Tiger Lager - Come set this kitchen on fire with me

While the wife and kids are away for the week...I finally get to cook things with a bit of a kick to them. Tonight, it's my first foray into using Chili Shrimp paste and figuring I'd need something to wash it down with (or possibly tame the flames) I bought myself a Tiger..

Rawr rawr like a dungeon dragon..

Now the last time I had a Tiger beer? Around 2006 I reckon. I had just finished a week of the fill in breakfast show and since I don't sleep very well anyway without a 5am alarm, I was well and truly knackered.
Flash forward to know and I find myself in a completely different fill in breakfast show with 3 more shows to go before my holiday starts. It's funny how things stay the same over long periods.
Although this time hopefully I'll recall a bit more of the brew.

The cooking side of things? Well I picked this up at the local Asian supermarket when I dropped in for some dumplings (so much better choice than the local supermarket). I saw the word 'chili' and figured it might be good for a test, especially with no little mouths around to burn themselves.

So join me as we set this kitchen on fire and try a Tiger for the second time!

First we'll load up some rice:

While it goes well with red chicken curry I figure it will work here as I'm using chicken and it's kind of red (well orangy.) Right, now the recipe doesn't say anything about onions but I like onions, so onions it is. Cook my beauties!

No onions, no deal Ted!

Time for the chicken to get it's browning on.

Then in goes the paste. It smells kind of earthy, like a pile of raked up autumn leaves. I also got a small splash on my finger so I tried it and MY GOD THIS THING IS GOING TO BE HOT. Am I going to die? Hope not, I have a beer to make this year.

Burn Hollywood Burn!

Usually I put too many ingredients into something like this and there's not enough sauce. Not this time Larry!

Beer is opened, dinner is served, on with the review.

What am I smelling here?

THE MEAL: Fried chicken, Jasmine rice, fried onions and earthy autumn leaf pile with just a hint of brine.
THE BEER: Smells like you've just walked into a very inviting pub with the smell of fresh lager. Lovely.

Initial thoughts?

THE MEAL: My god, this is hot. I can't taste the chicken through the chili's. I can't taste any onion at all. I thought it might be salty but no, it's just hot. I'm breathing fire. I'm a dragon extra from Game of Thrones. I don't think I can eat all this chili saturated rice. I think this was a bad idea.
THE BEER: My god this is smooth. There's hardly any bitterness to it at all, nothing really jumping off the page taste wise but it starts and end smooth. It also puts out mouth fires so I think I've matched tonight's beer and meal just fine. It's generic lager but it works here.

Overall?

THE MEAL: Good for a try but zero stand out aside from the heat from the chili. The unfinished oily rice hit the bin. Give me a nice flavorful curry any day.
THE BEER: Pretty plain Jane but a perfect compliment to something that's just had a bath in LIQUID FIRE. Probably won't be ten years before I have another one, especially if I try another experiment with random things bought from my local Asian supermarket. (Although the iced coffee in a can wasn't half bad.)

The meal gets 1 out of 5 Masterchef pins (I still ate all the chicken, I was hungry.)
The beer gets 2.5 out 5 home cooked meals.