Eat this ...
We like it hot in Hong Kong, and not just in the stock and property markets. We seek heat in the bottle of Ron's Nuckin' Futs Hot Sauce at one of the Mexican joints in Central, at our many Sichuan eateries and in the jar of chilli paste we reach for at even the most Cantonese of restaurants.
Since the 15th century, when the Spanish spice trade began spreading chilli around the world, this shrub berry family has ignited the taste buds of people everywhere (some of the most hardcore 'chilli-heads' can be found in the US and Canada).
Here in our sub-tropical city, as in most hot-climate cultures - India, Thailand, parts of Africa and South America (the birthplace of chilli) - we are not afraid to sweat for our food, but what are the true benefits of chilli?
Paul Sherman, a professor of neurobiology and behaviour at Cornell University in New York, believes that chilli - along with other spices - serves an important anti-bacterial function in food. In his studies, Sherman found that 'capsicums, including chillies and other hot peppers ... kill or inhibit up to 75 per cent of bacteria', ranking after garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, which kill almost everything. Historically, in hot climes, where food spoils much more quickly, these spices have played an important role.
Some believe chilli to be a weight-loss tool. An article published recently in The New York Times cited studies that show capsaicin, the compound in chillies that provides the kick, temporarily increases the metabolic rate 'by about 8 per cent over a person's normal rate'. While this negligible boost is not going to melt away the kilos, it will help with digestion - an idea supported by traditional Chinese medicine.
Rose Tse, editor of Integrated Chinese Medicine's educational website, says, 'according to Chinese medicine, chilli is hot and pungent, which promotes appetite, aids digestion and expels coldness of the body. It is beneficial to conditions such as stomach ache induced by cold drinks, abdominal distention and indigestion.'
Tse says the pain caused by rheumatism on a cold winter day can also be relieved considerably by eating chilli. Western studies have supported the pain-relieving property of chilli. Capsaicin is considered an effective analgesic and is an active ingredient in certain over-the-counter muscle rubs.
Here's the real kicker: the rush we get from eating chilli results from capsaicin stimulating the nerve pathway of pain in the body. So maybe the greatest contribution of chilli is a philosophical one - that which gives and negates pain and pleasure is one and the same. We enact this paradox each time we take a bite of hot, sauce-laden burrito and feel the burn.
