Spicy Thai food

When we hear about Thai food we immediately think that it's something spicy. Actually, it is not nearly as spicy as it used to be 200 years ago.

But what's interesting is that before the 1600s Thai food was NOT spicy at all. It was the time that Portuguese merchants were coming from the Americas and brought chili peppers to the Middle East, India, and Siam. The origin of chili peppers is Mesoamerica and it was discovered and introduced to the rest of the world by Columbus. Since then it became one of the main ingredients of Thai cuisine.

I grew up not knowing the beauty of spicy food. Now I can't imagine my life without it.