Gradual Habituation

They say some things are an acquired taste.

When I was in Singapore, there was a fantastic dish called Thunder Tea Rice.  It is a healthy, vegetarian brown-rice, tofu, and copped vegetable served with garlic and dried fish on top.  It is an extremely healthy lunch option, and you can find it in only a handful of food courts there.  Thunder Tea Rice is from southern China, maybe Taiwan.  It is served with a magical and ultra green soup made from pureed tea leaves, parsley, cilantro, and maybe grass.  It is really, really green.  And very strong in flavor (tastes like grass, actually).

Singapore's Thunder Tea Rice

I immediately liked the bowl of rice and tofu. That is familiar fare to me.  But I originally found the green soup to be overpowering.  Too intense.  But at the same time, somehow very inviting.

The first time I ate Thunder Tea Rice, I could only manage to drink two spoonfuls of the green soup.  My tongue rebelled and would take no more.  The second time, I manged to drink 5 spoonfuls, but still I could take no more.  The third time I finished about a quarter of the bowl; then later, half of the bowl.  Eventually I was drinking the whole bowl of soup with my meal and enjoying it very much. The taste had become quite familiar, and filled with vitality.  I would always look back and remember how much I disliked those first few spoonfuls.

...

Now in India.  I tried paan for the first time the other day.  This is a strong-flavored 'snack' taken after meals here in India.  It is a combination of ground nuts, sweet pastes, spices, and sometimes tobacco; and all wrapped inside a betel leaf.  It is chewed after dinner to freshen breath and help in digestion.  It also has a stimulating effect, which some people become addicted to.  Paan causes your mouth to water heavily when eaten, and a dark red juice forms from you saliva, and you'll see many stains of this on sidewalks and streets all over India.

And paan can be quite strong.  The first time I had it, was at the most famous paan-wallah (paan vendor) in the country. Pandey's Paan makes paan for the president of India, and his shop is located on the presidential compound.  His paan is quite strong. I was taken there by my colleague to give it a try.  I could not manage to eat the whole things.  I put it all in my mouth, and was instantly knocked over.  My mouth was watering and it was all I could do to keep the red juice form leaking out.  I chewed for a while, but found I could not stomach the powerful flavor. I ended up spitting much of it out of the open car door as we rolled slowly down the street.

The second time I had paan, was in my new neighborhood [I moved into a new apartment... more on that later].  At the local market is a guy who sells paan, cigarettes, coca-cola, and peanuts at a stand.  I saw him preparing paan by spreading a brown paste one a rounded green leaf, then sprinkling a mysterious combination of dried ingredients on top.  I asked him what he was making, and was not surprised to hear him describe his different kinds of paan.  I bought a sweet paan from him and gave it a chew.  I found it more tolerable than the first time, but still could only chew through half of it before spitting out the rest into a ditch in a darkened street corner on my way home.

Yesterday, I had paan for the third time.  From the same seller at my market.  I was able to chew the whole thing this time, and I imagined all of the digestive benefits I was then receiving.

And today, I had it one more time.  Just to see the progress. Again, it went down smooth.  So, I guess it is not unlike the thunder tea rice, in that we can get habituated to such strange and strong tastes.  It does not take very long... though I"m going to be cautious not to get addicted to paan and to lose my teeth to its ill effects!