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My first week of university, I had two things (a bag of popcorn and a juice) to eat, because I had never had jet lag before and couldn’t manage to be awake when I should have been eating in the US or to have an appetite when I needed to be eating in England. My roommate, who is from Northern China, took pity on me when one night I asked if there was anywhere around our university where you could buy Asian groceries, and promised she would take me the next day to get lunch and some food stuffs. I make copious amounts of Vietnamese and Thai food (mostly for myself, with far too much sriracha) at home, but my familiarity with Chinese food is mostly with Americanized Cantonese, so she and a friend had a very detailed conversation in Mandarin, stopping every few minuted to ask about my tolerance to particular staple spicy foods, about what they felt I could tolerate. When we arrived at the restaurant, the only word in English on the front of the establishment was Sichuan. I enjoy spicy food, but I suddenly felt that a very big mistake had just been made, considering that I hadn’t had any real food in six or seven days. Her boyfriend arrived, and they began ordering various dishes, while I stared in fear at things that weren’t translated (most of the menu) or translated in such a way that made me wish they weren’t (fungus and fermented offal come to mind). The first thing that arrived was some kind of pig trotter skewered on a branch, and coated in Sichuan pepper corns. I teared up a little gamely finishing my pig’s foot, because dear God it was hot, but by some miracle the numbing effects of the Sichuan peppers actually made it so that I could eat the rest of the meal with almost no discomfort. Her boyfriend declared that “you handle spicy better than any white person I ever meet”, which was especially kind considering I was seated next to this dish and too scared of dropping something on someone else to reach for any of the other options.
You do know how to have fun, kid. We had a great Thai place near one of the universities I went to. And another very good Chinese place. Oh, the spicy mustard. Clear the sinuses? That stuff would make one larger sinus (that might include the brain cavity).
When my wife and I went on the tour of the Jack Daniels distillery, we were told that Tabasco was aged in used Jack Daniels barrels.
The thing I like about super hot sauces is that you can make your chili hot with just a couple of drops which don’t change the flavor. Good luck with that using Tabasco.
True.
Great post! Some random thoughts.
Spicy food enjoyment comes in two flavors: those who love and can stand the heat, and those who enjoy watching those who can’t. An interesting interview show on YouTube is “First We Feast,” where the host and guest do a “pub crawl” of hot sauces from least to most spicy. Half the fun is wondering if they’ll make it to the end. The hottest sauces aren’t the most painful.
In college a favorite (mimeographed proto-) meme was the New Yorker judging a Texas chili cook-off . Juvenile but hilarious; it reminded me of Dave Barry. If you ever enjoyed a Warner Brothers cartoon character vomiting sheets of flame, you’ll feel right at home.
My dad likes the heat, but not to the point of pain. Although I’ve done my share of food-on-a-dare (Paqui’s One Chip Challenge, local restaurants serving Death Tacos) I learned from Indian coworkers and Korean neighbors to appreciate even the hottest peppers in small doses. I have a small tin of ghost pepper flakes; just three or four tiny flakes is enough to heat up a batch of chili and give it amazing fruity flavor, without going overboard. A single flake stirred around in a glass of water is a revelation; you can really taste the pepper, without pain.
I never want to know what to expect from oriental food, so I always use the oriental work for Random —–“Medium” . With medium you never know what you will get, could be mild and flavorless, or it could be radioactive.
I worked with a guy who ate a Habenero. Didn’t really bother him, but he knew exactly where it was until it passed. A Thai place called him the “House Dragon” because they never could make a dish too hot for him.
When I was in my twenties, I really didn’t seem to have much of a problem even as it processed. Now? Cod only knows.
I know what you mean.
Ah, if you knew Lucita like I knew Lucita …
… then don’t let her brothers find out, or no one will ever find your body.
Definitely not one that I ever knew.
Well, you could definitely get her stirred up. Then she was more heat than light.
Great Great tale!!
We would have been eating buddies back in the day!!
I’ve only ever grown chilitepins and Thai peppers, the small bright red ones. Chiltepins are pea-sized, so little flesh to seed ratio, 50,000-100,000 SHU. Thai peppers, with much more flesh, are in the same range, 50,000-100,000 SHU. I’ve kept some dried for years and found they are still potent flavoring agents in soups or liquid infusions.
This is an entry in June’s theme series: Hot Stuff!” We have a lot of open days as the summer season starts. Please stop by and sign up to share your own angle on the topic, however loosely construed.
I’m going to be a naysayer here. I don’t like a lot of heat in my food, and I don’t cook with very hot peppers. Period. If I need a phony demonstration of masculinity, I think I’ll drive a Corvette instead.
Corvettes are kind of hot cars. Should that be an entry in this month’s Hot Stuff theme?
Maybe. Or just sports cars in general.
You will hear some women say that fast cars are some kind of phallic substitute for men. You will never hear a man say that, because it’s just not true. The truth is that men like machines. They like power tools, and electronics, and especially cars. Cars are more than just a symbol of freedom and power. In a lot of ways, cars are freedom and power. I suppose that’s why the lefties hate them so much.
Oh, yeah… I suppose that having made a generalization I am now obliged by political correctness to add that the generalization does not apply to everyone. It’s a stereotype, but one with a lot of truth to it. So if you’re a woman who also likes fast cars – well, good for you.
I used to grow peppers on my front porch. I had Tabasco, Habanero, Cayenne, Anaheim, and Jalapeno going for a while. Unfortunately, I have a black thumb like my wife. I did manage to harvest over a couple of growing cycles before they died . . .
Love it!
For a while I was into peanut butter and sriracha sandwiches. I figured if spicy Thai peanut sauce is tasty, the combo could work on a sandwich. It wasn’t bad.
Pepper jellies are a favorite. A friend gave us a delicious homemade huckleberry habañero for Christmas.
You cats are making me hungry to try some of these things, but I can’t eat bread. I’m in frustration city here.
Local brew pub does a PBJ burger with pork belly, peanut butter and pepper jelly. Wife says it’s awesome (I can’t do sugar).
A bread – or more like a tortilla – alternative! I get these at Costco and have been saved. Keto had meant giving up sandwiches of all kinds – BLT’s, Meatloaf, etc. But these are fantastic! Microwave them for 1 minute and fold them over and you have a great taco shell!
Years ago (early 1990’s) a coworker of an acquaintance went to a bar that served burgers for lunch. He brought the burger back and my acquaintance saw it. There was a side of a chopped green vegetable with seeds, and my acquaintance reached across and grabbed some, “Oh, okra!”
It wasn’t okra. It was chopped Serrano peppers. He was rather unpleasantly surprised.
I can eat corn tortillas (and am doing so now), so don’t need to go to cheese tortillas that have been treated in Cod-alone knows what ways. Still, a PB & J is not the same on tortillas.
is it any bread, or just gluten/carbs? There are some interesting recipes for keto-friendly breads using nut flours, egg and cheese, and other alternatives.
My daughter can’t handle anything remotely spicy. I tease her about being sent to Mexico or somewhere like it for her mission.
Shauna,
I was an incredibly picky eater before my mission. My first taste of kimchi was a test of faith. I was deeply grateful that my food tolerance expanded in my time in Korea. The Lord looks kindly on (most) missionaries, considering what we often ate!
That is so true. I didn’t serve in a foreign country, but upstate New York was an eye opener! Missions are a great way to get out of the old comfort zone.