The "swicy" food approach combines sweet and spicy flavours and can be creatively implemented in dishes such as delicious chicken wings with chilli honey or a ginger and chilli lemonade. — Photo: Julia Uehren/loeffelgenuss.de/dpa
Opposites attract - including when it comes to food and drink. If you've ever enjoyed a bar of sea-salted chocolate, you'll know just how weirdly well sweet and savoury can sometimes go together.
But there's another unfamiliar combination that's been appearing in more and more recipes: sweet and spicy, often known as "swicy". Social media is filled with the likes of swicy Korean chicken, swicy salsas and even swicy brownies.
Swicy dishes are great for their complexity, since the sweetness adds a contrast to the hot and spicy flavours. While it's been a foodie "trend" for the past few years, this combination is anything but new to many Asian cuisines.
In Korea, for example, the popular red chili paste called gochujang adds a slight sweetness to stews and other dishes. There is also five-spice powder, which is a staple in Chinese cuisine. The spice mixture consists of spicy Sichuan pepper and the sweet notes of cloves, cinnamon, star anise and fennel seeds.
Popcorn and chilli sauce, lemonade and ginger
If you want to find out what swicy food tastes like, creativity and courage is the right combination. Sweet popcorn, ice cream or berries with Mexican hot sauce are great places to start.
You can also make your own hot honey. Add some honey and chili peppers to a saucepan, stir in a little apple cider vinegar, and heat over a medium heat. The resulting hot honey goes well on pancakes or in marinades, but also works great in drinks.
Speaking of drinks: You can make a swicy lemonade by mixing grated fresh ginger, sugar or honey, chili peppers and fresh lemon juice and leaving it to sit for at least one hour. Mix the syrup with sparkling water and crushed ice for a beverage that's sweet and spicy.
The nutrition experts at Germany's BZfE centre for nutrition have one more tip: take a gentle approach. We all react differently to varying spice levels. If you're someone who's more sensitive, you may end up with an irritated stomach if you overdo it with chilis and spice. – dpa
