Last week, I did a TV segment about hot and spicy restaurants. It’s the time of year when we need all the heat we can get, I figure. And while Montrealers are notoriously hot pepper-averse, I’m not.
So I found a local, high quality hot sauce maker and then hunted down some of the spiciest dishes in the city. That way, you can heat up your cooking at home with the sauces (for the nights when you just can’t bear to put on your parka) or you can slip into a flaming hot restaurant for a feast of spicy Sichuan fish, crispy Thai pork belly, jalapeño-tinged maki and upscale dumplings. Oh, and there’s also a Southeast Asian cooking class or two to check out, to learn to make your own sweet-and-spicy condiments (as well as razor clams).
Do chili peppers actually warm you up?
Yes! The capsaicin essentially makes your tongue think it’s on fire, which pushes your body into releasing epinephrine (adrenaline) to deal with the panic.
That increases your heart rate and releases endorphins. The more blood that pumps, the warmer you’ll be. Theoretically. When you sweat, it can cool you down, so you can have chili peppers in summer, too, but as long as your sweat doesn’t get cold in the air and cool you off, you’ll be fine.
That adrenaline is also a sneaky way to give yourself a natural high, so you won’t notice the cold so much, riding those endorphins.
Convinced? Good. Now the hot sauces.
I got a line of sauces from La Pimenterie, which are made at the MaBrasserie co-op in Rosemont. They range from a Sriracha-style Chêne Reaction fermented with a little oak infused to a Mexican-inspired green jalapeño and cilantro sauce, to ones made with local Quebec cranberries, apples, mustard seeds beer, coffee, bourbon and maple syrup. There’s a Middle Eastern-inspired Royal Bourbon a sweet and spicy Bollywood sauce with coconut milk and a super-rich BBQ-style sauce with chocolate habañero chili peppers.
The Chene Reaction is the Sriracha-style one with notes of oak and vanilla. The regular version really has an oaky flavour, which is cool, but I find the sauce not hot at all. Wimps (Quebeckers) would probably disagree. Because it’s not hot to me, I find it too vinegary, which is why I preferred the Extra Hot version made with a blend of peppers. The oak disappears in the mix, but there’s a little heat in there, and less vinegar in the balance.
The Newton is made with Quebec apples, chipotle and maple syrup. It’s not sweet, but it’s probably the sweetest of the ones I tried because of the fresh apples in it. The syrup is only there to balance the vinegar. The chipotle gives it a soft smokiness that’s pretty addictive.
The Fumisterie is another bestseller, I’m told. It’s a blend of chocolate habaneros, spices, dark beer and coffee, so it tastes roasted and smoky. I couldn’t taste that one because I can’t have caffeine or beer, but it smelled awesome.
These ones are all available in an extra-hot version. Some of the others aren’t. Those are made with mustard (the “Colonel”), ants, hops and other cool ingredients. One girl at the Global studio loved the one with ants the best…until I told her it was made with ants. At least she didn’t run to the washroom. I would have felt a little bad. I wasn’t trying to be mean – I wasn’t there when she tried it, only once she had swallowed.
Where can you get La Pimenterie’s hot sauces?
In more than 130 stores in Quebec including IGAs and specialty grocers and online at La Pimenterie.com. They’re $11 a bottle, or $10 when you buy 3.
RESTAURANTS: Where to go when you need to eat spicy in Montreal
I’m going to go from least expensive to most expensive:
1. AuntDai, the regional Northeastern Chinese restaurant know for its ma-la cuisine. That’s the effect of Sichuan peppercorns making your tongue go a little numb, like in the restaurant’s poached fish in spicy oil.
The owner of AuntDai says his goal is to make these traditional Chinese dishes that are rarely found in Montreal available to all Montrealers. that means intestines, lamb hot pots and super spicy beef stir-fries. He also has boring things like Kung Pao chicken on the menu. Don’t order those. You’re already white enough.
Location: AuntDai is at the corner of St-Mathieu and de Maisonneuve West. And there’s a second location in Anjou with a liquor license. Beer will help cool down the heat. Hard alcohol makes it worse. Supposedly. Personally, I stick with rice.
2. The new Thai restaurant Mae Sri Comptoir Thai
It’s the same owner as Pamika, the only other place I know offering a large menu of harder-to-find Thai dishes. The spiciest one are the pork and holy basil stir fry and the crispy pork belly with fresh chilies and Asian kale.
The green curry is hot too, and the fried chicken salad with sticky rice powder, lime leaves and mint.
The best part is, they deliver, but expect them to get busy this weekend, so get your orders in early. Or late…
Location: On Milton by Jeanne-Mance.
3. I can’t forget Satay Brothers, the St-Henri Singaporean hawker classic famous for its laksa soup.
That’s a creamy broth of sambal, shrimp, fried tofu, rice noodles, cilantro and coconut milk (chicken optional)
The spicy sambal comes on the spoon, so you can mix it in…or eat it straight like I do. It’s such a good adrenaline rush!!
Location: Notre-Dame West, 6 or so blocks west of Atwater.
A LITTLE SWANKIER
4. Le Blossom, a Japanese sake bar designed by Zebulon Perron with a gorgeous cherry blossom tree above a central seating area.
They do a spicy salmon tartare with cherry tomatoes and taro chips, a duck breast with Sichuan peppercorns where the skin is crisped to perfection
And a Bubba Shrimp sushi roll with shrimp tempura, scallop, avocado, yuzu and jalapeño.
Location: At Amherst and de Maisonneuve East
5. I also love Bar Suzanne, which is a second floor cocktail bar in the Plateau known for its handmade dumplings.
Co-owner Mike Madokoro used to work at Le Filet but puts his Asian heritage to good use in the spicy pork, crab and kimchi dumplings.
Location: Duluth, east of St-Laurent
A LITTLE MORE SWANKY
6. Le Diplomate, where chef Aaron Langille just added a spicy fish escabeche to the menu.
I love his small Mile Ex restaurant because of the exquisite small plates and exceptional natural wines.
Aaron has some Michelin Star experience and the space is incredibly romantic.
I think it’s one of the most under-the-radar sports in the city.
Location: Beaubien, east of Parc
What’s sambal?
Good question. It’s a Malaysian and Singaporean slow-cooked chill paste made from onions, ginger, garlic, chilli sauce, tamarind, shrimp paste and tons of other optional ingredients that differ from family to family.
You can actually learn to make it at Nantha Kumar’s Southeast Asian cooking classes.
He has another seafood class coming up on Saturday, Feb. 23. And on Sunday the 24th, he’ll be doing a more general Malaysian cooking class, not just seafood.
You can check out his Facebook page, Nantha’s Kitchen, for upcoming classes and events.
Leave a Reply