The HOT Pepper & You

      The Hot Peppers & You


   I'm just wondering if there is anyone else who enjoys a nice hot dish once in a while.  I admit, I cannot eat hot foods like I used to, and I won't go biting off a piece of raw hot pepper alone.  But I do enjoy something about that heat. 

   I'd love to here any experiences, stories or recipes you may want to share.  To start...there are two Hot Sauces that I really like.  The first, call me a traditionalist, is Tabasco.  It's got some heat, good flavor and is made using very respectable practices and minimal ingredients...I love it!  Another is a homemade Habanero...while it can get how...it's got some great flavor and the finished sauce actually isn't as hot as you think.

  Lastly, this past Halloween I went to a Hot Pepper Tasting, at Heaven on Seven in Naperville, Il.  Oh my word...the peppers were so hot it was unbelievable.  But the dishes were so well made and tasted so good...you just wanted to keep eating more and more.  The dishes, although hot, were well balanced and nicely thought out.  The menu can be seen below.

   I also had the opportunity to try the Sichuan Bud.  It is the bud of a shrub.  When eating it you get a sensation like putting your tongue on a 9volt battery...both in flavor and buzzing sensation.  Then, your taste buds are hijacked for a period of five minutes or so...very odd.

  Anyone else out there?


 

I can tolerate a fairly-moderate amount of heat; and have been known to survive some really hot products. However, my wife cannot do any at all, beyond a tablespoon of Schilling or McCormick "chili powder" in a pot of chili, so I rarely employ heat in my cooking. I am not a big fan of heat simply for heat's sake, and prefer to enjoy the flavours that are beneath the heat.

As someone with about 1.5 gallons of various hot sauces around the house, I can say with confidence that I like and can tolerate hot foods.

I make two sauces as staples. One based off any type like Frank's that is altered to make it sweeter and more, and is great with chicken and pork. And another based on Chipotles in adobo and pineapple that is used alone or mixed with tomato based sauces for use on beef and almost anything.

My go to dried pod is Siling Labuyo, a little Philippines pepper, maybe 1/2" long, that grows wild over there. Plenty of heat and a nice smell. However, you really can't use enough of them to taste the pepper pods flavor in most any dish. I have 3 plants growing in pots indoors. The biggest is less than a foot tall. I've never grown them before but I think they get much bigger. These plants came up in mid May last year, making them almost 10 months old. Not one pepper yet.

Many years ago the burn was the reason, but not so much now. Although balance is the key, my balance may not be what yours is.

As far as recipes I've got a few favorites and I'll look them up and post them later.

There are two types of hot pepper eaters. The chiliheads, for whom it's all about the burn. And the culinary types, for whom the heat is part of the flavor profile, but its the profile that counts.

A lot of times, too, it has to do with whether you actually bite into a chili, or just have the flavor infuse into a dish.

Dan,

HistoricFoodie wrote: A lot of times, too, it has to do with whether you actually bite into a chili, or just have the flavor infuse into a dish. For instance, using that hab & chile as an example, I might cut a slice into the sidewall of a hab and drop it in the pot, fishing it out when the chile is done. Lot's of great flavor that way. But I'm long past the point where I'd even consider the idea of biting into a hab. I notice that's true with a lot of Thai and Sechuan dishes, too. So long as I don't actually chew those little red super hots I'm just fine.

I guess I forgot to mention that I grind them up so I don't get a piece of one.

I love steamed Thai Spring Rolls! With peanut sauce!
Yummm, think I'll go make some!

I use "Spring Roll Wraps", they are made of wheat and soy flour. I will post some soon.

From the parsee of the central west coast of india comes this omelet. Hot and rich with indian curry spices. Served with ice cold and sweet melon, OMG! potatoes, toasted French bread spread with ghee and topped with a nice homemade mango chutney and you'll be transported to exotic lands on a magic carpet of flavor. It's called Ekoori Curry. Ekoori is Parsee for scrambled eggs.

Ekoori Curry

3 green serranos - seeded and chopped fine
3 green onions - chopped and including the green parts
2 teaspoons fresh ginger - finely chopped
3 tablespoons of Ghee
1/4 teaspoon tumeric - ground
1/4 teaspoon cumin - ground
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro - chopped fine
1/2 cup smallish (51-60) shrimp - completely peeled, deveined
6 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons plain yogurt

In 2 tablespoons of ghee gently fry the chiles, green onions and ginger till the onions are soft. Stir in the the tumeric, cumin and fry a moment then add the shrimp and cook to just warm the shrimp, a minute or two. Remove to a bowl.

In a bowl combine the eggs, milk, yogurt and cilantro and beat until smooth. Add the shrimp mixture to the eggs and mix well.

Add the remaining ghee to the pan. Using your best technique, make scrambled eggs.