Hot Braised Chicken is a delicious option if you’re craving Chinese food, but some recipes that include diced chiles can be spicy. You may be wondering if you can satisfy your craving while answering the question: is hot braised chicken spicy?
While most Hot Braised Chicken dishes are not spicy when compared to similar dishes, such as General Tso’s Chicken, they can include ingredients like chiles which add a hint of spice.
In this article, we will cover what Hot Braised Chicken is and whether or not it will include that spicy kick, so you can make an informed decision before you start to chow down!
What is Hot Braised Chicken?
Hot Braised Chicken is a menu item that can be found in most restaurants that boast Chinese cuisine. It is typically cooked in a pot, and the cooking method’s emphasis is placed on slow cook under low heat!
When Hot Braised Chicken is finished, it is typically soupy in sauce and tender in chicken texture.
The ingredients found in Hot Braised Chicken vary from recipe to recipe, but they are typical as follows:
- Chicken
- Soy Sauce
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Honey
- Black Pepper
- Chilies
- Mushrooms
What Does Hot Braised Chicken Taste Like?
Hot braised chicken has several ingredients which promote sweetness over savory sensations. Savory foods like, for example, pizza, tend to pair well with spiciness, like peppers or pepperonis.
In contrast, Hot Braised Chicken recipes combine Honey, Rice Wine Vinegar, and even Ginger, which don’t produce a savory flavor after being cooked slowly. So instead of complementing the spicier elements, the recipe may contain, Hot Braised Chicken is typically rich and sweet.
Can Hot Braised Chicken Be Spicy?
Hot Braised Chicken is typically not spicy. The reason for this is found in the ingredients that are used in Hot Braised Chicken. Soy sauce, for example, is a salty element, while sweet ingredients like honey actively combat most types of spicy seasoning.
However, there are two ingredients in traditional Hot Braised Chicken which can cause a slight spiciness. The first is the chilies that are often added to a Hot Braised Chicken dish for flavor.
Why do chilies cause spiciness?
Most types of chilies, including those found in Hot Braised Chicken, contain something called capsaicin. Capsaicin activates a protein in cells named TRPV1.
TRPV1, in turn, senses heat, alerting the brain, which responds to the peppers using a feeling of pain.
Why does black pepper cause spiciness?
Black pepper is relatively low on the heat scale, especially when compared to chilies. However, as it is included in most Hot Braised Chicken recipes, it can be useful to note the spicy effect it has on the partaker.
Black pepper comes from a peppercorn-like fruit that does contain capsaicin, the same way hot peppers and chilies do. It causes irritation in the mouth of humans, but not nearly as much as the chilies in a Hot Braised Chicken dish.
Honey counteracts the spicy ingredients in Hot Braised Chicken.
Honey does add a nice sweetness to the rich flavor of Hot Braised Chicken, but it isn’t the actual sweetness in honey that counteracts spiciness.
Actually, capsaicin, the main culprit in our body’s spicy response, is oil-based. That particular fact means that when it is put into contact or mixed with honey, as it is in Hot Braised Chicken recipes, it is absorbed by honey’s properties.
What is Dak Dori Tang?
Dak Dori Tang is often mistaken for traditional Hot Braised Chicken. This is because it is a braised chicken recipe originating from China, and it also contains many of the ingredients of Hot Braised Chicken.
However, a few key differences between Dak Dori Tang and Hot Braised Chicken, other than the potatoes and carrots present in Dak Dori Tang, are the spicy elements.
Dak Dori Tang includes jalapeno, gochujang, and gochukaru. Each of these ranks more highly on the spice scale than anything in a typical Hot Braised Chicken recipe.
If you’re looking to steer away from the spiciness, make sure you don’t mix up Hot Braised Chicken with Dak Dori Tang, its spicy counterpart!
Summary
In conclusion, all traditional Hot Braised Chicken recipes are not likely to be very spicy. Despite the fact that some of their ingredients can activate the spiciness response in the human body, elements like honey and the naturally sweet focus of the dish’s flavor counterbalance these.
