Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: amused

Real Ethnic Food

Yep.  This the true story of what happens when a fair-skinned person walks into an ethnic restaurant and orders HOT food (3 pages).  I have seen versions of this with multiple friends.  Me, the closest I get is having people stare at me when I eat crystalized ginger root as candy.  Link courtesy of my_partner_doug (who likes not just Food That Commands Respect, but food that coshes your respect over the head and drags it into a dark alley to rifle its pockets for loose taste buds).
Tags: art, ethnic studies, food, humor, networking
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  • 48 comments
fayanora

fayanora

March 15 2011, 01:37:46 UTC 10 years ago

LOL
aldersprig

aldersprig

March 15 2011, 01:45:08 UTC 10 years ago

*grins* I've noticed that on the phone, ordering Indian from our local take out place "you want medium, yes?"

Personally, I like medium. Husband cooks with habenero chilis, though, so he likes his stuff... really hot.
eseme

eseme

March 15 2011, 02:02:59 UTC 10 years ago

Ah, I remember the chili I had to put lots of cheese in!

Though I am better than I used to be about spicy. I can order "American Medium" whereas before I was at "American Mild."
aldersprig

aldersprig

10 years ago

  • New comment
eseme

eseme

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

  • New comment
eseme

Re: Yes...

eseme

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

  • New comment
aldersprig

Re: Yes...

aldersprig

10 years ago

  • New comment
bkwrrm_tx

bkwrrm_tx

March 15 2011, 01:58:23 UTC 10 years ago

Oh, I *love* crystallized ginger as a snack. ::drool::

I do get the 'you can't handle it that spicy, little lady' thing once in a while, but there are enough chili heads around that it doesn't happen all that often.

My roomates have learned to keep their hands off my hot sauce though. :-)
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

March 15 2011, 02:30:23 UTC 10 years ago

It helps to have friends who are serious hotfans.

my_partner_doug collects hot sauces to some extent, and actually has one or two that require signing a waiver to buy.
bkwrrm_tx

Re: Yes...

bkwrrm_tx

10 years ago

  • New comment
miintikwa

miintikwa

March 15 2011, 01:59:40 UTC 10 years ago

Mmm, crystalized ginger candy! YUM.

I occasionally poke hot with a stick. *nod*
chipuni

chipuni

March 15 2011, 02:22:54 UTC 10 years ago

Overly-spicy food doesn't do much for me...

...but I still eat almost everything else, especially the 'unusual' foods.

I remember reading through a list of one hundred 'weird' foods, and wondering what was so weird about many of them.
ysabetwordsmith

*laugh*

ysabetwordsmith

March 15 2011, 02:34:24 UTC 10 years ago

Yeah, I've had this conversation repeatedly:

Me: "Taco con lingua, por favor."
Waiter: "Do you know what that IS?"
Me: "It is a tongue taco. Please bring it to me now. I stopped here because you have that on the menu."

Same thing happens with sesos (brains, which I don't order anymore, alas) and occasionally with goat. I have to be careful with my digestive system, but let's say that my food philosophy was not programmed by mainstream America.
siege

Re: *laugh*

siege

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Re: *laugh*

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

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trinker

Re: *laugh*

trinker

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

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trinker

Re: Well...

trinker

10 years ago

  • New comment
daev

Re: Well...

daev

10 years ago

  • New comment
trinker

Re: Well...

trinker

10 years ago

  • New comment
siege

Re: *laugh*

siege

10 years ago

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cissa

Re: *laugh*

cissa

10 years ago

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seticat

seticat

March 15 2011, 03:35:05 UTC 10 years ago

Oh! I love ginger. :}
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

March 15 2011, 03:52:37 UTC 10 years ago

My favorite recipe for ginger cookies involves powdered ginger, fresh grated ginger root, and crystallized ginger chips.
the_s_guy

Re: Yes...

the_s_guy

10 years ago

  • New comment
raindrops

raindrops

March 15 2011, 03:45:35 UTC 10 years ago

That was an awesome and true portrayal.

Happens to me the first time I go to a new place. I speak enough of the languages to explain that "yes I mean that I want you to make it like you were serving it at home for your picky in-laws."

After the first time, they remember me. ;-)
raindrops

raindrops

March 15 2011, 03:46:57 UTC 10 years ago

Then of course, I drink hot sauce from the bottle for migraines... so I'm probably a statistical outlier ;-)
ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

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ysabetwordsmith

Good for you!

