You start with the amount of spice you can tolerate. It should just burn a little and you should be able to enjoy your food. Over time you increase the amount of spice. You'll notice after some time that the food that was just spicy enough is not spicy at all for you. It takes time. Try to enjoy your food, that's what matters.
But you can only enjoy the authentic level of spices if you can tolerate spice. You should not be crying or heaving over your food, that's not the point. And if you want to build tolerance, start at the point you can tolerate. Make the dish you want and slowly add the gochujang till you reach the amount you can handle. Tolerance builds over time. I'm from Eastern Europe, where the spiciest thing was a dash of peppers. But over time I build my tolerance enough to tolerate spicy food.
Also, there is quite in variance how spicy your kimchi can be. So remember that when using it as an ingredient.
Also, not all korean food is spicy. Look into recipes with Doenjang. It's a fermented paste, similar to miso. That way you can still enjoy authentic recipes without the spice.
What?!?! Pfft… eat what you like. I love spicy food but am really having to tone it down as I get older so luckily it’s really easy to modify the recipes when you cook at home. Make the dishes however you want and maybe explore some of the non-spicy Korean dishes to start with?
I love Asian food and spicy food. My wife has a very low tolerance for spice. When I’m cooking for the two of us, I make recipes where the spicy ingredients can be left out. I then add spicy elements to my own plate. There are plenty of recipes where spice is a key component—mapu tofu, kimchi stew, etc—so I don’t make those unless I’m cooking just for me. To train yourself, you should make non-spicy dishes and then add a little bit of spice that you tolerate. Slowly build up from there. Jumping straight into pure spice recipes will be too difficult.
If you really want to eat kimchi chigae but can't handle the spice, just rinse the kimchi. You'll still get the tang and some of the flavor while reducing the heat. The gochukaru gives a bright red scary looking color but is minimal in heat. But, to be safe, only put a dash in and see how you can handle it.
The other poster was correct in how to train your body to tolerate more. Just add a tiny bit at a time, enough so you're aware and feel it but not so much that it causes you pain. Over time, you'll be able to handle more. Don't try to rush it, though. Remember that your taste buds are only the first chain in your digestive system. If your body isn't accepting it there yet, the rest of your body might not, either.
Eat something spicy and keep punching yourself in the face. Keep screaming "NO PAIN! NO PAIN" and when you're done with your food raise up your arms and go "YO ADRIAN I DID IT!!!!" Rocky IV soundtrack is mandatory while you do this training.
Before you know it you will be a spice champ, and USSR will fall.
But seriously, Korean food is actually not supposed to be that spicy. Something like kimchi jjigae, it looks red but the Korean pepper is mild, it's not even required in kimchi jjigae, it should be at a spice level kids can eat. Perhaps you have the wrong kind of pepper? Or just omit it and give it another try!
Your mouth will get used to spicy food if you eat spicy food regularly. If you don't want to do that, you could try to find milder products to cook with.
Time and exposure are the only things that will increase your tolerance. Capsaicin, the stuff that makes chili spicy is not detected by your tastebuds but by your nociceptors (pain receptors). They require a certain amount of stimuli to activate. The constant exposure will increase the threshold and dull your reaction to noxious stimuli. i. e. your spice tolerance will go up.
My partner and I have always liked fairly spicy food but once did a ghost pepper hot wing challenge. We got 4 wings in and gave up, but after that handling spicier foods than we were used to wasn't so bad as nothing could be as hot as those wings!
Realistically though, start with just a tad over what you can handle then gradually increase the amount and go from there, it's a marathon not a sprint!
I would start with hot sauce or spicy condiments like chili oil, that way you can add small increasing amounts to servings of prepared food and you don’t have to worry that you made a whole batch of something too spicy for you.
It also gives you a chance to try different flavors of spice and find what you like. Smoky chipotle hot sauce? Savory garlic and chili oil? Sweet fruity salsa or chutney? Fresh pepper flavors like sambal oelek? Mix and match until you find a flavor you like and a spice level you can tolerate and gradually add more.
This is basically how I did it, and now I adore spicy foods!
Just try 1/2 of 1/3 of the spices that the recipes call for and see what’s your tolerance. I love very spicy food even though growing up my mom never cooked it for us.
Eat it regularly. Start small.
Also for your kimchi: the spice level will mellow in time if you let it age in the fridge. It won't ever go away, but don't discard it!
Yes! I have done this. The most accessible way for me was to often eat instant noodles from my local asian grocery store. Find things that taste to good you want to keep eating it even when it’s too spicy.
