Exotic Extremely Spicy Food

[Michael Tree]

I'm currently in induction, and I miss extremely spicy food. Unfortunately, I can't have that spicy food at restaurants anymore, because it was full of sugar and other carbs.

Does anyone have any recepies for spicy Schezuan, Indian, Korean, or Thai dishes?

[NulloModo]

Heya,

Well, I love spicy food myself, couldn't live without it. I have found that many traditional dishes can be made quite taste simply through the addition of some hot peppers or hot sauces (I have a huge assortment of hot sauces now since starting atkins).

For example, take the basic Atkins.com Caesar Salad with grilled chicken recipe. Simply add to the dressing double the anchovies, double the garlic (to fill out the flavor) and some whole (seeds and all) serrano chile peppers. Then pan fry the chicken breast with some chopped habenero peppers and toss it all together. IT is warm, very flavorful, and packs a huge punch.

Also try grilling burger patties stuffed with chopped pepper mixtures, I like serrano, jalapeno, and habenero combined in olive oil, I just wrap the burger patty around the pepper mixture (which is chopped to a pico de gallo consistency) and grill it, quite yummy. The Jalepeno Popper wrapped in bacon recipe under the snacks header is also very tasty if you leave some of the seeds in for extra kick.

I am sure I have whipped up other variations, but I too am always on the lookout for spicy dishes that are atkins friendly. Most buffalo wing joints are safe as long as the wings aren't breaded, buffalo sauce is just pepper sauce, butter, and vinegar, so, it is all atkins friendly. The blue cheese can vary widely in sugar content though (but it isn't as if you eat that much of it).

Finally, if you want a spicy dish that will certainly kick off a weight loss, try making Basque Eggs (ala the atkins.com site or the book) but cooking down the tomato paste/onion/etc mixture a little more while also adding a liberal amount of chopped habenero. It will certainly kick start weight loss, just don't eat it if you have anywhere to be for the next day or so where you can't easily run to a restroom.

[Michael Tree]

Thanks for the recommendations!

I really need to learn the different kinds of peppers. I love spicy food, but have never really cooked it for myself before.

I've been improvising a bit. Last night I made egg drop soup, with a hefty dose of chili oil to give it some kick. I also have a great recepie for stuffed peppers from my grandmother, and will try it out with bananna peppers instead of green peppers.

I've already made hot wings twice. Sadly, the best hot wings I've ever had, just down the road no less, are made with a Chinese-style recepie which includes sugar. I'm going to ask for the recepie, and try to make it with Splenda.

[NulloModo]

Try the following website to learn a lot about peppers, as well as to get tons of great recipes (mostly easily adaptable to atkins)

http://www.baileyfarmsinc.com/recipes.asp

[NulloModo]

You might want to also check out the recipe for Pollo del Diablo I just posted in the poultry section, it has some real kick to it. While in its current incarnation it is more of a mexican tasting dish, it can easily be converted to a spicy Indian style curry by replacing the cayenne pepper with hot curry powder, upping the chilli powder a bit, and using a liquor other than Tequila (off the top of my head I can't think of any Indian liquor though).

[Crabzilla]

Hey Michael, I am addicted to hot and spicy foods. I share your pain. I really miss going to my local Vietnamese and Thai restaurants. I love chili oil too. I adore stuffed peppers, however, to add some kick I always use either the Anaheim peppers or Poblano peppers. They've got a bite to them, although it's not always consistent. Someday's they're hotter than others.

I brown up some good ground sirloin with a little red onion, generous garlic, Ms. Dashes no-salt spicy seasoning, a dash of Lawry's seasoned salt, some fresh cilantro, and chopped jalepenos. After the beef is browed really well, I add about a half of a can of Extra Hot Rotel tomatoes and a cup of water and let the mixture simmer for about an hour, it softens up the meat. Sometimes I even add 1/2 cup red wine. Next I add a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves and let that cook for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, I've steamed my peppers (which I cut length wise) and they're ready to stuff. I top each pepper with a tablespoon of low sodium, low sugar tomato sauce and a slice of mozzarella (or whatever I have on hand). Pop them in the oven @ 350 for about 1/2 hour and then under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles. Sprinkle generously with fresh black pepper and a dash of cayenne for color and heat. Hunt's Tomato Sauce (all natural, no salt or sweeteners added) is my choice of sauce. I'm sure there are others out there.

If ya have time, I'd like to try your stuffed pepper recipe. :laughing

[yoitsme]

Go to an Asian store and buy the masala or curry that they have. It is 100 times better/more potent then anything you can buy at an American store.

Masala chicken is awesome - and no sugar.

Curry can go with tons of stuff