Spicy Food Quotes

“Incidentally, the long-held idea that spices were used to mask rotting food doesn't stand up to much scrutiny. The only people who could afford most spices were the ones least likely to have bad meat, and anyway spices were too valuable to be used as a mask.”
― Bill Bryson, At Home: A Short History of Private Life

“So, what's your poison, Jay?" Zara joined the buffet line a few minutes later. "Let me guess. Something dark and spicy that packs a lot of heat. Maybe a rista? Or a naga curry?" She studied him, shaking her head. "Hmmm. Not so exotic. I think you're more of a vindaloo. Rich and complicated with hidden depths. Every bite satiates your taste buds and leaves you craving more."
Unsettled by her seemingly casual yet unnervingly accurate assessment, he turned his attention to filling his plate from the lavish spread.”
― Sara Desai, The Singles Table

“Want some?" he asks, pointing to his dinner.
Maybe eating will calm my nerves. "What is it?"
"Enchiladas. Mi'ama makes kick-ass enchiladas." He stabs a small portion with a fork and holds it out to me. "If you're not used to this kind of spicy food--"
"I love spicy," I interrupt, taking it into my mouth. I start chewing, enjoying the blend of flavors. But when I swallow, my tongue slowly catches on fire. Somewhere behind all the fire there's flavor, but the flames are in the way.
"Hot," is all I can say as I attempt to swallow.
"I told you." Alex holds out the cup he'd been drinking from. "Here, drink. Milk usually does the trick, but I only have water."
I grab the cup. The liquid cools my tongue, but when I finish the water it's as if someone stokes it again. "Water . . . ," I say.
He fills another cup. "Here, drink more, though I don't think it'll help much. It'll subside soon."
Instead of drinking it this time, I stick my tongue in the cold liquid and keep it there. Ahhh . . .
"You okay?"
"To I wook otay?" I ask.
"With your tongue in the water like that, actually, it's erotic. Want another bite?" he asks mischievously, acting like the Alex I know.
"Mo mank ooh.”
― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry

“I combined garlic, five-spice, black peppercorns, Thai chilies, and paprika in a large bowl for the seasoning. I tumbled two pounds of chicken wings out of their brown paper wrappings and into the waiting bowl, where I kneaded the pungent mixture into them, squeezing the spices into the meat like an experienced massage therapist. Another bowl full of Shaoxing rice wine awaited the wings as the next step after their rigorous massage. They soaked and relaxed, basking in the pool of wine to become drunken like their name.”
― Roselle Lim, Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune

“A lot of bright colors make it so you cannot see tiny patterns and designs. A lot of loud sounds make it so you cannot hear things that are quiet and magical. A lot of spicy foods make it so you cannot enjoy everyday foods like bread, rice, and pasta.”
― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff, Voyage to the Sun: A Children's Version of the Tao te Ching

“I'll have the pork vindaloo. Extra hot." He puffed out his chest. He'd acquired a taste for Indian food after the years he'd spent sharing meals at the Patel home, although he hadn't had food as good in many years.
"It's too hot for me the way they make it," Daisy said. "I wouldn't even consider asking them to raise the heat."
"I ate at your house every night and your dad made his curry extra hot. I miss that burn."
Daisy's lips quirked at the corners. "He said it was extra hot so he didn't crush your ego, but in fact he kept the heat down when you were around. What he called 'extra hot' is actually a restaurant mild. His real extra hot would blow your mind."
"You don't scare me," Liam said. "I'm not changing my mind."
"Stubborn and ungrateful." Daisy smirked. "I'm going to enjoy listening to your screams of pain."
"Is that your idea of a good date? Screams of pain?"
She smiled, amused. "I don't date often. I usually just hook up with someone for the night.”
― Sara Desai, The Dating Plan

“This tastes so familiar!" Sana said. "That sourness... is it from tamarind?" When I nodded, she grinned, the dazzling smile lighting up her whole face. "I knew it. My family's originally from Trinidad, and we use it in a bunch of dishes. This soup is new to me, but somehow it tastes like home, you know?"
She attacked the soup and rice with new vigor, and so did I, both of us patting sweat away with the paper napkins on the table.
Rob noticed this and frowned. "I don't understand how you two can eat soup on such a hot day."
I snorted. "What, do you think people in hot climates never eat soup?"
Sana added, "Why do you think so many tropical countries eat spicy food? Sweating is healthy and helps us cool off. Removes toxins from the body, too.”
― Mia P. Manansala, Homicide and Halo-Halo

“As always, the dosas were perfect, crisp and lacy, and the unusual chef's addition of the habanero chutney made Naina's mouth burn in the best way. She'd inherited her ability to tolerate spice from her mother. Dr. Kohli was something of a wimp in this department, and so naturally Naina and her mother only ever ate the truly hot stuff when he wasn't around.
"Never make people feel bad when you're better at something than they are," her mother had said with an unfamiliar amount of glee one night at dinner when her husband had been on call and she'd made the potato bhujia with enough red chili powder to make even Naina and her break into a sweat.”
― Sonali Dev, The Emma Project

“We also like our sauces to be spicy. As Chaucer said, "Woe to the cook whose sauces had no sting!" Incidentally, I can't help wondering if there is an ancestral link between our Worcestershire Sauce and the garum sauce so beloved of the Roman legionaries. Could this be another legacy of Caesar's invasion?
REVD. WALTER ALFORD, Chester”
― Caroline Scott, Good Taste