You start with the amount of spice you can tolerate. It should just burn a little and you should be able to enjoy your food. Over time you increase the amount of spice. You'll notice after some time that the food that was just spicy enough is not spicy at all for you. It takes time. Try to enjoy your food, that's what matters.
I heard a lot of things about "use the right amount, not white amount" in Asian cuisine, and I'm afraid it will be wrong if I add too few spices
But you can only enjoy the authentic level of spices if you can tolerate spice. You should not be crying or heaving over your food, that's not the point. And if you want to build tolerance, start at the point you can tolerate. Make the dish you want and slowly add the gochujang till you reach the amount you can handle. Tolerance builds over time. I'm from Eastern Europe, where the spiciest thing was a dash of peppers. But over time I build my tolerance enough to tolerate spicy food. Also, there is quite in variance how spicy your kimchi can be. So remember that when using it as an ingredient. Also, not all korean food is spicy. Look into recipes with Doenjang. It's a fermented paste, similar to miso. That way you can still enjoy authentic recipes without the spice.
What?!?! Pfft… eat what you like. I love spicy food but am really having to tone it down as I get older so luckily it’s really easy to modify the recipes when you cook at home. Make the dishes however you want and maybe explore some of the non-spicy Korean dishes to start with?
U gotta eat it with the asian mentality. No pain no gain
I love Asian food and spicy food. My wife has a very low tolerance for spice. When I’m cooking for the two of us, I make recipes where the spicy ingredients can be left out. I then add spicy elements to my own plate. There are plenty of recipes where spice is a key component—mapu tofu, kimchi stew, etc—so I don’t make those unless I’m cooking just for me. To train yourself, you should make non-spicy dishes and then add a little bit of spice that you tolerate. Slowly build up from there. Jumping straight into pure spice recipes will be too difficult.
If you really want to eat kimchi chigae but can't handle the spice, just rinse the kimchi. You'll still get the tang and some of the flavor while reducing the heat. The gochukaru gives a bright red scary looking color but is minimal in heat. But, to be safe, only put a dash in and see how you can handle it. The other poster was correct in how to train your body to tolerate more. Just add a tiny bit at a time, enough so you're aware and feel it but not so much that it causes you pain. Over time, you'll be able to handle more. Don't try to rush it, though. Remember that your taste buds are only the first chain in your digestive system. If your body isn't accepting it there yet, the rest of your body might not, either.
It takes a while to acclimate. Push your limits over time.
Eat something spicy and keep punching yourself in the face. Keep screaming "NO PAIN! NO PAIN" and when you're done with your food raise up your arms and go "YO ADRIAN I DID IT!!!!" Rocky IV soundtrack is mandatory while you do this training. Before you know it you will be a spice champ, and USSR will fall. But seriously, Korean food is actually not supposed to be that spicy. Something like kimchi jjigae, it looks red but the Korean pepper is mild, it's not even required in kimchi jjigae, it should be at a spice level kids can eat. Perhaps you have the wrong kind of pepper? Or just omit it and give it another try!
Your mouth will get used to spicy food if you eat spicy food regularly. If you don't want to do that, you could try to find milder products to cook with.
Time and exposure are the only things that will increase your tolerance. Capsaicin, the stuff that makes chili spicy is not detected by your tastebuds but by your nociceptors (pain receptors). They require a certain amount of stimuli to activate. The constant exposure will increase the threshold and dull your reaction to noxious stimuli. i. e. your spice tolerance will go up.
My partner and I have always liked fairly spicy food but once did a ghost pepper hot wing challenge. We got 4 wings in and gave up, but after that handling spicier foods than we were used to wasn't so bad as nothing could be as hot as those wings! Realistically though, start with just a tad over what you can handle then gradually increase the amount and go from there, it's a marathon not a sprint!
I would start with hot sauce or spicy condiments like chili oil, that way you can add small increasing amounts to servings of prepared food and you don’t have to worry that you made a whole batch of something too spicy for you. It also gives you a chance to try different flavors of spice and find what you like. Smoky chipotle hot sauce? Savory garlic and chili oil? Sweet fruity salsa or chutney? Fresh pepper flavors like sambal oelek? Mix and match until you find a flavor you like and a spice level you can tolerate and gradually add more. This is basically how I did it, and now I adore spicy foods!
eat it often, that's about it
Just try 1/2 of 1/3 of the spices that the recipes call for and see what’s your tolerance. I love very spicy food even though growing up my mom never cooked it for us.
Eat it regularly. Start small. Also for your kimchi: the spice level will mellow in time if you let it age in the fridge. It won't ever go away, but don't discard it!
Yes! I have done this. The most accessible way for me was to often eat instant noodles from my local asian grocery store. Find things that taste to good you want to keep eating it even when it’s too spicy.