Beads of sweat form on the forehead. Lips start to swell slightly. You open your mouth wide and stick your tongue out, trying to let out the fire out. 

额前汗珠落下，嘴唇轻微肿胀。你大大的张开嘴、伸出舌头，试图让辣味消散。

However, it does not work. You need something to cool down — a glass of water, an ice cube, a popsicle probably? Anything to suppress the heat of what you just ate. 

然而，这并不管用。你需要一些能舒缓辣味的东西——一杯水，一颗冰块，也许需要一根冰棒？任何东西都可以，只要能压制住刚刚吃过食物的辣味。

Discovered during Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the “new world”, and also being introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), peppers were originally regarded as an ornamental plant.

在克里斯托弗·哥伦布（Christopher Columbus）航行到“新世界”的时候发现了辣椒；明朝末代(1368–1644)，辣椒引入中国，最初人们把辣椒当作观赏植物。

 

It was due to a lack of salt that ancient Chinese living in Guizhou and neighboring regions started to use hot peppers in local cuisine. 

由于盐的缺乏，生活在贵州和其周边地区的中国古代人开始将辣椒用到当地的菜肴中。

 

Since then, pepper has been a common ingredient on the chopping board in Chinese kitchens. From the sweet and fruity bells to the scorching-hot red firecrackers, peppers with a wide range of piquancy have won the “tongue” of many. 

从那以后，在中国厨房里，辣椒便成为了切菜板上一种十分常见的食材。从甜美多汁的甜柿椒到辛辣的爆竹椒，有着不同辛辣口味的辣椒已经获得了许多人的青睐。

Spicy Chinese food is in a class of its own, even in a country famed for eight major types of regional cuisine. Many foreigners who don’t speak Chinese are familiar with the pronunciation of dish names like Kung Pao Chicken or Mapo Tofu. 

即使是在中国这个以八大菜系而闻名的国家，辛辣菜也能占据一席之位。以至于许多不会说中文的外国人也能张口就会说宫保鸡丁和麻婆豆腐这样的菜名。

People who are accustomed to light cuisine may also find themselves falling in a love-hate relationship with spicy hot pots after their first try.      

那些习惯了吃清淡食物的人们，在第一次尝试过麻辣火锅之后也会对其又爱又恨。

 

The taste of spicy food in different parts of China is subtly different. True gourmets can tell the tongue-numbing spiciness in Sichuan hot pots, from the salty hotness in Hunan’s steamed fish head with diced red peppers or the dry hotness in Guizhou’s famous Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

在中国，不同地区的辛辣食物有着微妙的区别。真正的美食家可以区分出四川火锅的麻辣、湘菜红椒鱼头的咸辣和贵州老干妈酱的干辣。

Just as Marcel Proust traced back to his childhood with a bite of madeleine, many Chinese people find their memories linked to the pungency of peppers. 

正如马塞尔·普鲁斯特（Marcel Proust）追溯自己的童年回忆时会联想到玛德琳蛋糕，许多中国人发现自己的回忆是与辣椒的辛辣味分不开的。

 

In China, it’s common to see old friends talking over drinks in a spicy hotpot restaurant until late hours of the night and lonely diners asking for more pepper sauce on their chicken wings at a street-side barbecue stall. 

在中国，这样一种情况十分常见：麻辣火锅店里，老朋友们聊天喝酒到深夜；街边的烧烤摊上，孤独们的食客要求在其鸡翅上加更多的辣椒酱。

Technically speaking, spiciness is not a taste, but a form of pain sensation stimulated by capsaicin, a chemical compound in hot peppers. The tingling pain on the tongue tip somehow makes it easier to let out internal feelings.

从严格意义上来说，辣不是一种味道，而是一种经由辣椒素刺激而产生的痛觉；辣椒素是存在于辣椒中的一种化合物。那种舌尖上的刺痛感可以让人更容易宣泄自己内心的感受。

 

How good are you at handling spicy food? When was the last time you ordered something beyond your spicy food tolerance and why? 

你对辛辣食物的承受度是多少？最近一次，把你辣的翻江倒海，死去活来是什么时候？为什么？