What kind of kimchi and what kind of curry? Overall, I’ve never had a kimchi that was burn-your-face-off spicy. Perhaps I just don’t get super spicy kimchi (I just get a variety of stuff from the Korean kimchi market), but it’s never registered more than a 5/10 for me, if that. I have had vindaloos (in Birmingham, UK) that literally hurt my ears to eat.
Totally different cuisine. But good kimchi will have a bunch of red pepper in it. Kimchi’s power comes more from the fermentation and garlic rather than the pepper.
We had home-made hot curry chicken for dinner a few minutes ago. I’d rate it at about a medium on my personal hotness scale. Hot enough to engage the taste buds, but not enough to really jump-start a sweat.
“The stuff my neighbor made that he swore was spicy and I thought wasn’t.” compared to “the kind of curry that melts your face off.”, I suppose.
Depends on the kim chee. But I have eaten Indian food in Chandigarh, India with Korean folks and they complained about the blandness of the food in a place that where the food was hottish to my tastes.
You have. The fact that you refer to Mexican food (and barbecue) as being spicy would support that. I have had plenty of both in the US and do not regard them as spicy. Sure, you can add hot sauce and liven them up as much as you want, but they are not inherently spicy. They are nothing compared to a typical Indian restaurant in the UK.
OTOH, Thai food can be spicy, even very spicy. But you get Thai restaurants in the UK also.
Where you have a case is with Chinese food. In the UK, Chinese food is pretty bland. In the US, there are several dishes that can be fairly spicy. I guess that is down to the Chinese regional cooking that became prominent in each country. Or it could be that because British food was generally bland, then the first Chinese restaurants to open up also served bland food.
It is ironic really that Britain, home of traditionally bland food, has adopted Indian food so much that it has even been argued that the national dish is now curry.
Som curries are so hot (see phall) that I find it difficult to imagine many people actually liking them. They are on the menu more for men to exercise their testosterone after eight pints of beer by proving they can actually eat this stuff.
I can’t comment on the level of heat of Indian food in the US but I would support everyone from the Uk who has pointed out that the food in Indian restaurants in Britain can range from the mild to the ridiculously hot. Personally I see no point in eating overhot phall or vindaloo where the only taste sensation is the heat - but each to their own.
Another point, I always avoid menu items where you are offered a choice of mild, medium, or hot and choose a specific regional dish at whatever heat the chef thinks is right for his dish. After all, you would not go to a French restaurant and specify the amount of garlic in the dish 
Not surprising, if you live in Atlanta. It’s extremely difficult to get decent chile outside of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
BTW, if they spell it “chili”, they are gringos, and it won’t be hot. If they spell it “chile”, you have a chance.
Clearly, my friend, you have never encountered the habanero. 
IIRC, Shagnasty is originally from Louisiana, transplanted here to New England. New England “hot” translates to cajun “slightly more interesting than mild” at best. So the Indian food you’re eating has probably been toned down so as not to offend Yankee sensibilities and taste buds.
That is all true. Good point.
All respect, but this just isn’t true. I spent a lot of time in New Mexico for my job a couple of summers ago. I love southwestern style food, especially if it is hot and spicy. The food in NM was good, no doubt, but I don’t have that hard of a time finding equally good stuff up here in CT.
Story warning!
Years ago when I was in college and my brother was starting grad school, we both house sat for this Indian guy. He told us to help ourselves to what was in the fridge. So, for Christmas dinner we ate Indian. Both my brother and I like hot food and can usually slurp up heat that makes other people cough and grab a glass of milk. This Indian guy had some homemade chutney that was so hot all we needed was a teaspoon full to make an entire dish hot enough to make our eyes water. It was awesome! Wish I had a recipe for whatever that was. It wasn’t just hot, it had all sorts of flavor to go with the intense heat.
I think the OP’s been going to the wrong restaurant. Most Indian food I’ve eaten is spicy to some extent or at least extremely flavorful. That said, most of the food I’ve had in India has had enough hot spice to at least make your lips tingle. And homecooked food, depending upon the region, almost always has hot spice. I can’t think of an Indian recipe (other than dessert, chapatis or naan) I’ve made or that I’ve had at someone else’s house that didn’t at least have fresh chilis, cayenne or both.
Indian food out has always seemed much more flavorful and varied to me than Mexican eaten at a restaurant. I think most food is best when it’s cooked at home - although many restaurants are fabulous, when food is produced in large enough quantities and created to satisfy the majority, unless you’re in the native country, it probably won’t be as good as food made at home by someone who knows what they’re doing.
As an Indian living in the US for years now, I will not eat Indian food in a restaurant. The food is often very very greasy and one dimensional. And much of it is just of the “Tandoori” variety. Even in India the large majority of restaurants are of this type. Of course, you can easily find superb restaurants serving region specific food - Most of that is great!
If you want something spicy to go with your food, just walk over the the “pickle” section of any Indian grocery store and pick up the basic Mango pickle. Do NOT buy the Patak brand or any thing that’s made in the UK…pick up something made by MTR or “Sanjeev Kapoor”. The problem you may have is the sheer variety of the pickles - various combinations of vegetables, fruits and styles.
Now, be careful when you eat this. Open the jar carefully and do NOT spill the oil on your clothes. The stain will NOT wash off. Take a quarter teaspoonful on a plate and touch the corner of a piece of bread (or nan or roti) to it briefly and pop it into your mouth. Adjust the amount of pickle one your bread according to your heat-resistance. And report back here.
Wings are meant to be breaded a bit. They should be like a plate full of mini KFC with hot sauce. I hate naked wings.
They can go either way, but if you bread wings and call them “Buffalo” style, it’s a sure way to ensure I never order them again from your establishment. I’m firmly in the naked camp, with the exception of Harold’s hot wings.
After looking things up, I’d call the kim chee (korean neighbor’s) to be a winter variety.
That said, I wouldn’t have called it all that much more hot than a 2-3 alarm chili.
(Chile my proud buttocks, mbh)
Would you consider your average hot-spicy curry to be hotter than a 3 alarm or 4 alarm chili?
I’ve gotten some pretty hot Indian food here in New England – as with Chinese food, it depends where you go. Most mall food outlets won’t be very spicy (although the chicken vindaloo they serve at the malls herabouts really is pretty hot, but nothing else there is), but even there I’ve had some that brought tears to my eyes.
I also had an Indian roommate when I was in grad school. HIS food was incredibly spicy = hot.
I wish I’d known this Friday. I’d popped over to an Indian market right next to the restaurant I’d just eaten at and was eyeing the pickles but I had no idea where to start.
There was a talk show / sketch comedy done by Indians living in London, but I can’t remember the name. They had one skit about Indians in New Delhi going for an “English”, that is, to an English style restaurant. After they mispronounce the waiter’s name (I think it was Tom) and one woman pinches his butt (saying they expect that in here), one guy boasts he’s ordering the blandest thing on the menu. It was an obviously play on going for spicy Indian food in England, but I thought it was pretty clever. 
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