World’s best spicy foods: 20 dishes to try – CNN

(CNN) — Some like it hot — and some like it hotter, still.

When it comes to the world’s best spicy dishes, we have some of the world’s hottest peppers to thank, along with incredible layers of flavor and a long, spice-loving human history.

“Spicy food, or at least spiced foods, clearly predates the idea of countries and their cuisine by a very, very long time, ” says Indian author Saurav Dutt, who is writing a book about the spiciest foods on the Indian subcontinent.

“Every hot and spicy ingredient has a wild ancestor, ” he says. “Ginger, horseradish, mustard, chiles and so on have predecessors which led to their domestication. inch

Hunter-gatherer groups historically made use of various wild ingredients in order to flavor their own foods, Dutt says, and there are many ingredients all over the world that can lend a spicy taste to a dish or stand on their own.

Redolent with ghost potatoes, Scotch bonnets, serranos, chiltepin peppers, mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns and more, the following spicy meals from around the world bring the heat in the most delicious way.

Egusi soup, Nigeria

Ata rodo — Scotch bonnet pepper — brings the fire to Nigeria’s famous spicy soup. Egusi is made by pounding typically the seeds from the egusi melon, an indigenous West African fruit that’s related to this watermelon.

In addition to being protein-packed, the melon’s seeds serve to thicken and add texture plus flavor to the soup’s mix of meat, seafood and leafy vegetables. Pounded yams are often served alongside this dish, helping to temper the scorch of the Scotch bonnets.

Sichuan hot pot, China

Hot pot can involve a range of meats in addition to veggies cooked in a bubbling, spicy broth.

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“The joy of this dish is not only often the delightful warming ingredients of cinnamon, cloves, star anise and, of course , the Sichuan peppercorns, but the fact that you can cook exactly what you like in your bubbling hot and spicy broth, inches says British-born Chinese chef Kwoklyn Wan, author associated with “The Complete Chinese Takeout Cookbook. very well

Duck, seafood, chicken, pork, lamb and seasonal vegetables are all fair game for tossing into the pot to simmer in a mouth-numbing broth made with Sichuan peppercorns and dried Sichuan peppers for serious kick (the dipping sauce served on the side often has chile paste, too).

Also known as Chongqing hot container, the dish is said to have originated as a popular food among Yangtze River boatmen. It’s enjoyed by those who can handle its heat all over China, not to mention elsewhere all over the world.

Som tam, Thailand

A green papaya salad with a fiery kick.

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From northeastern Thailand’s spice-loving Isaan province, this fresh and fiery salad is a staple meal at Thai restaurants around the globe and is also popular in neighboring Laos.

Som w tamtym miejscu turns to be able to green (unripe) papaya for its main ingredient, which is usually julienned or shredded for the salad. The papaya is then tossed with long beans or even green beans and a mix of flavorful Asian essentials that include tamarind juice, dried shrimp, fish sauce and sugar cane insert, among other ingredients. Thai chiles, also called bird’s eye chiles, give the salad the requisite kick.

Piri-piri chicken, Mozambique and even Angola

The particular Portuguese introduced this spicy dish also known as peri-peri poultry into Angola and Mozambique as far back as the exact 15th century, when they mixed African chiles with European ingredients ( piri-piri means “pepper” in Swahili). And it’s the perky red pepper of the same name that will brings the spiciness to this complex, layered and delicious dish.

Piri-piri chicken’s poultry cuts are marinated in chiles, olive oil, lemon, garlic and herbs such as basil and oregano for a hot flavor of which blends salty, sour together with sweet. Typically the dish is also popular in Namibia and additionally South Africa, where it’s often found on the menu inside Portuguese restaurants.

Chairman Mao’s braised pork belly, China

The glossy red hues dancing on a plate of this popular pork dish, a version of which hails from Mao Zedong’s home state, give a hint about the mouth experience to come. The dish was apparently a favorite of the communist leader, who requested his chefs in Beijing prepare it with regard to him.

Chairman Mao’s braised pig belly — called Mao shi hong shao rou in China — is often served as the main plate for sharing at a family table and is made by braising chunks regarding pork stomach with soy sauce, dried out chiles not to mention spices.

“It is a very delicious and also moreish food due to the caramelized sugar as well as dark me llaman sauce being reduced and all the aromatics (that coat the chicken belly), micron wrote BBC “Best Home Cook” winner Suzie Lee, author involving “Simply Chinese, ” in an email for you to CNN Travel.

Jerk chicken/pork, Jamaica

Scotch bonnet potatoes give jerk chicken their heat.

