hot weather = spicy foods

For the past couple of days, the temperature has been in the 90's (about 35C). That wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't humidity to deal too. Today, the thermometer hit 100F (38C).

What is it about spicy food and hot weather? For some reason, this summer I am really into spicy foods. From spicy curries to chili sauces. I wonder if it is to perspire more in order to cool off? Some people actually experience loss of appetite during the summertime here, that, has never been my problem (thank goodness!)

Well, the price of a lot of veggies have recently skyrocketed here in Osaka. Why? Last month's rain and flooding took its toll on a lot of the farming areas. For example, green leaf lettuce went up from about $2 a head to about $4--that is, when you can find it in the supermarket.

This past weekend, my student, Tomomi, gave us some nasubi or nasu (eggplant) and piman (green bell pepper). (Thank you!) (When we first came to Japan, I was surprised that green bell peppers were so "cute" in size.)

To use part of the veggies, I decided to make some curry. Usually, I throw everything into a pot and add a pre-made roux. This time, I sweat the onions until soft and caramelized, added the meat and then added some garam masala and other spices. Then I cooked the veggies separately in a non-stick pan and cooked them until they had a nice brownish-color. It came out spicier than I usually make it, but it was good!

With the rest of the veggies, I decided to make mabo tofu, which is actually a spicy Chinese dish using tofu (soy bean curd) and minced pork. Instead of tofu though, I used the eggplant, bell peppers and added okra. The stickiness from the okra is supposed to help fight natsubate (dealing with the heat of summer). I guess you could call this version mabo veg. It was really good with some rice.

Hope you are keeping cool where you are!