# Foodies; Does "Asian" mean hot and spicy?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foodies-does-asian-mean-hot-and-spicy/685275>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 3, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foodies-does-asian-mean-hot-and-spicy/685275 "2014-04-03T18:08:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foodies-does-asian-mean-hot-and-spicy/685275/41 "2014-04-05T17:36:49Z")

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> [@NiceGuyJack](#):
>
> I have been to India many times, but I admit I have never been to Goa. I have, however, been to Goan restaurants in Mumbai and Delhi. I have never seen vindaloo on the menu. I should also ad that, my Indian friends have told me that vindaloo is not authentically Indian. Perhaps it was influenced by Goan cuisine. I really don’t know.

I don’t know. When I was in Delhi last year, we ate at the Goan canteen that caters to visitors from the state of Goa. (It was a canteen in the Goan bhawan, which is kind of like a “state embassy,” if that makes any sense.) They had pork vindaloo on the menu. They also had their own version of piri-piri, a traditional Portuguese dish, of which there are very many local variations (I particularly associate it with the southern part of Africa, particularly Mozambique, which was a Portuguese colony.)

I also saw some version of vindaloo in Mumbai.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by “authentic,” but, as far as I know, it is a dish that originated in Portuguese India. It’s based on a Portuguese dish, but it’s its own dish now. I suppose you can call it a creole. But it’s not a dish that originated in the UK and moved back across into India, so far as I know.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foodies-does-asian-mean-hot-and-spicy/685275/42 "2014-04-05T17:41:14Z")

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[Here’s what seems to be a reasonable history of vindaloo](http://www.sunday-guardian.com/view-askew/vindaloo-manages-to-unite-the-culinary-history-of-3-continents). A similar dish was introduced to India via the Portuguese in the 1500s, then transformed into what is now called “vindaloo” with the addition of local ingredients and spices.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foodies-does-asian-mean-hot-and-spicy/685275/43 "2014-04-05T18:18:46Z")

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I should also add that the vindaloos in India I had were different than their UK counterparts: more fragrant, not as spicy, a bit more sweet & sour (because of the vinegar or tamarind), and the ones I had were made with pork, instead of the usual lamb or chicken I’ve seen in the UK and elsewhere, but chicken was also available.

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