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Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

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Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Suffs » Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:58 pm

I've always soaked Bulghur in a bowl of hot water until sort of 'al dente' then strain it, cool and make the salad. But some people boil it in salted water for up to fifteen minutes before straining, whereas John Torode's recipe on BBC Good Food says just to soak in cold water ... how do you prepare yours?

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:07 pm

it depends on which bulgur you have

I currently have two kinds, the fine one which you just soak and which is the one to use in tabbouleh and coarser "pilavi" - for pilaff, which should be cooked, preferably in a pilaff style or by the absorption method like rice, slightly less water and cooking time

I think Turkish Food Centre actually has 3 grades, but I don't use the middle one!

Here's a tomato pilaff recipe
https://www.turkeysforlife.com/2011/01/ ... ecipe.html

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Suffs » Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:21 pm

Ah well, given that we don't have a Turkish Food Centre in Norwich, we have to make do with Waitrose Finest or whatever Sainsbugs have. It doesn't have a 'size or grade on the label. I presume it's a sort of medium ... however the instructions on the Wrose pack suggest boiling for 15 minutes, which results in porridge (not even describable as a pilaff)..

Presumably there are others on here who don't have access to all three grades of bulghur and have to use whatever is available for their tabbouleh or other bulghur salad?

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:42 pm

Sainsbury need to shoot their home economist
Seriously - I have never heard of anyone, Greek, Cypriot, Turkish, Arab or even British boiling it like pasta but these are the instructions

Cooking instructions: Hob

To cook on the hob. 1 Place (product) in a saucepan of boiling water. 2 Bring back to the boil and simmer for xx minutes, until tender.


No
What you do is heat a little evoo or butter or ghee in a smallish pan with a lid, and (optionally) sauté some finely chopped onion in it until just softened. You then add one measure of bulgur, and stir it in the oil. You then add 2 measures of water or stock and a little salt, bring to the boil, turn the heat low and simmer [edited to add: simmer with lid on] for 8-10 minutes until the water is absorbed, You then put a bit of kitchen paper under the lid to absorb steam and leave it to stand off the heat for another 10 minutes

That's basic bulgur, and the method works with any but the very finest (which you probably don't have)
It's far more forgiving than rice, as the grains don't disintegrate if slightly overcooked

You can add flavourings or other ingredients such as cooked chickpeas, tomato paste, spices to taste

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:49 pm

I came across it first when we had our wholefood cafe in the 70s. We bought it from a local wholefood cooperative. Most people had never heard of it. I remember introducing it to my grandmother who was quite a cosmopolitan cook but had never seen it. I was taught to soak it in boiling water, the grains then took up all the water and it was ready to use. I too have only bought it from that shop or supermarkets after they started to stock it and it always seems to be of a suitable grade to soak. I agree that boiling does not produce good results.

I do remember conversations about the differences between bulgur and cracked wheat and it was cracked wheat that people sometimes cooked more like rice (though I'm sure we sometimes just soaked it but there did seem to be a huge muddle between the two at one time). https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/15/b ... t-cooking/

Then there are wheat berries which seem to have been added to the equation more recently and need cooking but have been seen in salads labelled tabbouleh :?.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Suffs » Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:52 pm

Precisely Sue ... that's the reason for me posing the question ... bulghur mush salad does not appeal https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/re ... heat-salad

I first discovered bulghur back in the 70s and was told by the chap on the wholefood delivery van to cover it with boiing water, soak until it was how I liked it then drain ... but again ,that was with whatever grade it was that he sold from his shop and van in the wilds of rural Suffolk back then. He scooped it from a drum into my jar ... it was labelled Bulghur ... that was it.

P.S. EM IIRC the wholefood delivery van and shop had a café alongside it ... probably similar to yours :hi5:

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Seatallan » Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:03 pm

I treat it just as I do couscous- cover with boiling water and let it plump up (as it were).
Food, felines and fells (in no particular order)

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:05 pm

I just followed my own instructions, adding onion and some cooked chick peas, some tomato paste with herbs, and using the chickpea stock. Finished with chopped dill and some crumbled feta

If I'd had more chickpeas, I'd have made enough to sharpen up the leftovers and use as salad, but I only had a few so I had it as a warm lunch with a side salad

Very nice, I do have a quite coarse bulgur, which isn't really edible just soaked, a bit worthy it is intended to be cooked as a pilaff

It occurs to me that the Turkish/Lebanese medium is probably used for kibbeh (various croquettes with minced meat) which is why I don't use it

And Syrian foodie in London says on the subject
Kano wrote:You can buy bulgur from all Middle Eastern shops. You can buy it as well from high street supermarkets but the grain size is somewhere between the coarse and fine. It is not ideal but perfectly usable.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby mistakened » Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:55 pm

Fine Bulghur is for coating Kibbeh and similar items, I have also seen it used for coating fish.

