‘Can you eat spicy like Thai People?’

[Zambo]

24 minutes ago, tko said:

The wasabi you scoop out of the bowl at Shabuzhi is also very strong.  My Mrs doesn't like it, but I love it.

One of my favourite dining experiences is sashimi with wasabi/soy sauce and ice cold beer.

But i've just read on google that i'm not meant to mix the wasabi with soy sauce. What the f**k! How else to eat it except pick up the sashimi with chopsticks, dip in the sauce and eat.

[tko]

31 minutes ago, Zambo said:

One of my favourite dining experiences is sashimi with wasabi/soy sauce and ice cold beer.

But i've just read on google that i'm not meant to mix the wasabi with soy sauce. What the f**k! How else to eat it except pick up the sashimi with chopsticks, dip in the sauce and eat.

That's how I've always done it, and I've seen Japanese people in Japan do the same.  I don't know why google thinks that's not how to use wasabi.

[Zambo]

8 minutes ago, tko said:

That's how I've always done it, and I've seen Japanese people in Japan do the same.  I don't know why google thinks that's not how to use wasabi.

I started eating sashimi and wasabi with vietnamese and thai women so i'm not sure if its not a south-east asian thing to mix wasabi with soy sauce. Anyway too late to stop now.

[Derek Dangleberries]

38 minutes ago, Zambo said:

One of my favourite dining experiences is sashimi with wasabi/soy sauce and ice cold beer.

But i've just read on google that i'm not meant to mix the wasabi with soy sauce. What the f**k! How else to eat it except pick up the sashimi with chopsticks, dip in the sauce and eat.

I lived/worked in Japan for just over 3 months.

If there is a large group of you then it tends to be "mix it in the tray" method ... If it is a more intimate group then individuals tend to put the wasabi directly under the fish. One end should dangle over the edge slightly more than t'other..

10 minutes ago, tko said:

That's how I've always done it, and I've seen Japanese people in Japan do the same.  I don't know why google thinks that's not how to use wasabi.

 

[Zambo]

1 minute ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

One end should dangle over the edge slightly more than t'other..

Ok got it i'll try the dangle method. Any end?

[Derek Dangleberries]

Just now, Zambo said:

Ok got it i'll try the dangle method. Any end?

The end with the dangly bit ...!!

[Derek Dangleberries]

37 minutes ago, tko said:

That's how I've always done it, and I've seen Japanese people in Japan do the same.  I don't know why google thinks that's not how to use wasabi.

In English terms it could be compared to eating soup.

I, like most people, just dig in with a spoon but others will tip the bowl away from them and use the spoon likewise.

Depends on the individual, the company you are with, the occasion and the location ....,, even the time of day/night !!

[roomark]

Yes can eat Spicey the same as most Thai's don't always enjoy it and gotta be in the mood.

Sometimes if your upcountry you have no choice 🤣 unless I take the truck and go get my own shit

 

[Butch]

I can eat spicy maak maak , I only get heartburn when eating anything to do with pastry.

I was chatting to a girl in a bar on bukhao as she was making her own Somtam Pla Raa, she used 14 chillies and asked if I wanted to try some, which I did. It was bloody hot, to the point of actually not being able to taste nothing but chillis and I think that it had gone beyond the point that adding another few wouldn't have made any difference.

for stuff like Krapao, I'll move the chillies out and avoid eating them, as I think again, on a hot one it overwhelms the flavours (I've noticed Thais do this as well). I think (as I understand it) that by the time the food is served in krapao, the spices have done their thing and the oil / spice has been fully absorbed by the meat.

thai apicy, yeah, Indian spicy, not so much as I think their spicy sauces are tomato based. for some reason I can tolerate a Vindaloo or chicken ceylon, but anything beyond that just loses flavour.

 

[ChiFlyer]

4 hours ago, tko said:

That's how I've always done it, and I've seen Japanese people in Japan do the same.  I don't know why google thinks that's not how to use wasabi.

Agreed

[ChiFlyer]

I have lived in Thailand for the last 7 years and have a Thai Wife who is from Isan. I previously had spent a fair amount of time in Latin America and had developed a taste for spicy food.

