Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ucla-cs.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!bmcg!cepu!ucla-cs!ellen From: ellen@ucla-cs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.cooks Subject: How hot is HOT? Message-ID: <569@ucla-cs.ARPA> Date: Thu, 26-Jul-84 14:16:08 EDT Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.569 Posted: Thu Jul 26 14:16:08 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Jul-84 21:40:21 EDT Organization: UCLA CS Dept. Lines: 21 I know from living in Indonesia, that the food varies from quite mild and sweet (yes, the Javanese put palm sugar into almost every dish they cook) to killer hot (the Balinese and Sumatrans are not shy of the chili). I lived with a Balinese family who, during a meal, would break out in a sweat, develop runny noses and watery eyes from the heat of the food, so that they were blowing their noses and mopping their brows throughout. They LOVED it. I had always assumed that people who ate HOT food were used to it and wouldn't have the same responses that tenderfeet had, but NO-OOO...The only diffence is that delicious encounters with nearly raw chilis in food (esp- cially Thai) give me the hiccups. To counteract the heat, Indonesians eat raw or very slightly pickled cucumbers, or fresh fruits, such as bananas, of which there must be a dozen kinds, or papayas. Also, traditionally, dishes of sambal, various HOT relishes, are placed on the table so that the diner can decide just how hot s/he really wants the food to be. When i say hot relishes, i mean HOT, not these wimpy pickled chilis served in Thai restaurants here, but fresh red chilis ground to a paste, seeds and all, perhaps with the addition of garlic, onion, citrus juice (they don't have lemons or limes as we know them, but other much tastier and more pungent varieties), and shrimp paste. The hottest i've had combined steamed red chilis ground to a paste, seeds and all, with fresh raw green chilis, shrimp paste, and fermented soy bean paste. PUNGENT!