I was taught to make Pougouri, the Cypriot version as follows. Pour boiling or very hot water just to cover the grains. Whilst that is soaking, slice and fry a couple of onions, add the drained Bulghur, some tomato puree and chopped tomatoes, simmer until soft. Some Cypriot cooks put in a chicken stock cube. Serve as a Pilaff.

If using it for salad, soak and cook, add plenty of olive oil and lemon juice, chopped spring onion and whatever herbs you have in the garden.

Bulghur is a staple here, some tavernas call it Couscous which of course is a different dish.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Pepper Pig » Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:38 pm

Not much of a fan and OH certainly isn’t.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby karadekoolaid » Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:54 pm

We ´ve got quite a large Lebanese population over here, so bulghur is easily available. It´s classified into #1, #2 and #3. I was always led to believe the #3 was for tabbouleh (and that´s what I use it for). Soak it for about 30 minutes in hot water, then drain and squeeze dry.
Curiously, I just bought some #1 in the supermarket, because I fancy having a go at Fried Kibbe.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Jun 21, 2021 6:36 pm

I always soak it in stock - made with Marigold - makes a huge difference.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby halfateabag » Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:43 pm

Depending on the grain size either hot/boiling water or cold then in the GH in summer.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Badger's Mate » Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:18 pm

Yes, the fine stuff I pour a kettle of boiling water over, if I'm making a salad.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby ZeroCook » Mon Jun 21, 2021 9:19 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:Sainsbury need to shoot their home economist

No
What you do is heat a little evoo or butter or ghee in a smallish pan with a lid, and (optionally) sauté some finely chopped onion in it until just softened. You then add one measure of bulgur, and stir it in the oil. You then add 2 measures of water or stock and a little salt, bring to the boil, turn the heat low and simmer [edited to add: simmer with lid on] for 8-10 minutes until the water is absorbed, You then put a bit of kitchen paper under the lid to absorb steam and leave it to stand off the heat for another 10 minutes

That's basic bulgur, and the method works with any but the very finest (which you probably don't have)
It's far more forgiving than rice, as the grains don't disintegrate if slightly overcooked

You can add flavourings or other ingredients such as cooked chickpeas, tomato paste, spices to taste


That's pretty dang emphatic, Stokey! :lol:

Personally, and among our family cooks, we usually treat it like rice but without cooking it further if it's to be used plain or added cooked to a dish or salad: pour boiling water over over it at 2:1 by volume, like rice, and leave it for 20-30 medium depending if medium or coarse to rehydrate before proceeding further. I think that's pretty common.

Otherwise, as mentioned, it can also be treated like rice if being cooked in a dish by the absorption method.

It depends on the dish.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:49 pm

Not sure why you have removed the part of my post that made it clear whyI was so emphatic ZeroCook? It makes a difference

And, as my previous post indicates, I was specifically considering coarse bulgur

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby dennispc » Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:16 pm

We do ours, and couscous, the same as ZeroCook, but it's only normal packet supermarket stuff. I've enjoyed reading the other methods.

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby mistakened » Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:21 pm

I have checked my copy of Kopiaste, a book full of old fashioned Cypriot recipes. It suggests adding a couple of tablespoons of fine vermicelli to the pourgouri, I have done this in the past, it improves the texture

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:28 pm

I have the vermicelli Moira, often added to both rice and wheat pilaff in Syria and Lebanon, especially Syria

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Re: Bulghur ... how do you prepare yours?

Postby dennispc » Sun Jul 11, 2021 11:27 am

Usually I tip hot water over the wheat and leave bowl covered with a tea towel. Yesterday I tried Sue’s method, worked a treat so will give that a go next time as well. :thumbsup

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