I understand there are different kinds of heat. I know that Calmer Half will likely never appreciate the joys of a good chili con carne, or at least, it's going to take years to get him to move from the most mild of salsas to medium, much less pico de gallo.
However, I cannot stress this principle strongly enough:
When I can smell the curry in the back of my throat from two rooms away, IT IS NOT MILD.
There is no way that will ever be mild. Mild is when you have to stand over the stove to smell the dish, Not when you watch someone dump a cup of curry powder in, stir twice, and say brightly, "It's ready!"
NOT MILD.
...I don't think I ate enough ice cream. Excuse me, I'm going to go cram an entire bottle of antacids in my gullet now, and wash it down with a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. Mild, my fat butt, that's worse than "my favorite aunt kimchee! Is best!"
"kimchee! is best!" ... still laughing over that one.
ReplyDeleteI loves me some curry, but don't think I could handle a full cup, stirred only twice. Wow.
It was two teaspoons, not a cup - and of a fairly mild curry mixture, at that!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid Miss D. doesn't have a curry-developed palate. On the other hand, our housemate's chilis - which both he and Miss D. swear aren't all that hot, really - can reduce me to coughing, spluttering tears. I guess it's all in what kind of food-heat you're used to.
;-)
It may have been only half a cup. It doesn't matter; at some point the increase in hotness just ceased to register behind "eeeeeaaaaaagh!"
ReplyDelete...and poor Calmer Half was sitting there, a puzzled, mildly hurt look on his face, clearly wondering if I was pulling his leg, and saying "Can't you taste the each of the different ingredients in every forkfull?"
"No, love, I taste burning curry with a meat-texture, and burning curry with a vegetable texture, and burning curry with a smooshed potato texture..."
I adore him. I will not feed him chili in retaliation. Nor kimchi. Nor thai bird's eye peppers. Nor stuffed jalepeno poppers. Nor... anything that will encourage him to make something stronger than korma again.
Don't ask about The Friend's Favorite Aunt's Kimchee Incident. Just... don't.
"my favorite aunt kimchee! Is best!"
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I've heard that one before, only it was in Thailand.
"Is most Thai chicken in town!"
ROTFLMAO! Curry from two rooms away and you STILL tried it???
ReplyDeleteNFO - sometimes, I'm a fool for love. Sometimes, I'm hungry and make bad decisions. Sometimes, I think what the hell....
ReplyDeleteMSGtB - is most Thai.... *facepalm* yeah, I have discovered that urgent downside to ordering Tom Yum Gai by that name when the entire menu is in English...
Some of this is the difference between fat-borne and water-borne capsacins. The chili will pick up the heat in the meat fats, while the curry will pick it up through the water in the rice.
ReplyDeleteCase in point - lamb vindaloo. Can be hotter than even my own personal Texas Chili. Why? Lamb fat. Now, I've only had the vindaloo in restaurants, and I make my own chili. The restaurant is not cooking it for a full day, then refrigerating it and discarding the layer of orange fat from the top, like I do with my chili.
Curry is it's own personal level of hell heat, that's nothing like Chili.
ReplyDeleteChili just walks up and slaps you a little. Curry waits in the bushes and then shoots a large poisoneous dart into the back of your throat.