Hong Kong
The bustling city has a plethora of local culinary offerings but it only gets a 1-chilli rating because most aren’t a spicy food experience – but this doesn’t make them any less delectable. Spicy or non spicy food lovers alike are sure to enjoy the traditional yum cha culture where dim sum is enjoyed with piping hot tea.
If you’re looking for some great company along with that dim sum, book a Social Dim Sum experience where you can enjoy an authentic dim sum breakfast with friendly locals who will share the art and history of yum cha.
China
Although not all parts of China love spicy cuisine, provinces like Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou consume one of the hottest foods. They even make up for the whole country’s reputation ranking it among the top countries that have the spiciest cuisine. Their spicy foods include dan dan noodles, Ma po tofu, saliva chicken, gan guo and Hunan spicy beef. That’s not the whole list, but it could be a great start that will blow your mind and obviously your mouth.
Thailand
If you’re really in search of adventure, wander around the streetfood stalls along popular lanes in order to sniff out the spiciest stir-fry dishes and soups. All Thai food uses aromatic herbs, spices and vegetables to create a fascinating, unique cuisine that is popular across the world. Try Tom Yum soup which is a tempting blend of spicy and sour, combined in perfect harmony in a bowl. The sourness comes from galangal, lemongrass and kaffir limes and the heat from hot Thai chillies. Fish or meat in thick red curry sauce that contains a base of shrimp paste and red chillies, is another popular menu item you might want to try.
India
In India, spicy means adding chilies, garlic, cardamom, pepper and coriander as staples to almost any curry to create a balance of flavour and heat. If in search of a spicy curry, this is where herbs and spices meet extraordinary taste. For a combination of heat with meat, try Goa’s pork vindaloo which is prepared with kashmiri chillies, ginger, garlic, pepper, cloves, cinnamon and vinegar in a mouth-watering combination that will set your taste buds ablaze.
Sri Lanka
This is one of the countries with the spiciest food which may be more impacted by the historical spice trade route in their country. You could ask for food which could be plain and normal in temperature but the accompaniments tend to be lava hot.
One of their spiciest food is Kottu rotti. This street dish is made of godhamba roti, meat, vegetables and an insane amount of spices. Some people choose to have it less spiced, but the original kind is dare devil hot. This spicy food is available in many big cities which have a considerable Sri Lankan native population. Another insanely hot Sri Lankan dish is Kukul Mas curry.
Bhutan
Bhutan foods are definitely not a joke when it comes to spice content. They are bordered by India so that could be some reason why they have spicy cuisine as one common quality. They consider peppers as vegetables rather than spices. That shows you that tying their ema datshi dish could be the bravest thing you’ve ever done.
Malaysia
With Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines influencing Malaysian dishes, you’ll be tasting the best of South-east Asian complexity and history through its exotic flavors. Do you want to know the taste of a thousand chillies exploding in your mouth? Then try Otak Otak which consists of dried chillies blended with minced fish and steamed in a banana leaf.
Korea
Korea’s mouth-numbing offering is ‘Buldak’ which literally translates to ‘Fire-chicken.’ If served in a restaurant, you can request the level of spiciness you’d like in the dish. The more popular and well-known condiment from this country is a fermented cabbage preparation prepared with hot chillies, called Kimchi. The spiciness may make you weep but it can be seriously addictive.