59: Hot, Spicy and Thai Style
Saturday, January 14th, 2006It’s amazing. I don’t shy away from really spicy food. In fact I love it. After few weeks in Thailand I have to adjust my definitions of hot and spicy though.
HOT I would call a dish if it has a bit of a punch to it, e.g. some added chili powder or similar. Instant Spicy Soup Noodels from the Chinese Supermarket I would call “hot” and some are indeed HOT and will definitely require a drink with the meal and maybe a napkin or a tissue to fight that running nose 😉
SPICY in capital letters is the next level up. You will take little breaks to breath and think breathing with an open mouth will calm the burning sensation on your tongue. You will have used up several tissues before you have finished your meal and have most likely ordered a second drink.
THAI STYLE HOT is a new experience for me.
First you admire the look of the food and the delicous smell. You take the first Spoon and it takes a second for the spicyness information to travel up to your brain so at first it seems “ok”, probably because you have sensory overload on your tongue and the nerve cells relaying the spicyness information and momentarily numbed 😉
Then, still before you brain recognises the amount of hot chilli in the food you start to “cry”! Seriously, your eyes don’t just get a bit watery, you actually have to wipe the running tears off your face! It’s fab! Then the brain wakes up and informs you that this is some seriously hot stuff and that your tongue is BURNING. You nose runs like a waterfall and some people might even break a sweat. If you choose to continue eating soon enough your lips will start burning too and the used tissues will pile up on the table.
Lastly if your stomach is still only used to European food you might find yourself visiting the Restroom more frequently the next day just because your stomach does not yet know how to cope with this Massive Chilli attack. It’s nothing to worry about though and will pass very soon. (In the almost 4 weeks I have been in Thailand now I have not had an upset stomach despite easting spicy and thai style hot dishes and also fresh, peeled & cut fruits including and mostly sold by street vendors or cheap roadside restaurants.
So eating Thai Style Spicy Food is an excellent experience if you can cope with this level of spicyness and I absolutely love it. I don’t understand how Thais can eat this without showing any of the above symptoms but I do envie them for it.
PS:
The first time Thai Style Spicy happened to me was at Big Wave Restaurant when I ordered Tom Yum Kung Soup (Spicy Clear Soup with Spring Onions, Mushrooms, Ginger, Lemongrass and Lime Juice plus Prawns or other Seafood) and asked for thai style hot version. (I was quite friendly with the owner by then and he knew that I was keen to try genuinely spiced food rather than the European toned down dishes that are often served. So he served me the real thing and yes it was self inflicted but delicious 🙂
saschas