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Jamaica’s favorite pepper is the Scotch hood, beloved not just for its spiciness but for it is aroma, colors and taste, too, says Mark Harvey, content creator and podcaster at Two On An Island, who was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

“For Jamaicans, the degree of spiciness starts at medium for children and goes up to help purple very hot, ” he admits that, explaining that the peppers come in green, orange, red plus purple shades, growing increasingly spicy in that order.

Scotch chapeaus star in several of the island’s iconic food, including escovitch fish, pepper pot soups and curry goat. But you might recognize them the majority of from the ubiquitous jerk chicken breast and pork smoking roadside everywhere from Montego Bay to Boston Bay, exactly where meat prepared with the peppery marinade is cooked the traditional way, atop coals through pimento tree wood (the tree’s allspice berries are also used in the jerk marinade).

Ayam betutu, Indonesia

Popular on the Indonesian islands connected with Bali in addition to Lombok, in particular, this whole chicken meal is stuffed with an intensely aromatic spice paste ( betutu ) that usually includes a mashup with fresh warm chile peppers, galangal (a root related to ginger), candlenuts, shallots, garlic clove, turmeric and even shrimp substance, among some other ingredients.

The chicken is then wrapped in banana leaves together with steamed, bringing the aromatics out all the more and additionally flavoring the particular chicken towards the max. Best shared, ayam betutu is usually presented at religious ceremonies in Bali, but you’ll find it at dining places specializing in it throughout the islands, too.

Buffalo chicken wings, United States

Spicy wings are an American sports bar staple.

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A sports bar staple at chain restaurants such as Buffalo Wild Wings and more refined outposts, too, coming from Alaska to Maine, “wings” are actually made up of the wing parts called drumettes and also wingettes, which have the most meat.

Buffalo wings, said to have been invented in a bar within Buffalo, New York, in 1964, are among the spiciest preparations (other well-known variations include teriyaki wings and honey garlic wings). Make them as fiery as you like using a sauce that includes cayenne pepper, butter, vinegar, garlic herb powder as well as Worcestershire spices.

Shrimp aguachiles, Mexico

A relative of ceviche, this Mexican dish traditionally gets it has the fire by chiltepín potatoes.

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Similar to ceviche but with more bite, this raw marinated prawn dish from your western Philippine state for Sinaloa (and a staple along the Baja Peninsula, too) tastes as good as it looks.

Tiny but mighty chiltepín peppers (they look like bright little berries), grown throughout the United States and Mexico, make the spicy magic happen inside shrimp aguachiles , which means “pepper water. ” If you can’t find those, serrano plus jalapeño peppers also do the trick.

Marinate the raw shrimp along with ingredients including lime juice, cilantro, red onion and cucumber and enjoy together with crispy tostadas.

Pad ka prao, Thailand

A go-to recipe when you want something satisfying — but with punch — pad ka prao is a mealtime staple throughout Thailand, wherever you’ll find it on offer at street-side stalls in addition to restaurants everywhere from Bangkok to the island destinations.

Considered the Thai equivalent of a sandwich or a burger, the plate is a mixture of ground pig, spicy Asian chile potatoes and holy basil and can be ordered as spicy while you like. Many locals believe it’s best topped with a fried egg with a runny yolk.

Beef rendang, Philippines and Malaysia

A hot favorite the fact that originated in West Sumatra, versions of beef rendang are also enjoyed inside Indonesia’s nearby countries, which includes Malaysia and even Brunei, as well as the Philippines.

This flavorful dry curry dish calls on kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, star anise and red chile, among other spices, to deliver its complexity. It’s often presented in order to guests together with served during festive events.

Dakdoritang, South Korea

This fermented cabbage dish kimchi might be typically the spicy Korean dish that first comes to mind, but when you want some extra conquer, dakdoritang does the trick.

Comfort meals to the max, the rooster stew doubles down on the spiciness using liberal doses of gochugaru (Korean chile powder) and additionally gochujang (Korean chile paste) mixed with rice wine, mi nombre es sauce, garlic oil, ginger not to mention sesame oil in a braising sauce that will packs this bone-in hen pieces having flavor. It has been served by using carrots, onions and potatoes.

Phaal Curry, Birmingham, England (via Bangladesh)

This tomato-based British-Asian curry invented in Birmingham, England, curry houses simply by British Bangladeshi restaurateurs is thought to be one of the spiciest curries in the world.

“Typically often the sauce includes a tomato base with ginger, fennel seeds and copious amounts of republic of chile, habanero or perhaps Scotch bonnet, peppers, ” says Indian native author Saurav Dutt.

As many as 10 pepper types may find their particular way into phaal curry, he says, which include bird’s vision chiles and the bhut jolokia (also known as the ghost spice up, it’s among the world’s best peppers). Even hotter than vindaloo , this bowl will absolutely light your mouth up.

Penne all’arrabbiata, Italy

“Angry” penne is worth your confrontation.