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

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the_vulture

the_vulture

March 15 2011, 05:57:50 UTC 10 years ago Edited:  March 15 2011, 09:31:10 UTC

I have to say, I did get a chuckle from the strip ('Angry Birds' XD ). Whilst I'm not a full-on fire eater, I've traveled such circles before, especially during my short, but entertaining, stint as a cook in a burrito stand. At some point in the very near future, I will have to write about how to make grown men cry (in waterfalls) through the use of Mexican cuisine. :)

In the meantime, though, I find it interesting that heat tolerance varies depending on the type of cuisine. I can handle quite a lot of Mexican heat (though enjoying it might be another matter) and I do well with most South East Asian cuisine, but Indian? THAT can slay me. I have, however, spoken to Indian fire eaters that claim unexpectedly very painful experiences with Mexican cuisine.


EDIT: For your reading pleasure... 
ysabetwordsmith

*laugh*

ysabetwordsmith

March 15 2011, 22:47:06 UTC 10 years ago

>>In the meantime, though, I find it interesting that heat tolerance varies depending on the type of cuisine.<<

Well, the active chemicals are different. In hot peppers it is capsicum and other volatile oils. In onions it is pyruvic acid. Ginger, horseradish, mustard, etc. have their own heat sources. Some people's tolerance is very wide, others more narrow. Mine is only for ginger; I'm allergic to some of the others, and intolerant to the rest.

I love your burrito story! Thanks for sharing.
the_vulture

Re: *laugh*

the_vulture

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Re: *laugh*

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

  • New comment
the_vulture

Re: *laugh*

the_vulture

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Re: *laugh*

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

  • New comment
the_vulture

Re: *laugh*

the_vulture

10 years ago

  • New comment
siliconshaman

siliconshaman

March 15 2011, 10:30:03 UTC 10 years ago

Me, I like my food like that sometimes...which leads to some amusing reactions when I complain it's too mild, or eat the hottest thing they have without suffering. I had one place tell me that if I could eat that, then I wouldn't need to pay. I asked for seconds!
the_s_guy

the_s_guy

March 15 2011, 11:17:28 UTC 10 years ago

It's a pity restaurants don't use Scovilles more often. "Hot" on a menu can be anything from "Meh" to "Needs forge irons to handle".

Being able to say "Anything up to half a million Scovilles is fine" would help waiters make recommendations. Putting ratings on the menu itself might also be an idea.
ysabetwordsmith

Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

March 15 2011, 22:49:16 UTC 10 years ago

The concept is good, but the execution would be difficult because ingredients change their heat level as they are cooked and combined. Each dish would need to be tested, and that's a major nuisance -- even before you get the fact that different batches of peppers, etc. can have different heat levels. We had one batch of tabasco peppers that were "meh" and another batch that were "yipe!"
the_s_guy

Re: Hmm...

the_s_guy

10 years ago

  • New comment
judifilksign

judifilksign

March 15 2011, 20:47:36 UTC 10 years ago

I have an opposite problem. After I've been in an ethnic restaurant a few times, with "mild" sauces, and the staff recognize me, they keep adding spices to make my meals hotter and hotter, so that I can have the food prepared "right."

This makes me crazy.

(But, oh, I do so love crystalized ginger! That's a different kind of hot.)
ysabetwordsmith

O_O

ysabetwordsmith

March 15 2011, 23:07:00 UTC 10 years ago

>>I have an opposite problem. After I've been in an ethnic restaurant a few times, with "mild" sauces, and the staff recognize me, they keep adding spices to make my meals hotter and hotter, so that I can have the food prepared "right."<<

That would pretty much make me quit eating there, if I couldn't get them to quit. My heat tolerance for anything but ginger is nearly nonexistent.
rhodielady_47

rhodielady_47

March 16 2011, 15:34:40 UTC 10 years ago

Hubby dearly loves hot Indian foods and he begs his students for recipes whenever possible.
:)
ysabetwordsmith

Good idea!

ysabetwordsmith

March 16 2011, 18:56:19 UTC 10 years ago

That certainly helps expand the repertoire.

Recently I bought my_partner_doug a new Indian cookbook that has some more detailed discussion of spices, flavors, and meal dynamics along with many promising recipes. Some of his Indian cooking has made it into the care of Indian friends who were pleased -- if somewhat bemused -- by the quality. It is well-received by white people who like hot food, but those with mundane tastes are not so enthusiastic. Fortunately we know how to cook plain food as well.
rhodielady_47

Re: Good idea!

rhodielady_47

10 years ago

  • New comment
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Good idea!

ysabetwordsmith

10 years ago

  • New comment

  • Birdfeeding

    Today is sunny and mild. I fed the birds. I've seen house finches and sparrows. I raked the firepit and laid a chimney of sticks in it. We broke up…

  • Photographs

    I took some pictures of my yard today. Read about what makes a good wildlife yard and Fieldhaven as habitat. The larger brush pile is still…

  • Birdfeeding

    Today is partly sunny and delightfully mild. I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of house finches and a few sparrows. I walked around the yard…