The Orochan Ramen Challenge!

      Orochon Ramen is known for using the purest of ingredients in their ramen, but more importantly it is known for having the challenge dish Special 2. A ramen that is so spicy that even Man Vs. Food host Adam Richman could barely handle! Yet there I was, a newbie compared to Richman.

Vanilla Mochi Ice Cream

      It was not easy task finding the small restaurant, it is well hidden in Little Tokyo just across the street of the mall. I decided to prepare my stomach for the heat by eating mochi ice cream. Mochi is a traditional Japanese ice cream that is balled up and covered by a thin layer of rice cake. It was a delicious way to cool off my stomach.

Taking the challenge!

     When I arrived at Orochon though, I felt so nervous! My heart was pounding fast and I kept bouncing in my seat. I sat right next to the wall of bravery for inspiration. There are only about a dozen people on the wall and all of them are men. I wanted to be the first woman on there!

The Wall of Bravery.

     In order to be on the wall I had to finish the Special 2 in no more than 30 minutes. The plate arrived at the clock begun to tick.
     The first taste did not set my soul on fire as expected, it was spicy yet enjoyable. The first five minutes were easy, but slowly the heat accumulated in my mouth and led a a track down my throat and into my stomach. I had lost my cool.
      Time flew past me and I suddenly realized I had six minutes left and still more than half a bowl full of noodles. I would have taken the bowl and chugged the rest like a maniac, but my stomach had reached the point of explosion if one more drop was consumed. It was embarrassing to fail, but it would have been even more embarrassing to vomit in public (or in private for that matter.)
     So yes my fellow heat seekers, I failed the Orochon challenge but I have no regrets! I have eaten the best foods and my stomach lining is still holding up, so bring up the heat! Oh and here's a video of my first taste of the Special 2. ENJOY! Stay spicy my friends!

I Like It Hot: Snacks Edition

      Halloween is a time of haunts and horror movies, but the most important part of this holiday is: the candy/snacks! While most people love the sticky and overly sweet caramel apples there are other types of festive sweets more appropriate for those who enjoy the spicy side of life.

Pablo's Esquite

Esquite

Briones' Stand

    For the most part everyone has an "elote-guy" (a man selling corn) roaming around their neighborhood. If you don't, then never fear Pablo Briones is here! Unlike most cart-pushing-elote-guys, Briones has a stand right in the middle of busy Los Angeles on Florence and Compton. He sells different home made Mexican treats, but the one I'm interested in is the Esquite. The Esqite is a mixture of sweet corn kernels with mayonnaise, cheese, lemon, butter, and chile pequin. The ingredients might sound like a bad combination and aren't exactly recommended for the health-conscious since the corn is smothered in each and every component. But trust me it is delicious! The spice intensity however is beyond satisfying. Briones' wife, Cristina, buys the raw pepper from a local mercado (traditional Mexican market) and both roasts them and grind them herself. Pequin peppers are rated 30,000-60,000 on the Scoville scale, that's about 13-40 times hotter than a jalapeno! The burning tickles your taste buds and covers up the icky mayo taste. I managed to eat my small cup in about 10 minutes without a drink of water to console me, but I enjoyed every second of the burn. But if you're worried about the heat, Briones also sells shaved ice drinks and fresh fruit.

Tiny Thai: The Odd Adventure

    I have decided to step out of my Mexican/American comfort zone and try something exotic. Rather than using major media sources for spicy food, I decided to trust Yelp, for once in my life, and I came across a Thai inspired restaurant called Tiny Thai in Long Beach.
    Thai food is definitely not my expertise but I know some dishes have curry paste and coconut. That's pretty much all I know the cuisine.
    I expected to find a very exotic restaurant filled with red and black decorations. Yep, that's how clueless I am about the Thai culture. However, when I arrived at Tiny Thai I was surprised that it was not decked out in exotic colors and ornaments. Instead I found a, dare I say, tiny restaurant tucked away and hidden from the congestion from Lakewood Blvd.
    The restaurant is very cozy and welcoming, but there were only two other guests besides us, which gave a sense of isolation that is both comforting and awkward. Another downer was the fact that guests must pass through the kitchen to use the restroom; that was a bit gross to me since I was being invaded with the flu virus and I couldn't help but wonder if bacteria from the restroom would reach my plate. Regardless I decided to give Tiny Thai a try.
    I told the waitress (she was the only server in sight by the way) that I demand to try the spiciest, preferably vegetarian, dish in the house! She apparently didn't take me seriously because she suggested meals that were mild in her opinion. "For me it's mild but I don't know how it is for you," the waitress said.
   Oh heck no! I felt a sense of insecurity, after my failure to handle Alondra's Atomic Sauce I have questioned my ability to handle heat. But how could she have known? In my head I told the waitress "You don't know me. You don't know my life. How dare you!" But in reality I accepted her challenge and went with the Paht-Kra-Pow Pak, which was basically stir fried veggies with basil and chili sauce. What kind of chili sauce? The waitress refused to reveal the main ingredient. My taste buds, however, told me that there was a substantial amount of garlic to my dismay.

   When my plate arrived I immediately dove into it, right infront of the waitress. It was, as she said, mild. There was the sweet burning sensation on my tongue but my ears were not blowing steam. I ate that Paht-Kra-Pow-Pack like a champion. I dominated and tamed that beast! But I found something odd. There was a thing string-ish thing, but I thought it was just  one of those stringy things from bean sprouts so I just tossed it off my plate.
   I've thought about that stringy thing on my plate and, after discarding all the possibilities, I came to the conclusion that it was a hair. Well... there is nothing else I could do since I thought about this hours after I had left the restaurant and my food was more than likely nearly digested.
   One of my regrets is that I didn't catch this in time to demand not to be charged for my meal. Damn. My second regret is that I didn't get the Hot and Sour Soup. Another guest got that and the pot it was in was literally bursting with flames. But if you think about it a hair on a stir-fry plate isn't as bad as a hair cooked in food.
   My recommendation is don't go to Tiny Thai in search of real heat (or at least with the Paht-Kra-Pow-Pack) and CHECK YOUR FOOD FOR HAIR!

