Why Thai Iced Tea Is The Ultimate Drink Pairing For Spicy Food
Spicy food can unlock a whole new level of flavor for our taste buds, exhilarating the senses and providing a fiery burn. But some spicy foods can quite literally set the mouth ablaze, so much so that you need a quick remedy to cool it down. Instead of desperately reaching for a glass of water or an ice cube, what if you found a delicious drink pairing that not only mellows out the heat but acts as a flavor companion to your spicy food?
Enter Thai iced tea, a drink made from spiced black tea, milk, and sugar to create a golden-hued, warmly spiced and sweetened milky beverage. Not only does the milk in the drink naturally cool down the mouth, but the spices like star anise, cardamom, and crushed tamarind in the tea are complementary to the spices in the food. Naturally, Thai iced tea is delightful when paired with spicy Thai food as well as other spicy Asian dishes. And while there are many ways to cool down your mouth after eating spicy food, none may be as delicious as sipping on Thai iced tea.
The science behind how Thai iced tea cools the mouth
Ultimately it's the sweetened condensed milk that helps make the Thai iced tea so refreshing and cooling on the tongue when matched with spicy foods. Condensed milk can upgrade everything from boxed cake mix to overnight oats to cookies, and it's responsible for the sweet creaminess of Thai iced tea as well. Milk and other dairy products contain casein, the protein responsible for giving milk its creamy texture. Turns out casein also binds to capsaicin, the spicy compound, and takes it along for the ride, away from your tongue.
On top of the sweetened condensed milk, Thai iced tea is also often served with evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is not sweetened like condensed milk, but still contributes to the beverage's creamy, cooling sensation. With this food and drink pairing, you can appreciate the distinct flavors of the food without focusing solely on the spice level.
Milk-based drinks to pair with spicy food in other cuisines
Ideally, Thai iced tea is best enjoyed alongside a spicy Thai dish, although it's soothing effect can work with all fiery foods. Hopefully, the drink encourages you to branch out beyond the pad Thai at your local Thai restaurant and order spicy noodles such as pad kee mao. Or for the extra bold, try pad prik, a stir-fried vegetable dish loaded with ultra-spicy chilis. Taiwan and Hong Kong have their own style of milk teas as well. In fact, several culinary regions have their own version of a milk-based drink that helps cool the mouth when eating spicy food.
Many Spanish-speaking countries turn to horchata, a rice milk-based drink loaded with cinnamon. For those unfamiliar, you can compare the taste of Mexican horchata to the cinnamon-laden milk that remains after enjoying a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, although horchata's flavor is more complex and exciting. In Indian cuisine, a mango lassi offers a fruit-forward twist on the sweet and milky requirements for a go-to spicy food cooldown drink. With a texture akin to a smoothie (but somehow even smoother), mango lassi takes the pulpy, sweet mango fruit and mixes it with yogurt for a creamy, naturally sweet beverage.
With your new companion to spicy food, you can be brave and order the hottest dishes on the menu the next time you're our for Thai food or making green papaya salad at home.