Korean Red Hot Chili Peppers: A Spicy Adventure

Chili peppers are a key ingredient in Korean cuisine, adding a fiery kick to many dishes. They are also the most widely grown spice in the world, enjoyed by a quarter of the global population. Red hot chili peppers belong to the eggplant family and have a long history of cultivation and consumption.

How spicy are red hot chili peppers?

The spiciness of chili peppers is measured by the Scoville scale, which was developed by American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. The scale indicates how much a pepper extract needs to be diluted before its heat is no longer detectable. The higher the Scoville Heat Units (SHU), the hotter the pepper. Pure capsaicin, the chemical compound that gives peppers their heat, has a rating of 16 million SHU.

Among the peppers of the Capsicum genus, some peppers have almost no spiciness like green bell peppers, but from jalapeños (2,500~10,000 SHU) that are commonly eaten as pickles, you can feel a moderate spiciness. In the past, habaneros (350,000~580,000 SHU) were considered quite spicy, but new varieties have been developed that have even stronger spiciness, such as bhut jolokia (855,000~1,500,000 SHU) or Trinidad moruga scorpion (1,500,000~2,000,000 SHU). Some people eat these extremely spicy peppers and even compete to see who can eat them better.

However, birds aren't affected by the heat of chili peppers, because they lack the receptors that can sense the capsaicin. This allows them to eat peppers and disperse the seeds widely. It is thought that capsaicin evolved as a way to deter mammals, such as humans, from eating peppers, but some rodents, such as squirrels, learn to avoid peppers after tasting them.

Gochujang is a traditional Korean condiment made by mixing glutinous rice with red pepper powder, malt oil, and mezzo powder.

Why do people like spicy food?

One of the reasons why people love spicy food is that it gives them a thrill, similar to riding a roller coaster. This was discovered by Professor David Julius of the University of California, who was one of the co-winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His research showed that a receptor called TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 1) detects both high temperatures and capsaicin. In other words, the heat of red hot chili peppers tricks the brain into thinking that the mouth is on fire. The sensation of pain and pleasure that comes from eating spicy food is comparable to the excitement and fear that comes from riding a roller coaster.

However, there is a difference. The roller coaster ride ends quickly, but the heat of chili peppers can linger in the mouth for a long time and cause discomfort. On the other hand, applying chili pepper extract or capsaicin to pastes or creams can help ease muscle or joint pain. This is because repeated exposure to the heat depletes the neurotransmitters that transmit pain signals, and reduces the pain sensitivity.

Spicy food tends to be more common in hotter regions. When we eat spicy and pungent foods with chili peppers, garlic, and ginger, our body reacts as if we were in a hot room. We sweat to cool down our body temperature and more blood flows to our skin. This lowers the skin temperature and makes us feel refreshed. This is why Koreans eat spicy and hot food on a hot summer day. However, the link between climate and chili pepper consumption isn't always consistent, and there is still debate about why humans like spicy flavors. Peppers grow better in warm climates, so they are harder to produce and consume in cold countries. 

But that doesn't mean people don't eat spicy food when it's cold. The kimchi that Koreans enjoy in winter is also spicy, but it becomes milder and smoother during fermentation and aging. It is possible that the capsaicin in the kimchi broth is diluted and the spiciness is reduced, or that microbial fermentation has degraded capsaicin into less spicy compounds. In 2015, a research team led by Professor Kim So-ki of Konkuk University found a microorganism that breaks down capsaicin in pickled chili peppers, a traditional fermented Korean food.

After the Korean War, gochujang tteokbokki, which is made sweet and spicy by adding sugar to gochujang, was developed in various recipes and has become a popular food today.

Diverse uses

In South America, where it originates, red hot chili peppers are used in a variety of complex ways. In Mexico, there are so many different types of peppers that they have different names when they are raw or dried. When chili peppers are dried in the sun, the compounds in them react with each other to produce new aromatic substances. 

In Mexican cuisine, there are predetermined rules about which peppers should be added to certain foods. Tamali, enchiladas, and salsa are served with guajillo, a sun-dried mirasol pepper that highlights the smoky sweetness. Dried anchos with poblano peppers are soaked in water and grated or used in mole sauce. When chili peppers are added to a dish, they don't just increase the spiciness, but also add complex flavors such as sweetness, smokiness, and fruitiness. When you grate the peppers in the sauce, the pectin creates a soft, thick texture.

The spiciness of chili peppers is so popular that it is considered the taste of Koreans today. However, not everyone in the past welcomed chili peppers. In the 1920s~30s, the lifestyle improvement advocates who pursued Western-style modernization argued that spicy and stimulating foods should be reduced, saying that they were signs of backwardness. But the general public was different. They changed the recipe in a way that allowed them to enjoy more of their favorite spicy flavors. In this process, the sugar and chili powder were combined. 

For example, before the 1950s, tteokbokki wasn't a spicy food. It was a method of stir-frying meat in a rice cake and seasoning it with soy sauce. Shortly after the Korean War, tteokbokki, which is made by adding sugar to gochujang to make it sweet and spicy, appeared. As gochujang-seasoned tteokbokki became mainstream, the previous soy sauce tteokbokki was pushed aside. Foods such as stir-fried octopus and stir-fried meat, which are still popular today, began to emerge as popular foods around the same time in the 1950s~60s.

Here, we can reaffirm the fact that the reason why humans like spicy food is pleasure. Sweetness is a preference that people have since birth and symbolizes pure pleasure. Spicy, on the other hand, is something you learn to like as you grow up, but it also gives you pleasure. The sweet and spicy flavor of red hot chili peppers and sugar is a youthful and lively taste.

These days, people like to try new foods that are not too spicy but still tasty. Rosé tteokbokki is a good example. Capsaicin is the substance that makes chili peppers hot, and it dissolves easily in fat. That's why drinking water does not help much when your mouth is burning. But dairy products like mozzarella cheese and cream have a lot of casein protein, which can bind to fat. That's why having some milk or yogurt after eating spicy foods can soothe the pain. 

The same thing happens with the cream in the rosé tteokbokki, which captures capsaicin and lets you enjoy the spicy flavor without feeling too much heat. This is also why K-foods like cheese dakgalbi and cheese bulgogi are popular abroad. They make it easier for people who are not used to spicy flavors to get used to them.

Kimchi is a typical traditional Korean fermented food that contains red pepper powder, and it varies depending on the region, ingredients, and soaking method.

Spicy love

Columbus, who brought peppers to Europe, thought that this vegetable was related to pepper, so he named it "chili pepper." But pepper is the fruit of the nightshade family, which is different from pepper, which is the fruit of the pepperaceae vine. The spiciness of red hot chili peppers comes from capsaicin, but the spiciness of black pepper comes from piperine. 

There is another important difference between the two. In medieval Europe, pepper was a very rare and expensive spice, so the more pepper and spiciness a dish had, the more it was considered a luxury food. In the 17th century, when pepper became more widely available, the European upper classes started to look for delicate and mild flavors. The desire of the upper classes to set themselves apart from the lower class by their peppered food completely changed the taste they were looking for.

But not peppers. Unlike pepper, which is a subtropical plant, peppers grow well in temperate climates. The fact that they are easy to grow also means that they are affordable for everyone. Some people looked down on the spiciness of red hot chili peppers, but since they were a spice that anyone could enjoy, most Koreans could pursue their favorite flavor without any worries. Peppers tell us. It wasn't the elite few who created the Korean food culture of today, but the common people.

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