This round-up is for the folks out there who always order the atomic chicken wings and don’t believe “too much Sriracha” is a thing. These countries are known for their delicious and hot dishes that will ignite your palate and make you sweat.
Indulge your passion for spice by visiting these fiery destinations with cuisines that bring the heat. From chilis to peppercorns, each destination serves up spiciness in a distinct way.
1. Papaya in Thailand
In America, popular Thai dishes are often toned down in spice. But when you go to the motherland, you can feel the heat. Most spicy Thai dishes use red chili peppers to add the fire, so it’s a sinus-clearing kind of spice.
Dishes like green curry, spicy basil chicken, gaeng tai pla (spicy fish stew), and tom yum (prawn and chili soup) are some of the spiciest you’ll find. However, many people report that som tu (papaya salad) is the hottest Thai dish they’ve tried.
2. Curry in India
Most people know Indian food is one of the spiciest cuisines, but Americanized Indian food is nowhere near as hot as the real thing. Spice is an inherent part of authentic Indian food. They use a vast assortment of spicy ingredients, including green chilies, red chili powder, cayenne, red chilis, and ghost peppers.
The majority of Indian dishes are spicy, but some of the hottest are laal maas (a thick chili curry), Andhra chili chicken, madras curry, and raita (lamb meatball curry). But the winner is phaal curry or bhut jolokia curry, made with one of the world’s spiciest peppers.
3. Chilis in China
If you want hot Chinese food, the Sichuan province is the place to be. However, Hunan and Guizhou also have plenty of hot dishes. Americanized Chinese food is barely spicy, but the authentic cuisine is fiery. Hot dishes use freshly chopped chilis, peppercorns, and spicy oils to create that heat.
Dan Dan noodles, Mapo tofu, Fuqi feipain (beef and tripe chili), and hot and sour glass noodles are all super spicy. While Indian and Thai food will clear your sinuses, Chinese spicy food has a more numbing sensation, so be prepared to not feel your tongue for a while.
4. Mole in Mexico
Moving out of Asia, Mexican cuisine is teeming with spice. Spicy food is ingrained in their culture. Again, the American interpretations of traditional Mexcian dishes are toned down. So you might not consider enchiladas spicy, but that just means you haven’t had them in Mexico.
Frankly, almost everything you eat in Mexico will have some heat, with the exception of most desserts. But seemingly familiar foods like salsa might catch you off guard with heat. The spiciest dishes are chilaquiles, chiles rellenos, aguachile (spicy ceviche), and chilate de pollo (spicy chicken soup)
5. Jerk Seasoning in Jamaica
Jamaica is different because, while the cuisine includes plenty of heat, not all dishes are inherently spicy. This is a wonderful destination for heat lovers traveling with heat haters. The hottest dishes include crab and callaloo, ackee and saltfish, and jerk meat.
Jerk spices are usually where the heat in Jamaican dishes comes from. The mix includes onion powder, garlic, powder, cayenne pepper, allspice, ginger, paprika, chili powder, and other spices. The cuisine also uses a lot of capsicum peppers to increase the intensity.
6. Spicy Meat in Malaysia
Many Malaysian dishes are spicy, but even the ones that aren’t often come with a side of chili-based sambal. You can make every dish as hot as lava. But Malaysian cuisine frequently combines intense heat with warm sweetness, so it’s a nice balance.
Red or green chilis are added to dishes toward the beginning of cooking, allowing the flavors to deepen, resulting in hearty heat. Test your tastebuds with spicy Malaysian dishes like curry laksa, curry noodles, rendang (spicy meat), and murtabak (omelet pancake).
7. Berbere in Ethiopia
Ethiopian food is interesting because it doesn’t bring the heat that many other cuisines mentioned here do. However, the complex combination and large amount of spices give many dishes a distinct kick.
Berbere is a unique Ethiopian spice blend that does add fire to dishes though, and it’s used liberally. Chechebsa (spicy bread), spicy stews, niter kibbeh (spicy butter), and Shiro (lentil stew) can all set your tongue ablaze and have an insane amount of flavor.
8. Kimchi in Korea
Like almost all of these cuisines, America has dumbed down the spice in Korean food. However, if you often indulge in Korean food, you know that this cuisine still brings the heat, even in America. It only gets spicier when you visit South Korea.
Dishes like buldak (fire chicken), Tteokbokki (rice cakes and chili sauce), and Jjambbong (spicy seafood soup) are among the hottest. The popular fermented chili paste, gochujang, and fermented cabbage concoction, kimchi, are also spicy staples in Korean food — the fermentation process only brings out more heat.
9. Chutneys in Trinidad and Tobago
Food from Trinidad and Tobago is spicy thanks to the historical influences from African and Indian cuisine, the islands’ neighbors. This cuisine is all about the peppers — scotch bonnet, pimento, scorpion butch, habaneros, and yellow peppers are just a few common ones.
You can get your spicy fix on the islands with chutneys, achar (spicy pickle), curried crab, and pelau (spicy rice dish). If you plan to visit, go during the Trinidad and Tobago Culinary Festival, where all the spicy food you could dream of will be available.
10. Tandy Fruit in Indonesia
Another Asian country? Yes! This continent knows spice. Spicy Indonesian food typically gets its heat from red chili peppers, so the watery-eyed spiciness is standard.
Rujak is one of the hottest dishes. It’s a fruit salad (that doesn’t sound scary) drenched in a super spicy chili dressing that is like fire in your mouth, but you know, in a good way. Other must-try spicy dishes are ayam taliwang (grilled chicken and fruit), ayam betutu (stuffed poultry), and balado (chili).
11. Hot Chips in Kenya
Kenyan food is spicy but in a more subtle, tickly way. This kind of heat can take a little while to hit your tastebuds, and the more you eat, the more the heat builds. One spoonful won’t knock you out, but you might be amazed by how hot your mouth still is an hour after dinner.
They often spice their meat with pilau masala, red pepper, and black pepper, creating an enticing depth of heat. You can enjoy this spiciness in Kenyan samosas, meat dishes, chilis, chips, and vegetable dishes. Try dishes like hot chips and nyama choma while you’re there!
12. Kebabs in Turkey
When you think of spicy food, Turkey is probably not the first place you think of. Nevertheless, this country is steeped in spice. Hot dishes you have to try are beyran and ezogelina spicy soup, Adana kebap is a spicy kebab, and lahmacun is like a spicy pizza.
All these dishes will make you feel like a volcano ready to erupt, especially the beyran soup. The cuisine uses urfa biber, a chili pepper that slowly builds heat, black pepper, sumac, and a variety of other peppers to create its spiciest dishes.
Chase the Heat
Maybe you think you know how spicy these cuisines are because you always ask for your curry “Thai spicy” at your local Thai spot, or because you coat your Chinese chicken fingers in spicy mustard.
We’re not saying you can’t handle the spice; we’re saying that until you travel to these spots, you probably haven’t experienced the true heat of the traditional cuisine. Take your enthusiasm for heat to the next level in locations where spicy food is a way of life.
