Chilli Kick
Monday, May 02, 2005
My love affair with chillies began with the chilli dip that accompanied my favourite dish of all time, Hainanese Chicken Rice. When I was younger, soup sprinkled with black pepper was already sheer torture. But I've always loved chicken rice. I even dream that one day my wedding dinner will have nothing but the best chicken rice from all around Singapore.
Having spent 10 over years eating plain chicken rice, I thought it is finally time to step up and embrace the accompanying chilli dip. After much tears and many tissue papers later, it has come to a stage where the rice on my plate can resemble the surface of Mars.
Over the course of my stay in Australia, I started to have spicy food withdrawals. I despaired at not being able to find prik kee noo (chilli padi) at several Asian groceries (or I probably didn't look at the right places), so I settled for the fresh chillies at supermarkets. There are labels on different types of chillies that rate the level of spiciness. I tried the Serano Chilli, rated 7 out of 10 on the meter and it adds a credible kick in dishes.
Earlier this week, I chanced across the Habanero.
Habanero: Rated 10 out of 10 on the HOT meter
A fiery HOT chilli which has a wonderful fruity flavour. Habanero chillies are ideal in curries, salsas, marinades and chutneys. These chillies are not for the faint-hearted.
Feeling arrogant, I snorted at the warning and wondered just how bad can it be compared to my staple of chilli padi? So in it went into my cooking. Just one chopped Habanero and it sparked an equation:
I was knocked out for the next 12 hours. In between toilet visits, I did some research and was humbled to have eaten the famed chilli. The hottest in the world. The kind of stuff that dares and intestinal suicides are made of.
Next time, I'm just putting half of it and leaving out the seeds. |
