Thailand’s Love for
All Things Spicy

(Acquired Taste) When nothing else helps, try freshly squeezed, ice-cold coconut milk. “Mineral water only makes things worse and fills you up.” Supaksorn Jongsiri knows what he’s talking about as a perpetually cheerful chef and citizen of a nation known for its love of a sensation that divides humanity: spicy food. His signature dish is a crab stick coated in yellow chili paste.

Sorn, Bangkok’s only three-star restaurant is located in a villa with large windows overlooking the jungle-like garden. About half of the guests order from a less spicy menu. That’s no problem for the kitchen team, which prepares curry pastes and other ingredients fresh daily using a mortar instead of a blender because this brings out the essential oils and intensifies the heat. The spice level can also be adjusted at any time during the meal, and if all else fails, there’s coconut milk. “You can get used to spiciness, just as you can wean yourself off it,” reveals the 44-year-old with short black hair and a Michelin-starred chef’s jacket. “Even as a child, I used to try the spicy dishes at my grandmother’s restaurant. Before I opened Sorn in 2018, I worked in extremely stressful kitchens, which took such a toll on my stomach that I couldn’t eat anything spicy for about two years. Fortunately, that’s now changed.” When traveling, he regularly gets a craving for something to tantalize his taste buds, just like many of his compatriots. What’s the first thing he orders upon his return? “A stir-fry with crispy pork, shrimp paste, a fried egg, and ground chilies.”

Pepper high
Unlike salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami, spicy is not a taste but a sensory sensation perceived in the mouth, nose, and throat caused by the stimulation of heat and pain receptors in the mucous membrane. It is measured in Scoville heat units (SHUs). An average bell pepper scores 10, a jalapeño chili up to 8,000, and the specially bred Pepper X variety 2,700,000. The fact that heat serves as a natural defense mechanism against predators doesn’t change the fact that many people are crazy about it, not least because it acts as a flavor enhancer and stimulates the release of endorphins, hence the term “pepper high.”

This is certainly true for the roughly 70 million inhabitants of this Southeast Asian country, which is just as well known for its temples and picture-perfect beaches as it is for its hospitality. Things get particularly fiery in southern Thailand, where numerous soldiers were once stationed. Just like the generous use of salt and sugar, spicing up food helps with preservation, as Jongsiri reveals. Elsewhere, too, heat serves as a flavor enhancer to make the staple, white rice, more interesting, as well as for temperature regulation, since sweating naturally cools you down. It’s hot year-round in his home country, but not always equally humid. “It’s the rainy season right now, which is evident not only in the flooded streets but also in the heat of the chilies. Because they contain more water, they’re less spicy.” The fact that a love for spicy food is less innate than learned is clearly illustrated by his own family. “My ten-year-old son whom I named my restaurant after loves spicy food, quite unlike my four-year-old. I’m confident that will change.”

The fact that Bangkok is one of the world’s most exciting food capitals is due not only to fine-dining temples like Sorn or Potong whose chef, Pichaya Soontornyanakij, is known for her deconstructed pad Thai and mangrove crab served with black pepper jam but also to its impressive street food scene. Take 80-year-old Jay Fai who is easily recognizable by her ski goggles and whose age varies by source. Tourists are happy to line up at Raan Jay Fai for her crab omelet. Her spiciest dish, which has been awarded a Michelin star, is likely Pad Kra Pao: stir-fried ground pork with Thai basil and fresh bird’s-eye chilies. The majority of her colleagues in the street food business are women who enjoy the flexible hours and low entry barriers that offer a path to independence. Most do not, however, achieve Instagram fame like Jay Fai; instead, they simply spend decades preparing what they do best, often just a single dish such as the dry ground pork curry Khua Kling; Som Tam, a salad made from pounded, unripe papaya; or Tom Yum, a soup with a clear broth and a bold, sour, and spicy flavor.

