There's something to be said about a culture that appreciates spicy food. Food that derives it spice from chili, the kind of spice that you can smell before tasting, the kind of spice that heaves with intensity as the oils release and absorb into your taste buds. Spice that does not shy away with water or disappear as soon as a swallow lowers your food through the stages of digestion. This is the spice of Mexico, India, Thailand, Israel. This is the spice of the jalapeno, serrano, habanero, ghost, and rocoto. It is the spice, as I've recently discovered, of the Korean peninsula.