- [Beryl] Spice, you love it or you hate it.

- I like spicy food and then I regret it next morning.

- Instant regret.

- [Beryl] First cultivated in Mexico, chilies have now traveled the world.

- Whoa.

- [Beryl] And have become integral to flavor profiles of cultures around the world but of course, some lean into spice a little more than others.

- Oh yeah, it is spicy.

- [Beryl] My name is Beryl and this show explores how our foods can bring our different cultures together and this is our "Spicy Food" episode.

Today we have two chili lovers, Mariano and James.

Mariano will make James' Dakbokkeumtang, with a homemade chili crisp.

- [Marino] I've never cooked Korean food in my life before.

- [Beryl] And James will try a Peruvian ceviche complete with a couple of habaneros for a kick at the end.

- And I'm making Peru proud.

- [Beryl] Will they both be able to stand the heat?

- For a dish that doesn't involve cooking... - [James] Yeah.

- There's a lot going on.

(Marino laughs) What's going on here?

- So tequila shots?

Spicy discovery.

- [Beryl] Spicy discovery.

(Beryl laughs) (cheerful music) - Hi James, how are you?

My name's Mariano today we're going to be making spicy ceviche.

- Okay, so let's make Peruvian ceviche.

- I'm originally from Lima in Peru, I was born and raised there, and I came to New York 15 years ago.

Ceviche is essentially raw fish marinated with lime juice, onions, and spices.

Try to cut it in pieces that are like roughly the size of a dice, and then salted and put it in the fridge.

That way you're kind of like curating the meat and just leave it there until all the rest of the ingredients and the (indistinct) and plates is ready to go.

- [Beryl] Is that the one where you could go both directions?

Yeah.

- [James] I did not know that.

Oh!

- [Beryl] Yeah is this new?

Did I teach you something?

(James gasps) - Spicy discovery.

- [Beryl] Spicy discovery.

(Beryl laughs) - Ceviche is a beautiful dish because it's the epitome of simplicity and it's all about the freshness of the ingredients.

The better fish that you can find, the better your ceviche is going to be recommended to eat it you know, in the summer, in front of a beach.

Ceviche can range in how spicy you wanna make it.

Today we're gonna be making it spicy.

- Oh.... Whoa... Oh I guess it's gonna be spicy, oh!

- The heart of ceviche is leche de tiger, which means tiger's milk.

It's essentially lime juice with onions and ahi or chilies, and a bunch of other spices.

- I can smell the peppers from here.

- Right?

- [Marion] I love this dish because I grew up with it, it reminds me of home.

When someone makes it at home, it's usually a special occasion and everyone has their own little quirks and like different ways of making their own ceviche.

When you are squeezing the lime juice, don't squeeze too hard because like the product comes out at the end of the lime, it's going to be like a little tart.

- [Beryl] You tired?

- That was a lot.

(both laughing) (James groans) - Ouch.

- [Mariano] I really like spicy food because it adds an extra kick.

I find myself asking for hot sauce in most restaurants that I go to, sometimes I do travel with my own hot sauce.

I really like spicy food in general.

- [Beryl] The color looks like the right color.

(James savoring) - It smells almost like coconutty, like Thai.

- Yeah.

- Right?

- [Marino] You should feel the flavors.

You should feel the acidity, you should feel the ocean in your mouth.

To most Peruvians, it's part of our identity, it's part of who we are.

It's a dish that brings people together, it's a dish that it's usually shared, and it's a dish that makes people happy, which it's what good food should be about.

I think you're gonna love this dish because it's fresh, it's tasty.

It's really not that hard to make, it transports you to a beach day, and it just makes everyone happy.

I really hope that you like making this spicy version of ceviche, and I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Love Mariano.

(cheerful music) - This is my very first time making Peruvian ceviche.

Let's give it a try.

- [Beryl] Spicy?

- Instant regret.

(James inhales) Gonna get corn just to calm down my spice.

I really love how the spice of habanera works well with the bright zesty fish and the fish is so tender.

The onion gives a really, really wonderful crunch.

I'm gonna get one more bite.

