South Asian cuisine has offered to the world many culinary masterpieces of hot spicy food, among them masala chai has a significant place. Strangely enough, yet after extra spicy food Asian people take not “neutral” drinks to extinguish the burning tongue, but the so-called “spiced tea” – masala chai. Healthy, nourishing and tasty, in India masala chai has left behind other world-widespread beverage – coffee.

There are many variants of making this magnificent beverage, still its main ingredients are milk, tea leaves, spices, water and some sweetener. The main point is to keep the tea leaves in the boiling or just boiled water long enough until all the components absorb the tea leaves’ aroma. But don’t draw the tea too long, otherwise it becomes bitter.
Thai Spicy Food

Chinese cuisine with its over 5000 years history numbers a lot of various ingredients. The most widespread are eggplant, lettuce, rice, winter melon, dried fungus, mushrooms and garlic; the most sinister ones – snakes and dog meat. Fortunately today beef and pork are more common at the butcher’s and restaurants. Chinese spicy food has many adherents all over the world. Chinese restaurants and snack-bars, famous for their spicy food, are numerous both in Europe and in America, competing with national cuisine.

Chinese spices, partly native, partly borrowed from other countries, have many medical advantages. Thus ginger has a good influence on the digestive system and garlic which is used completely, including flowers and stems, lowers blood fats and kills cancer. Sichuan peppercorns, named after the province they are cultivated, are also an important part of Chinese spicy food cookbook.

Actually Sichuan is considered China’s spiciest province. Its delicious cuisine is extremely rich for hot spicy food dishes. The main spice in Sichuanese restaurants is chili – powdered, dried, stewed and fried, – served both as seasoning and as garnish. The popular Sichuan dishes like Steamed Yellow Croaker and Fish-Flavored Pork are extra spicy and make you feel yourself a fire-spitting dragon. Even a standard hotpot, having deep roots in Sichuan, is a tongue-torching meal. However Sichuan Cuisine, which origins are traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties,is famous not only for its spicy food seasonings, but also for its cooking techniques like dry braise, saute, Hui and PAO.

With its tendency to fiery spices Chinese spicy food seems to send you a challenge. Those who accepted it, compare Chinese spicy dishes with drugs – once having tasted it you will never forget the effect, willing to experience it again and again. Although, unlike drugs, spicy food is very healthy. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit a Chinese restaurant or to get some special recipes and to give a Chinese spicy food party!

Today restaurants and snack-bars offer a great number of hot spicy food. As the president of McDonald’s North America Ralph Alvarez says: “Spicy has become mainstream”, because even fast food restaurants, known for their conservatism, cook spicy food dishes like Spicy Premium Chicken Sandwich. According to the research, the average percentage of dishes described in menus as “spicy” increases about 23% a year. The quantity of spicy products, as well as the popularity of extra spicy food recipes, is growing steadily.

Spicy meal has Asian origins, where it was brought to perfection. Chinese, Malaysian and Indian cuisines have a wide variety of world-famous dishes like Chicken Tikka Masala, Tom-yam soup and Laksa. Chicken Tikka Masala is common spicy food of spice-lovers. Its origins is disputed, but most probably it was invented in British India as an adaptation of traditional local food. Chicken Tikka Masala is made from baked chicken chunks and curry sauce which consists of various spices, cream and tomatoes. The chunks are marinated in generously spiced yogurt and baked in tandoor – a cylindrical clay oven used in India. Chicken Tikka Masala is extremely popular in Britain, considered as a national dish.

As to spicy food soups, Laksa is distinguished by its popularity all over the world. Its name has Sanskrit origins and is translated as “many” concerning the number of Laksa components which are numerous. There are two variants of the dish – Curry Laksa – noddles in a coconut curry soup, and Assam Laksa, in which noddles are served in a sour fish soup. Laksa is the spiciest dish of Malaysian cuisine, especially its Assam variation.

Considering all the spicy food pros and cons, the researchers concluded that it has a lot of medical advantages, for instance Tom-yam soup is not only a tasty spicy food dish, but also has an antibacterial effect. The scientists found out that, thanks to its ingredients like lemon grass and galangal root, Tom-yam soup can prevent tumors in the digestive tract. Other healthy spices of Tom-yam soup are garlic, kaffir leaf and red chili which is particularly rich for beta-carotene. All this explains the great success of Tom-yam soup and other spicy food in the world.