Are there any foods which incorporate all the different kinds of spicy-hot compounds?

Cafe Society
1

There are a variety of different compounds that make food have that spicy hot sensation:

–Capsaicin is the compound responsible for the sensation present in hot peppers.
–Allyl Isothiocyanate is the compound that gives mustard, wasabi, and horseradish their spicy flavors
–Piperine is the terpene that gives spice to black pepper
–Allicin is the chemical compound that gives raw garlic and onions their spicy flavor
–Gingerol is the phytochemical compound that gives fresh ginger it’s spice
–Cinnameldahyde is what gives cinnamon it’s flavor, even though not everyone perceives the flavor as spicy
–Hydroxy-Alpha-Sanshool creates the numbing or tingling sensation found in Sichuan peppers and uzazi

When you have food that is spicy, it will typically have some of those compounds in them. For instance, Mexican chile sauce will typically have capsaicin from peppers, allicin from onions and maybe piperine from pepper, but generally not the other compounds. Are there any foods which contain all of those compounds? Based on the list, I’m guessing that maybe there’s something in the Indian/Asian cuisine which might incorporate all the different kinds of spicy compounds.

2

Quite a few I would guess, especially in Mexican-Asian hybrids. When doing a number of stir fries, I hit all of the above.

  • Caps, in the form of Thai chilis or other options for the burn
  • Hot Mustard as a common condiment for Asian dishes, or even added as an ingredient for me in marinades
  • Black pepper as a seasoning and occasional as a main flavor component
  • Allicin, so yeah, garlic and onions in most if not all of my stirfries
  • Gingerol from ginger, also in most of my Asian cooking
  • Cinnameldahyde is sliiiightly rarer, but it’s in most Asian 5 spice powders, which, well, again, in many but not all stir fried dishes for me.
  • and H-A-S from sichuan peppercorns, again a common ingredient for me.

I’d bet I’d had all of the above in at least one dish in the last 3 months, and 5-6 of them very frequently, certainly within the last 2 weeks.

3

Maybe some Szechuan or northern Chinese dishes?

4

Some regions or varieties of Indian cuisines probably cover most of these bases.

5

Yes, I’ve had Indian food with very balanced heat. Thai food also.

6

Sichuan seems to be the closest. My wife uses black pepper, but it’s not steak au poivre levels. No cinnamon that I’m aware of, though.

7

That would be my guess, and I would love to see a recipe that explicitly included all of these. Including cinnamon, mustard, and Szechuan peppers in a single dish sounds terrible to me, but maybe somebody makes it work!

8

The one I mentioned, that I had done in the last 3 months was homemade pan-fried wonton, although that was a minor technicality, as the hot mustard was the main (but not only) condiment and the rest of the list was actual ingredients.

Ground pork, par cooked and crumbled, seasoned with salt and black pepper (I like a bit of black pepper in my mixes, and it’s a main flavor in Asian Black-pepper beef and my Garlic Pepper Thai dishes). Set aside, using the fat to gently cook minced garlic, ginger, serrano (or other chili) and onion. Kill the heat, add the meat back in, stir and season with sichuan peppercorns, five spice powder, and a bit more salt depending on the overall balance. Often I’ll add a bit of sesame oil, hoisin, or other seasoning depending on mood.

Once filling is just warm to touch, fill wonton wrappers, and steam or pan fry in a hot skillet depending on mood (and if it’ll go into a soup or a dish on it’s own) - serve with soy-ponzu mix, Thai sweet chili sauce, and the aforementioned hot mustard, made from Penzy’s powder just before use.

9

Aside: While some languages have separate words for spicy-hot and temperature-hot (like Spanish’s “picante” and “caliente”), I’ve heard that some Indian languages go further, and have different words for different sorts of spicy-hot (in particular, for capsaicin-hot vs. piperine-hot).

And while Scoville rating is only officially defined for capsaicin, you could use the same process to define a Scoville rating for any of them (how much must the food be diluted before the spiciness is undetectable). So one could make a sauce with equal parts by Scoville of each of these ingredients.

I’m guessing that arugula, garlic mustard, and celery seed all get their spice from allyl isothiocyanate (the mustard one), or are there other hot spice compounds?

10

Someone left a bag of super intense mint gum on the breakroom table today. I tried a piece, it’s uncomfortably minty and arguably ‘spicy-hot.’ Other than a novelty, I wouldn’t want this in my food.