The north has its own unique charm, too

In addition to Bangkok, the country’s second-largest city is also literally on fire. Take, for example, an ultra-hot sauce whose flavor its inventor describes as follows: “Its aroma comes in three waves. First, you taste a complex depth hidden beneath the heat; then, the Carolina Reaper chili really hits you. The finish is almost uncomfortably long, but not in a burning way. Instead, the heat just lingers.” This wasn’t conceived by a local, but by Luca Tidona, who hails from Italy. After working in high-end kitchens from Europe to China, five years ago, he ended up in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, a city known for its penchant for dried chilies and smoky grilled flavors and for which the 35-year-old has nothing but praise: “There’s none of the chaos of the capital here, but it’s also not a typical beachside tourist spot. Like everywhere in Thailand, food plays a major role, though the heat in the celebrated Isan cuisine here isn’t meant to shock, but rather to create balance.” Speaking of shock, you might well get one when trying one of his signature products: his company, Chef’s Sausage, became famous for its handmade sausages. Even locals stick to just a few drops or at most, a teaspoon of Devil’s Sauce.

There are tens of thousands of hot sauces in the world; the best-known in Asia are likely Sriracha and Sambal Oelek. Particularly spicy varieties are called Man The Fuck Up! and The Final Answer, and with nine million Scoville heat units, a sauce called Mad Dog 357 No. 9 Plutonium holds the heat record. So, here’s a provocative question: Does the world need another one? Tidona is dismissive. “Most are made of vinegar, food coloring, and marketing. Mine, on the other hand, is handmade with high-quality ingredients and draws on my years of experience as a professional chef. It’s sold exclusively on my website, and each batch consists of only 25 bottles, not because of artificial scarcity, but because that’s the only way I can guarantee top quality.” What’s the point of all this? For eggs, pasta, and grilled meat or in soups or on pizzas, a little national pride is a must. What the Italian appreciates about the cuisine of his adopted homeland is its fearlessness; it does not shy away from heat, acidity, bitterness, or funk. “It’s explosive, multi-layered, and immediate, and it hits you from all sides at once. Every dish is a dialogue between extremes and yet always finds the perfect balance.” Spiciness, he says, is a matter of identity, linked to family recipes and memories, so it’s more about emotion than taste. “Moreover, Thais are proud of their tolerance. Being able to handle spicy food is almost a cultural badge of honor.”

Spicy food means a zest for life
From Chiang Mai, we head 700 kilometers south, where one of the most accomplished experts on Thai cuisine lives. Chawadee Nualkhair grew up in Pittsburgh, USA, as the child of Thai immigrants. In 1995, she moved to Bangkok, where she works as a journalist and food writer specializing in street food culture. “In the local language, saap or zaap means delicious and spicy, which pretty much says it all. The penchant for extremes, from bone-crushing massages and loud music to vibrant colors and food that challenges the palate, is an expression of joie de vivre in this country.” According to her, spiciness also has a class-based dimension: “To set themselves apart from the lower classes, some members of the upper class spurn spicy food, just as they do typical Thai ingredients like cilantro and fish sauce.” When asked about particularly spicy dishes, the 53-year-old with gray-streaked, shoulder-length hair replies, “There are so many! I was born in Chiang Rai in the north, where things are usually milder than in the rest of the country, though even there, the love for spicy food is on the rise. In the northeastern Isan cuisine, you’ll find chili dips and spicy soups, while boat noodles are a specialty of the central region, as are Mala stews and skewers imported from Sichuan. In the south, many dishes are so spicy they make your ears ring, particularly in the so-called jungle cuisine, which has a penchant for wild pepper leaves.”

Speaking of pepper, Thai cuisine was originally seasoned with black peppercorns, also known as prik thai; the fresh chilies commonly used today didn’t make their way into the country until the 17th century. They were brought by Portuguese sailors along with other ingredients that have since become staples, such as peanuts, pineapple, and papaya. It should be clear by now that it’s hard to avoid heat in Thailand. “What Westerners call red curry can really set your tongue on fire, just like the pastes served with grilled meat, seafood dips, and supposed sweet chili sauces. The only ones that are truly mild are the Massaman and Penang curries, which originate from other regions.” So, it’s best to have some freshly squeezed coconut milk on hand just in case.