I like peat mak, but not peat mak mak, at least with regard to Isan dishes. The Mrs is a good guide occasionally cautioning me with "maybe not for you". The woman prepares a wasabi-soy mixture with about 75% wasabi. I do mine at about 25% wasabi.

When she and her mates make their version of Som Tom, I will sample a bean sprout or two. Tastes great, in moderation.

As Oscar Wilde once said "Everything in moderation, especially moderation".

Edited November 4, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[thegrogmonster]

Great thread.

I like spicy food however some of the stuff my wife makes is out of the world hot. If we are at a Thai restaurant or the wife's family or friend's places she tells them to make mine hot just like they would for a Thai.

[maipenrai]

I can't eat really spicy dishes - I like it low to medium; I used to order the spicy seafood salad in the Beergarden in Pattaya and I'd say, "Pet klang klang" or "ha-sip ha-sip" and it would always come just about right for me; one day they must have hired a new cook because I ordered my usual and got totally napalmed with it - my eyes and nose running uncontrollably, my mouth on fire, my ears swelling shut (or so it felt like) and sweating like a pig - it was bloody painful but I was determined to finish it and did...on a side note, I have a friend in town who has never travelled to countries famous for spicy food other than Mexico but this guy can and and does eat anything spicy - he has a collection of those little hot sauce bottles that are marketed under rude names like "Red Rectum", etc...dunno how he does it but he doesn't even blink...

[Smiler]

No - if the the amount of chillis mean that I can't taste what I am eating then I don't eat it.

Fresh chilli makes me hic-up profusely for about 5 mins, much to the amusement of some people.....

I do however love the Thai foods that build in heat and intensity as you consume.

Got a mate who is a real chilli freak, the guy regularly competes in chilli eating contests here in England, he is always looking to go one hotter and got a lot of respect when he first came to visit in the village. 

[Krapow]

19 minutes ago, Smiler said:

No - if the the amount of chillis mean that I can't taste what I am eating then I don't eat it.

Fresh chilli makes me hic-up profusely for about 5 mins, much to the amusement of some people.....

I do however love the Thai foods that build in heat and intensity as you consume.

Got a mate who is a real chilli freak, the guy regularly competes in chilli eating contests here in England, he is always looking to go one hotter and got a lot of respect when he first came to visit in the village. 

Made me laugh, can just picture the Thai's nodding their heads, farang can eat spicy mak mak, well impressed. 

If he could take 6 kids to school in the morning on a scooter with no accidents as well, he'd be made head man of the village 

[Smiler]

59 minutes ago, Krapow said:

Made me laugh, can just picture the Thai's nodding their heads, farang can eat spicy mak mak, well impressed. 

If he could take 6 kids to school in the morning on a scooter with no accidents as well, he'd be made head man of the village 

Mate when word of his “pet lie lie” eating prowess got out, people were turning up with various dishes to challenge him - he ate them all and now enjoys the nickname “Falang pet Yai “

[KWA]

Nothing spicy for me if I can help it.  Tried a few dishes over the years but not found anything enjoyable.

[boydeste]

On 11/3/2023 at 9:22 PM, Sangsom said:

The few times I’ve had my head blown off with spiciness is following this question, I’m convinced when you say yes to this question they see it almost as a challenge and think ‘we’ll sort this farang out’ and up it beyond normal levels to prove a point.

What do you reckon? Am I imagining it? 🌶🌶🌶 

You are not imagining it at all.

I can and do enjoy spicy food and generally I am OK with eating as the Thais do.

I regularly eat a Vindaloo or Phaal curry here in the UK.

I am not a fan of raw chilli taste, so want my spice cooked into the food or very finely chopped if possible.

The one time to prove your statement, I was in a little place in Chiang Mai, the question was asked and my reply was that Pet Mak was good. Now I had ordered a Penang curry and they don't normally come super hot so felt safe.

WRONG.