Maybe since we have lettuce and I'm Korean after all, I'm gonna make some ceviche sum.

(uplifting classical music) (James savoring) The hardest part was getting the fish.

- Teamwork makes the dream work right now.

- Yay.

- Although this is a little dangerous.

- I promise I will not cut your finger.

It really reminds me of like the beachy beautiful day.

(cheery jazz music) - So good, right?

Heaven.

- I've never tried ceviche at home, this is spectacular.

Mariano, we love it.

Thank you.

(uplifting classical music) - Hi I'm James and today you'll be making one of my favorite dishes Dakbokkeumtang, which translates into spicy braised chicken.

- Okay, so I'm gonna be making duck Dakbokkeumtang, from James Bark.

So I think first I have to make the chili crisp.

- This is one of my favorite Korean dishes.

It's a comfort food, it's made with chicken braise and that delicious, savory spicy sauce, and it's just a perfect bite of heaven.

- Okay bro, what else?

- [James] One of the key ingredients that bring spice to the dish is gochujang.

- I've not had gochujang before.

- [James] Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste.

- Who doesn't like (indistinct).

- [James] That is essential to make a lot of Korean dishes so to add my own flair, I added a little bit of my Korean chili crisp.

- So you pre-mixed all of these Beryl for me?

- [Beryl] Yeah.

- Oh, you're so kind.

- [James] I was born in a small town in Korea called Pohang, and I moved to America when I was 13 years old.

- [Marino] Cool.

- [Beryl] That was perfect.

- You look good and it smells great.

- [James] After living in America and being exposed to so many cultures, I realize there are many common denominators when it comes to ingredients.

And chicken and potatoes are something that every culture has made their own version.

- Honestly, it's like very similar to like a Peruvian stew, it's like the same basic principles.

- [James] You don't have to worry about cooking the chicken at once.

So the chicken can be seared at first, but it's gonna be finished cooking in the sauce.

So just make sure that you are getting the nice brown color on the outside, and the rest is gonna be taken care by that simmering, delicious red sauce.

I always find Dakbokkeumtang doesn't have enough potatoes, and you're gonna be surprised how delicious those potatoes will be.

So definitely be generous with your potatoes and have some rice or noodles ready so that you can soak up all the delicious sauce.

(inspiring orchestral music) - [Beryl] Why are you microplaning the potato?

(both laughing) What's going on here?

- Because you only need one grater and that's a microplane so I don't have a bigger grater.

- I think you're gonna love this because it has that perfect spectrum of spicy, sweet, savory, earthy flavors of what Korean cuisine has to offer.

You will have a perfect bite of heaven in just about 30 minutes.

I hope you have so much fun making this spicy dish, and I hope you taste and feel that spicy joy that I always have, love James.

- Okay, so we're gonna try this dish.

It's my first time trying a Korean stew.

It's really good, it's not that spicy.

I don't... Oh yeah, it is spicy.

I feel it has a lot of familiar flavors.

The chicken's really tender.

What was different was like some of the ingredients that I'm not used to like the Arirang, like the soybean paste.

Smells like bananas.

- What?

(both laughing) No.

Salty.

- It's really salty.

- It kind of actually does taste like a banana.

- I think you can definitely taste that fermented soybean paste and like it's a flavor profile that I'm not very used to, but I really like it.

I would probably make it again, but I would do my own version, I think.

Okay Beryl, come try it.

- Yum.

Wait, this is delicious and the meat is falling off the bone.

- [Marino] Mm-hmm.

- Whoa.

James, aces.

- Thank you, James.

- Delicious.

(TV signal beeps) Uh-oh, oh my God.

(bright orchestral music) I hope you enjoyed this episode of "Pan Pals".

Let me know in the comments truthfully, how well you do with spicy food.

I would say I'm pretty good, pretty good.

By the way, if you like home cooking, you should check out the latest season of "The Great American Recipe".

The show features eight talented home cooks in a competition that celebrates the diversity and flavors of foods across the US.

You can watch the first episode here on the PBS Food YouTube Channel and check out the rest of the season every week on the PBS app and your local PBS station.

Check it out in the links in the description.

(whimsical music)