Chilli

There! My ten minutes are up. And I've stopped at 40.

Yup, 40 types of chilli amidst our Singapore menu. And that's only based on the self imposed ten minute limit to count the amount of chilli sauces that I've been stung with here.

Hey, are we a chilli culture nation or what. You know the oft heard "no chilli cannot eat…no chilli can die!", and said in earnest sincerity.

Let me just run a few types by you…chicken rice garlic chilli and ginger sauce, mee pok chilli sauce, roast duck chilli, stewed duck chilli, Shanghai dumpling vinegar ginger, grilled stingray sambal, nasi-padang sambal belachan, chwee kueh chilli, wanton mee chilli, beef noodle chilli, chilli noodle chilli, rojak chilli, chilli crab chilli …phew! it is not difficult to continue this list!

So, what is it about this revered yet humble vegetable/herb called chilli that gets us all so hooked. The fact that they grow so freely and cross breed easily is one reason why they feature so prominently as an enhancement to the delights on our dining tables around the world. There are at least two hundred versions around today, from the sweet Japanese pickled chilli to tabasco and the Thai chilli padi.

I have Mr Loo, a prominent property businessman, to thank for this inflection. While shooting him for a portrait sitting, our warm up chatter invariably led to food. Being a true blue, soil of Singapore makan kaki, he shared that in a nutshell, our passion for food revolves around our chilli culture. At random, I put that thought to the test.

Can you imagine polishing off a simple plate of nasi padang of grilled fish, beef rendang and sayur lodeh (at Sabar Menanti, no less) WITHOUT a legendary dollop of sambal belachan with the nasi ?! Or ngoh hiang without the ginger chilli concoction. What if you ordered mee-pok dry without chilli? How, if Sajis at Waterloo St served you piping hot and freshly fried spicy Indian rojak minus his chilli dip thickened with sweet potato sauce? Can die, right?

Simply put, chilli, in one version or another, can bring out the best in foods. I cannot even begin to describe how stunningly blissful it is to bite into a piece of crispy and spicy masala vadai, followed immediately with a chew on a fresh green chilli. It is like yin and yang finding harmony in your mouth and leaving in its wake, a mild, yet satisfying sting. Corny! But I wouldn't quite know how to display in words this pleasure of chilli. "No kick, lah, if no chilli", was what Raymond Au Yong said with clenched fist when asked about what was behind his mystifying love of this spice. Mind you, Raymond has been cooking for more than 15 years in one of Singapore's most revered Peranakan eateries in Joo Chiat, the Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant. His offer of an elaboration - "food got no feeling without chilli" was of no help either.

There has been a lot of studies on chilli peppers and there's some positive news here. The research believes that it can help fight diseases, sooth pains and, hear this - help you loose weight! They attribute all this to capsaicin, a compound found in it's seeds and veins. Hey, they are even suggesting that it can help clear your sinuses and chest congestion. They trigger the release of fluids that dilutes mucus - which is why you can cry when eating chilli padi. But, a note of caution- some research also claims that too much chilli can be linked to stomach cancers too!

So whatever it is, whether you believe in the folkloric stories of chilli being a remedy for malaria and even bronchitis, or that chilli can give colorectal problems, please spare me your philosophy. I am not obsessed with nor do I abstain from it, I simply enjoy and CANNOT TAHAN(endure) WITHOUT CHILLI!