Hot and Spicy when it's Hot outside

[snowangel]

It has been Minnesota blisteringly hot outside lately, and everyone does nothing but complain (except me!) and when I cook, it's eather hot and spicy, or grilled with a hot and spicy condiment or dipping sauce (think lots of bird chili's in the dipping sauce).

There's something about the sweat on the brow, and the nose running, and perhaps it's also the lime that is so present in SE Asian food, that just makes me feel cooler and better.

So, I sit outside on my deck, the lone person avoiding the air con, eating my larb.

Anyone else?

[Alchemist]

I've allways noticed that the hottest places have the spiciest food. Thailand Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico. And So I eat spiecy, and drink hot drinks as well when it's the dog days here in Chicago.

[Peter Green]

I figure if it's stinking hot, and everyone else is dripping, I can engage in sweat-inducing foods with a certain degree of social camouflage.

[heidih]

Totally with you on this. There is nothing like having all that sweat on your brow from enjoying a super spicy dish and then having the slightest movement of air come across your brow and feel like heaven. I am "larbing" now. Of course I also enjoy hot & spicy when it is cold but in a different more comfortin incarnation.

[C. sapidus]

There's something about the sweat on the brow, and the nose running, and perhaps it's also the lime that is so present in SE Asian food, that just makes me feel cooler and better.

You know that I enjoy spicy food year round, but summer seems to call for grilled meat salads loaded with chiles, mint, cilantro, Thai basil, and lots of lime juice.

So, I sit outside on my deck, the lone person avoiding the air con, eating my larb.

←

Mmm, larb. Mosquitoes willing, as frequently as possible we spend summer evenings on the carport, tending the grill while cooled by the hilltop breeze and a 60-foot tall oak tree. A Dark & Stormy with extra lime or a nice hoppy beer helps, too.

[srhcb]

Of course hot spicy food makes you sweat, which cools you off, so it's naturally popular in cultures from warmer climates.

I wonder if the reputation of food from nothern regions as being bland stems from some kind of opposite pysiological effect?

SB (hates ac, and luckily lives in Nothern MN )

Edited July 9, 2007 by srhcb (log)

[Ohba]

Of course hot spicy food makes you sweat, which cools you off, so it's naturally popular in cultures from warmer climates.

I wonder if the reputation of food from nothern regions as being bland stems from some kind of opposite pysiological effect?

SB (hates ac, and luckily lives in Nothern MN )

←

Korea would be a notable exception though. Their winters are very cold but chillies are an essential part of Korean food. The parts of China where the food is spiciest don't all correlate to a hot climate either, or a north/south divide.

But as chillies aren't much of a cold weather plant, its popularity in tropical and subtropical regions could be more to do with availability.

[mizducky]

I confess that I don't especially care for the sensation of sweating, whether brought on by hot weather or hot food. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying spicy food at whatever time of year. (Actually my wimpy tummy is more of an impediment, but I seldom let it stop me either...)

[Pan]

It has been Minnesota blisteringly hot outside lately, and everyone does nothing but complain (except me!) and when I cook, it's eather hot and spicy, or grilled with a hot and spicy condiment or dipping sauce (think lots of bird chili's in the dipping sauce).

There's something about the sweat on the brow, and the nose running, and perhaps it's also the lime that is so present in SE Asian food, that just makes me feel cooler and better.

So, I sit outside on my deck, the lone person avoiding the air con, eating my larb.

Anyone else?

←

Yes, I do like to sweat from my head in hot weather. Then again, I can also enjoy some hearty hot food in the winter, too.

[Lady T]

Ahh. Quesadillas with murderously hot green salsa over the fresh corn tortillas under the cheese and meats/vegetables of choice, with cold cold cold cava to drink.

Summer in Chicago. Ohhh yeah.

[hummingbirdkiss]

the reason spicy food is so good on a hot day...well here is my science...spicy food gives you endorphins and endorphins are a natural high and with a natural high ...you are simply enjoying the party going on inside your body to much to care about the heat outside your body!

Edited July 11, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)