Alondra's Atomic Sauce

The demon queen before
being de-throned.

      My fellow heat seekers, I'm afraid I have failed you. A co-worker challenged me to try Alondra Hot Wing's Atomic wings. Since my ego was through the roof after defeating the demon sauce, I accepted the challenge perhaps a bit too soon. Regardless I ran over to Alondra's over in Downtown Long Beach, oblivious to the spicy horror that was ahead.
      Don't get me wrong, I still plan to continue my journey, but the atomic chicken tenders made me realize that my ego was stronger than my current ability to handle heat, atleast as of now. I should have saved this dish until later but I definitely plan to redeem myself!
     The atomic sauce requires you to sign a waiver that indicates that you are consuming the sauce on your own free will, that should have been a major sign that the sauce was HOT but I thought to myself "I'm the demon sauce champion! Bring it on!" I was foolish.
     First off the sauce is made out of habaner extract, then it is sprinkled with dry red pepper flakes and seeds. All of this places the sauce's spiciness rate at 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale! That is TWO THOUSAND times hotter than a jalapeno (which is at a rate of 500.)

Chicken tenders tossed in
atomic sauce.

     Of course I didn't know this before hand. As soon as my plate arrived I could smell the tangy deliciousness sent of traditional buffalo sauce. I gave it a big whiff and thought "well, it doesn't smell deadly." My friend, Rocio Ortega accompanied me on this trip and straight out said "you are going to die." I laughed in disbelief.
     With the first bite my mouth and lungs immediately caught fire, but that's ordinary right? Sure, but in a matter of seconds steam begun blowing out of my ears! I have seen this effect in cartoons, but NEVER have I felt this before in my life! I can handle the burning in my mouth, the numbing of my lips, the watering of my eyes, but I was going crazy with the heat coming out of my ears! I kid you not, I almost poured Cherry Coke into my ears and used the ice balls as ear plugs!

God save the queen!

      Because of all these madening sensations it took me about half an hour to finish one chicken tender! To try to cool off quickly I tried eating my celery and carrot stick, but it didn't work! Anything that I put into my mouth burned!
      I gave up and decided to take them home. I wanted to complete the challenge but I wasn't prepared for the atomic sauce, and trust me, the name is more than suitable! I hope to redeem myself once I recover the atomic blast that occured in my mouth.
     I feel about disappointed that I failed my fellow heat seekers, but I feel better that not even Ryan Seacrest could handle the blast. Sadly it serves as little consolation.
     By the way, after keeping the tenders in the fridge for a couple of hours the heat is still strong, but the ear-steam sensation is gone.

El Pescador's Demon Sauce

      I endured my first flame excersice and visited El Pescador #5 in South Gate. My poison of choice was Camarones A La Diabla (shrimp in demon sauce.) Believe me, the sauce was less than demonic.

Challenge Accepted.

      I had this dish years ago when my taste buds weren't as flame-resistant and I couldn't finish the plate! But during my most recent visit I felt a bit disappointed, and a bit proud, that the heat didn't affect me. Have my taste buds gotten stronger or has the sauce weakened?
      Diabla sauce is a mix of different chiles and ketchup. The manager at El Pescador refused to reveal which chiles are included, but assured that it is a combination of a lot of different ones. Furthermore the only ingredient that he freely revealed was ketchup, which explains why the different spices were a bit dull.


CHALLENGE ACCOMPLISHED!

     I will admit that my mouth felt a bit of tingles as if a couple of fire ants were crawling on my tongue, but it was no different than chipotle sauce (which I suspect was one of the many spices in the sauce.)
     Even though the dish didn't meet my heat expectations, I do believe that it was an appropriate choice for my first challenge because it's gentle tingles have prepared my mouth and stomach for the journey that lays ahead.

     Fellow heat seekers: if you want to tickle your taste buds without the painful side effects of true heat, then please by all means try El Pescador's Camarones a la Diabla. Meanwhile I will go forth in search of greater glory.

Chile and I

      One day, in a land far far away (Mexico) I fell madly in love with chile (the Mexican word for spice.)
      It wasn't always paradise though. From my day of birth I despised spicy food. I simply couldn't handle anything but Ketchup. During this time I lived in sunny Compton, California. I was oblivious to the fact that there were other condiments that could excite my taste buds.

The abuela that made it all possible
and I (Summer 2010.)

      Then one day I moved to a Magical Town (yes, that's it's official title as of 2011) called El Teul de Gonzalez Ortega, Zacatecas, Mexico. The town has a long name but is inhabited by few. Fortunately I graced them with my presence when I was 5-years-old.

A combination of Takis,
cucumbers, lime, Salsa Valentina and Tajin.

      Getting use to living in a different country was hard, but getting use to the food was the most challenging part. One day my abuela (grandmother) made me gorditas de frijoles which are basically thick tortillas stuffed with beans. Sounds harmless right? Well my sneaky abuela mixes the beans with chile de cola de rata (a flaming spice that is called rat tail.) According to her there is no hotter spice.
      Needless to say I cried when my mouth started burning as if thousands of fire ants were having a parade. But something happened, the flavor captivated me. It was all down hill from there.
      Now I create my own mix of spicy ingredients and I hope to step it up to the next level with this challenge.