In hot weather, we often gravitate towards cool and refreshing foods like ice cream, cucumbers, and watermelon. In many of the world's warmest regions, however, the food itself is fiery. Think Indian curry, spicy Thai soup, and Jamaican jerk. For one, these are places where chile peppers grow. And some say that hot foods actually cool you down.
Sitting over a bowl of steaming soup or crying from the bite of a hot pepper might not seem like the most intuitive way to spend a summer day, but foods that are hot in spice or temperature may actually cool the body by increasing blood circulation and perspiration. Sweating releases heat ... but how long does this effect last? And is it worth it, or would you rather eat a popsicle?
Just the thought of hot tea or spicy curry makes us sweat, but we like the idea of dishes such as Cool and Spicy Fish and Cucumber Salad and peppery-yet-refreshing beverages like West African Ginger Drink. Do you enjoy hot and spicy food this time of year? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes?
Related: Food Science: What Makes Chile Peppers Spicy?
(Image: Flickr member geoftheref licensed under Creative Commons)
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I have hot tea every morning and I had Drunken Chicken the other night for dinner.
Temperature doesn't stop me!
Emily
They definitely make me sweat and I suppose the contrast from the heat in my mouth may make the heat in the air feel like less. I do like fresh salsas and other spicy but cold dishes in warm weather. I don't like hot cooked foods whether their spicy or not in hot weather though part of that is also that I have to cook them and heat my kitchen up more.
All spicy foods, all the time for me. I love it. Tabasco and Sriracha have no season.
http://www.abreadaday.com
Growing up in Japan, (Japanese) curry was the ultimate summer food - make it extra spicy and eat them with iced roasted barely tea! We were told (at school) that those spicy food in summer also stimulate our appetite and increase our strength to survive humid disgusting summer days.
Oh yes - I eat chilis year round - but love hot food in summer especially.
I am from Indonesia which is hot all year round and we eat a lot of spicy food.
I'm a fan of eating kimchi chigae during the summer. I think the food, if it's spicy enough, making you sweat also cools you off (as the sweat evaporates). Refreshing!
Though, you also can't beat a nice cool bowl of mul/mool naengmyung.
As the Spanish language has taught me "calor" (temperature hot) is not the same as "picante" (spicy). They are two totally different words, two totally distinct sensations! I probably wouldn't eat a steaming bowl of beans and chile on a sweltering day, but you bet I'd whip up some spicy salsa and wash it down with a cold drink on the muggiest afternoon. Piquant flavor is actually very refreshing!
How about both? I made watermelon and jicama sticks this weekend with chili salt.
http://backseatgourmet.blogspot.com/2009/08/perfect-first-date.html
Yep- I second Mama Ark. Refreshing fruit sprinkled with lime juice and chile powder is a summer must! Mango is a favorite of mine!
Gabriela, it's very interesting about calor and picante. I think we confuse the two in our language all too often.
One of my favorite summer foods is Naeng Myeon, which is a super-hot Korean buckwheat noodle dish, served cold. The way my mother always made it bibim-style (like a salad): the noodles mixed with chili sauce, vinegar, mustard oil (to raise the heat quotient even more), sesame oil, sugar, julienned cucumbers, with a boiled egg sliced on top. We also added ice cubes to keep the noodles cold.
A bowl of this and your mouth will be on fire for at least twenty minutes. We'd eat some ice cream or popsicles afterward to cool off.
@joetron2030 and @slowdown Keep an eye out for our vegetarian naengmyun recipe this month!
Spicy 365!
yeah, i think spicy food is very summery. maybe not soup or particularly heavy curries, but definitely lighter ones and any other hot dish!
I've actually been making several batches of spicy bolognese stuffed peppers as per request from my fiance. Actually, now that I think of it, we've been eating a lot more spicy dishes than we normally do... Weird considering we both hate heat and don't usually like spicy hot dishes anyway. :)