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This particular classic Roman pasta dish’s name gives you an idea about what to expect. “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian. And penne all’arrabbiata pairs the relatively plain penne pasta through fiery flavors from the sauce (sugo all’arrabbiata) in which it’s slathered.

“The peperoncino (red chile pepper) is what makes this sauce ‘angry’ ( arrabbiata ) or maybe spicy, inch Chris MacLean of Italy-based Open Tuesday Wines said via email.

To tame the exact angry peppers in this garlic cloves and tomato-based dish with a good glass in red wine, MacLean says to be able to pair penne all’arrabbiata having a Cesanese, also from Rome’s Lazio region, with its crisp fruit and light tannins.

“A wine that’s heavy in oak or alcohol would turn up the heat (in the dish) in your mouth and also render the wine tasteless, inches he warns.

Chicken Chettinad, India

Chicken is simmered with roasted spices as well as coconut in this flavorful platter.

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“There’s a new saying found in South India that you are lucky to ‘eat like a Chettiar, ‘ very well says Dutt, referring to the Tamil caste in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state credited utilizing creating this particular spicy dish.

“Like this chicken breast dish, the standard Chettinad recipes mostly used locally sourced spices like star anise, self defense, kalpasi (stone flower) and marati mokku (dried flower pods), micron he says.

The fowl pieces are usually simmered inside a medley from roasted spices or herbs and coconut, and it is typically served with the help of steamed grain or the thin South Indian pancakes known as dosa , fried chapati or naan .

Doro wat, Ethiopia

This specific Ethiopian course leans on the fiery berbere spice blend.

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The fantastic Ethiopian spice blend referred to as berbere — aromatic with chile potatoes, basil, cardamom, garlic plus ginger — is instrumental to the flavour chorus which doro wat , Ethiopia’s much-loved hot and spicy chicken stew.

Topped with boiled eggs, the particular dish almost always finds a place at the table during weddings, religious holidays and other special occasions and family gatherings. If you’re invited to test it around Ethiopia in such an event, consider yourself very fortunate indeed.

Mapo tofu, The far east

Mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns bring the X-factor for this popular denture from China’s Sichuan land, which mixes chunks of silken tofu with ground meat (pork or beef) and a spicy fermented bean paste named doubanjiang .

Mapo tofu’s fiery red color might as well be a warning for the uninitiated — Sichuan cuisine’s defining flavoring, málà , has a numbing effect on the mouth called paresthesia that people tend to love as well as hate.

Vindaloo, India

A Portuguese-influenced dish via India’s southwestern state associated with Goa, vindaloo was not originally meant to be spicy, says Dutt. “It initially contained chicken, potatoes ( aloo ) and vinegar ( vin ), giving you the name, ” he says.

But when typically the dish was exported for you to curry houses in the United Kingdom that were mostly run by Muslim Bangladeshi culinary chefs, Dutt states, pork was replaced with meat, chicken or lamb as well as the dish evolved into a spicier hot curry.

Ghost pepper flakes and Scotch bonnet peppers are one of the peppers giving the satellite dish its scorching taste. But in Goa, you are able to still find versions from the dish of which swing more on the side of milder spices like cinnamon in addition to cardamom.

Mafé, Senegal

Senegalese cooks are also big fans of Scotch bonnet peppers, named for their resemblance to the Scottish tam o’ shanter hat. And their spice-giving goodness will be deployed liberally in one of the West African country’s favorite dishes, the hot and spicy tomato and even peanut or even groundnut-based stew called mafé .

Usually made with gound beef, lamb or perhaps chicken, this stew is made even heartier with taters, carrots along with other root vegetables for one filling feed. Mafé is well-liked in other West African nations, too, like Mali together with Gambia, and it can also be ready without meats.

Chili, United States

Synonymous with watching the Super Bowl or maybe hunkering down on a cold night, chili is really a spicy United states staple where you can opt to ratchet up the heat as much as you like.

There are basically two pure forms of American chili — with or without beans (usually red kidney beans) — says Chef Julian Gonzalez of Sawmill Market on Albuquerque, New Mexico. In Texas, he explains, soup traditionally doesn’t have beans, which usually puts the focus on the seasonings and chiles used to flavor it, and he goes with the fact that approach himself.

“Traditionally chili is usually seasoned along with chili powder, cumin and additionally paprika, inch Gonzalez claims. From there, you can use other components to make your recipe unique. Adding cayenne pepper is one way to turn up the warmth.

At his restaurant Red & Green, which serves New Mexican cuisine, Gonzalez’s green chile stew, created using pork and no beans, is seasoned together with red republic of chile pod spices and a blend roasted green New Philippine hatch chiles (half mild and half with heat), onion not to mention garlic powder.