Is it spicy?

[sechan19]

I am a notable wuss when it comes to spicy food.  I'm the person in the Indian restaurant crying "spicy" while everyone in the near vicinity sniggers at my lameness.  Consequently, I was very keen - over the course of my recent short visit - to come up with a method of determining whether any particular Korean dish was spicy or not.  I came up with the following system:

If your Korean friend says...
...(straightforwardly) It's not spicy.

They mean...
...It's not spicy.

If your Korean friend says...
...(scoffing) It's not spicy.

They mean...
...It's a little spicy.

If your Korean friend says...
...(in a matter of fact tone) It's spicy.

They mean...
...It's fairly spicy.

If your Korean friend says...
...(under their breath) Spicy!

They mean...
...It's extremely spicy.

If your Korean friend says...
...(after a sudden gasp) It's... a little spicy.

They mean...
...You are about to take your life into your hands.


My lips went numb at one point.  But I soldiered on.  Heh.

More details about my trip will be forthcoming shortly.

Comments

[foxxydancr.livejournal.com]

now that you're back, let's make a date to catch up! we both obviously have lots to tell!

[reteva.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! My Saturday morning is booked, but I could be available for Saturday afternoon-ish, I think. Or there's other options during the week. (Holiday!)

[foxxydancr.livejournal.com]

i could probably do 4 ish your time on saturday?

[bjpachter.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Numb? O_o well that's a new one. At least you can say you've had REAL Korean food now.

[reteva.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Actually, it was pretty tasty. If it wasn't actually painful to eat, I'd definitely have more. But I think that I'm getting more used to it. ;>

[lordameth.livejournal.com]

I'm like that too. A big fan of food that tastes like meat or veges or fish or whatever, those flavors not hidden by spicy hotness.

I'm alright with Korean food (those few dishes I eat in restaurants in the US and Japan, anyway) - I just avoid the kimchee and anything else that looks spicy, and don't touch the red sauce that goes with the bibimbap.

But when it comes to a lot of other things - especially Indian food - I always ask a few times. Is it spicy? Are you sure? Is it really, genuinely, truly mild? They say no, and then it usually turns out to be too spicy for me. Terrible shame, really, considering that when I hit upon something that is genuinely, truly not spicy at all, it's usually quite good.

[reteva.livejournal.com]

Well, I do enjoy a little bit of spicy in moderation. I think it can really enhance flavors when handled properly. (That said, however, there's no need to be constantly eating spicy. As you rightfully point out, food-flavored food is pretty darn good, too.) But super spicy stuff is a real challenge as it actually becomes painful after a while.

But, yeah, I'm with you on the "is it spicy?" train. One nice thing about being in Japan is that the Japanese palate isn't geared toward spicy. Consequently, even their spicy food is not generally really spicy, and that makes it much easier to secure mild foods. (Although you still have to ware the Indian restaurants. Heh.)