When it came I could see from the dark colour that it wasn't normal. One spoonful told me all I needed to know. Wow, was it hot. Then all the kitchen staff came out and stood watching the farrang sweat his socks off. Obviously I had been set up. My Stubborn ass decided it wasn't going to beat me and finished it off, all be it I left a bit of the sauce.

The waiter came and asked if everything was alright, ( fucker ). I smiled and suggested it may of been a bit hot for a Penang, he smiled back and said the cook was amazed because it was too hot for them to eat when he tasted it.

Just to add to my misery, I had a bad guts for 2 days after too!

 

[Sangsom]

16 hours ago, boydeste said:

You are not imagining it at all.

I can and do enjoy spicy food and generally I am OK with eating as the Thais do.

I regularly eat a Vindaloo or Phaal curry here in the UK.

I am not a fan of raw chilli taste, so want my spice cooked into the food or very finely chopped if possible.

The one time to prove your statement, I was in a little place in Chiang Mai, the question was asked and my reply was that Pet Mak was good. Now I had ordered a Penang curry and they don't normally come super hot so felt safe.

WRONG.

When it came I could see from the dark colour that it wasn't normal. One spoonful told me all I needed to know. Wow, was it hot. Then all the kitchen staff came out and stood watching the farrang sweat his socks off. Obviously I had been set up. My Stubborn ass decided it wasn't going to beat me and finished it off, all be it I left a bit of the sauce.

The waiter came and asked if everything was alright, ( fucker ). I smiled and suggested it may of been a bit hot for a Penang, he smiled back and said the cook was amazed because it was too hot for them to eat when he tasted it.

Just to add to my misery, I had a bad guts for 2 days after too!

 

Similar thing happened to me in Samui a few months back which was the prompt to starting this thread.

Kapow moo, answered yes to the question. The staff kept coming over to check on me as I was eating in a way that never happens, they knew what was up. Blew my fucking head off but I defeated the fuckers 🤯💪

Never answering yes to that question again, happened a handful of times now and I’ve finally learnt from it.

[boydeste]

1 hour ago, Sangsom said:

Similar thing happened to me in Samui a few months back which was the prompt to starting this thread.

Kapow moo, answered yes to the question. The staff kept coming over to check on me as I was eating in a way that never happens, they knew what was up. Blew my fucking head off but I defeated the fuckers 🤯💪

Never answering yes to that question again, happened a handful of times now and I’ve finally learnt from it.

Since then I just say, same same Thai. 

So far it's been OK, but I still feel that it could happen again when visiting somewhere new.

[Nightcrawler]

I draw the line at Som tam or whatever the girls at the bar order from the food carts  

I think you have to develop a stomach for that kind of extremity which is a million miles away from a western diet. Most dishes are dampened down for us in terms of how spicy they are for us Westerners in restaurants.  My ex Thai  wife used to cook at home here in the UK for her friend's and just from the smell, I could sense it was lethal. 

I enjoy spicy food but for me, there are limits ad to what is pleasurable to eat and what would be a torture.

 

[Glasseye]

No.... but I try sometimes. Now hand me the fcuking tisssue box.

[Glasseye]

Just now, Glasseye said:

No.... but I try sometimes. Now hand me the fcuking tisssue box.

I remember when I was 15, working at a smordishboard restaurant as a bus boy. Bitch of a job.

 

The mexican dishwashers were always eating chilies out of a jar. Always asking me if I wanted one while laughing their asses off. I always said no. They laughed even harder. Good times, good laughs, hard fcuking work.

[Glasseye]

^^^^ I got fired from that job when I told the owners wife to fcuk off.

 

The owner later fired me. But, I could see it in his eyes that he wished he could have done the same thing.    5555555555555 !

It was worth it.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Glasseye

[Horizondave]

I can eat spicy food but there is a difference between being able to eat it and then enjoying it.

I have eaten many of the foods my wife makes, and she learned early on that 7 chilies, in my Yam Talay or Pad Krapow, is the right number for me to say it was enjoyable. First time she did a Yam Talay, it contained 14 chilies, but by the last bite I couldn't feel my mouth or taste anything, it had been anaesthetised. 

In Thailand I always say 'ped hasip hasip', that usually works for me.