my flour while whisking it all together. I set this to the side until my stew was ready for it.
I added my roux and let everything combine together while simmering in the dutch oven. The roux really created this creamy thickness to the sauce.
I made some brown basmati rice that I put at the bottom of my bowl and ladled out my stew, extra liquid to let it all soak into that rice. Guys, this stew was amazing! I let it all cook slowly throughout the day, but it really was extremely easy to make and the roux was probably the easiest part. The curry spice made this stew have a sweet flavor that was very unexpected and unique. I am going to be making this again the fall and winter!
Verdict: This month's Piquant Post was filled with so many unique recipes and spice blends. Many of them were very spicy though or included ingredients that weren't a big hit with my family. I am holding onto the majority of these spice blends for after my pregnancy and will cook many of the recipes once the weather cools down come the fall. However, for right now, not many of the spices or recipes were something I had to make right away. That is not to say though that I won't open my recipe box in a few weeks and want to make one of these right then and there! I love how unique Piquant Post is each month and how it really brings recipes that I have never made before and probably would never have made had this box not arrived at my door!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, order by 6/15 to receive the June box!
Coupon - Use code MSA15OFF to save 15% off your first box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $11.99 with free U.S. shipping, and I received a total of 4 spices. That means that the average value for each of those items is around $3 (not counting the recipe cards).
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Have you received Piquant Post? What did you think of the April spices?
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