What was this ingredient?

[Darkdiamond]

My friend invited me to her home for some home made South East Asian food. It was absolutely delicious but something happened to me as I was eating it. My nose blocked up, like suddenly and drastically. One moment I could breathe easily though my nose and the next I couldn't sniff at all; then my nose started pouring like a tap. The next day, my face was all quite swollen, especially around my eyes. I drank copious amounts of water and it took the full day for my face to go back to normal. It was a week ago and I've been strangely snotty ever since.

I know this wasn't a cold as it happened in a few seconds, one minute I was fine and the next I wasn't. It felt like I had a reaction. I eat chilli and I'm always OK (spicy foods are normally fine). I used to have a similar reaction when I drank wine (I don't drink alcohol at all any more) and my nose would totally block up leaving me with a swollen face the next day.

I don't want to risk offending my friend by asking. Her food was absolutely stunning but I think something set me off and I don't know if there is an ingredient used in South East Asian cuisine that is known for causing allergies or being full of histamine (this is what it felt like). I'd obviously like to know if I have an intolerance to something for future reference.

Any ideas?

You could ask for the recipe, saying you want to recreate it.
it would be too risky to try to guess what you’ve reacted to, it could be a lot worse next time. If there is something in the recipe you’ve never reacted to or had before you could then make a reasonable guess that it was that.

Sichuan pepper is the most obvious thing that comes to mind. But what exactly was the food?

I mean, it could be anything because south east Asia covers a huge region.

I think you probably need to ask your friend exactly what was in it, because you are going to need to avoid it from now on. Your reaction was quite dramatic, and anything that involves facial swelling due to an allergic reaction can be very serious if not treated.

Possibly shrimp paste, Oyster sauce or fish sauce?

Was your friend aware that you were having a reaction to something? Surely she’d prefer to know so it doesn’t happen again?

Just ask her and be honest about it ("I possibly had an allergic reaction").
Do you really want to risk potentially dying because you "don't want to offend" ?

Just ask her. I honestly cannot see why she'd be offended.

Oh I do have a shellfish allergy. Nothing major. I usually vomit, not go into anaphylaxis or anything

Not offended, just upset I guess. She is the nicest person who ever existed and it meant so much to host me. I know she was so eager for me to enjoy it.

When I say my face was swollen, I mean very very puffy, rather than a very obvious allergy. My eyelids looked kind of hooded over my eyelashes (if that makes sense) and I don't look like that usually. I felt kind of hungover too.

Ad for asking for the recipe, there was so, so, so much food, like a buffet

She'll be more upset if you die from an allergic reaction after eating her food.

Did you tell her you had a shell fish allergy in advance?

She's not going to be offended that you have had an allergic reaction.

An allergy can get worse so it could be shellfish and you have reacted in a different way. Or it could be something else. But you need to know!

Sumac is a good possibility.

this certainly sounds like an allergic reaction and yes a lot of south asian food has shrimp paste.

Sorry, just saw your shellfish thing.

turmeric gives me hayfever like symptoms

Lemongrass
Chilli
My guesses

So I avoid prawn and crab etc in their original form. I eat all kinds of Asian food a lot and just don't eat the fishy bits and have always been OK. I don't think I told her as I usually just navigate my way around it. I poke the prawns out of sushi for example. I'm not so sure it's shrimp paste due to how often I eat different Asian cuisines. Chilli, turmeric and lemongrass I'm fine with.

I'll just have to ask her. I never thought about it being potentially fatal, just annoying.

I got cheap coffee liqueur from Lidl a few years ago and had a few glasses and the same thing happened. My sinuses took over a week to recover and I ended up in a lot of pain around my jaw and cheekbones and it came directly from the liqueur.

Do allergy tests work or are they a gimmick?

Sri Lankan

Could have been MSG? Although you're more likely to get that in restaurants

I was thinking that. It certainly had that really tasty, moreish, savoury flavour.

'My nose blocked up, like suddenly and drastically. One moment I could breathe easily though my nose and the next I couldn't sniff at all; then my nose started pouring like a tap'

And you didn't think to ask the host what could be causing you an allergic reaction?

The mind boggles that you didin't say anything and kept on eating!

It's not insulting to your host if you have an allergy!

It's more concerning that you were prepared to suffer rather say anything!

What’s in wine that could have been in the food? Sulphites or something? 🤔