The Midsummer Gourmet event is serving up some fiery new dishes for the summer.

For many people, when summer food is mentioned, it will conjure up images of cooling ice creams, refreshing salads, or decadent barbecues. However, Japan has a notable addition it likes to include among its summer lineup: spicy food. So, when we heard about 7-Eleven releasing their Midsummer Gourmet: Spice Enthusiasts event, we weren’t overly surprised. Although, when we heard there was something so spicy that you’d end up losing your voice, well… consider us intrigued.

Some might question the logic behind the triple combination of hot (food temperature), hot (spiciness), and hot (weather), but there has been a long-held belief in Japan that a little bit of spice, like capsaicin, can help combat natsubate (literally “summer heat fatigue”). Throughout summer, the hot weather is thought to reduce people’s appetites, affecting their nutritional intake, but a dash of chili can help to stimulate the production of saliva and boost your appetite. So, there is some science involved in this hot-ception. There’s nothing like a good sweat to beat the summer sun, even if it means your mouth is on fire instead.

We recently went to 7-Eleven’s presentation where they introduced their latest spicy products to the audience.

While many of the foods looked tasty, there didn’t seem to be anything with the wow-factor. That was until Tatsuya Sato, Senior Merchandiser of the Rice and Noodles Department, described one of the curries as being “so spicy you’ll lose your voice.”

The product in question is the Kashmir Curry, the creation of which was supervised by the popular Indian and Pakistani restaurant, Ginza Delhi, and is priced at 645 yen (US$4.34). Of all the event’s new dishes, it carries the highest “Level 3” spiciness.

People familiar with Indian curry might be familiar with Kashimiri Curry, but the curry offered by Ginza Delhi was developed by the store itself and the name chosen later. In fact, it was originally meant to be called Madras Curry, due to that being the owner’s image of spicy curry. However, a mix-up when designing the menu caused the name of Kashmir Curry to be born.

With such a dangerous curry on hand, which one of our reporters was brave enough to step up to the challenge?

▼ A brave man steps forth.

Our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun is no stranger to spicy food. Perhaps in part due to his Korean ancestry, he has successfully challenged many spicy foods during his travels and successfully cleared his plate. Surely there was no better man than him to tackle this beast of a curry.

Sitting down at the table, P.K. remarked at how he was looking forward to being able to say, “I’ve never eaten anything this spicy at a convenience store before.” He picked up the spoon with trepidation and took a bite…

▼ !!!!

▼ “I still have my voice!!!”

Being a product of collaboration with Ginza Delhi, the curry is definitely spicy, and people who are not good with spice will probably be unable to finish it. On the other hand, it’s still at a level where you can enjoy the taste. While not quite at the level of the original version at the restaurant, 7-Eleven have done a good job at attempting to recreate the store’s signature bitter deliciousness, and not just the spice.

Unfortunately, it was not so spicy for P.K. to lose his voice, so there was either some slight exaggeration, or perhaps Tatsuya really can’t handle his spice well. Having said that, it was evident that great effort was made to replicate the flavor of Ginza Delhi.

The Midsummer Gourmet: Spice Enthusiasts event will be held over the course of several weeks, so it will be exciting to sample the new products as they come out, but the Kashmir Curry is definitely worth a try. Although, maybe keep some yogurt on hand—just in case.

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