Top 10 Hottest Spicy Dishes Around the World

For those who love spicy food, Phall Curry is a true challenge. Known as the spiciest curry in the world, this Indian dish is made from 10 of the hottest chilies in Asia, including the notorious Hababerp, Scotch Bonnet, and Bhut Jolokia—three of the world’s hottest peppers. The intense heat of Phall Curry is a daring test for any culinary enthusiast.

It’s one of India’s most famous spicy dishes. For those brave enough to take on its heat, the experience is unforgettable. Despite the fiery kick, the flavor of this curry is truly delicious. If you ever have the chance, don’t miss the opportunity to taste the mouth-burning Phall Curry.

Ethiopian cuisine is a delightful blend of dishes made with various vegetables and spicy meat stews. These ingredients are traditionally served on a single plate with Injera, a type of flatbread, and meals are enjoyed by hand.

Ethiopian food is especially famous for its incredibly spicy Wot (stew). The key spices used in Wot are onions, garlic, ginger, and the essential Berbere powder—a blend of dried chilies and other spices. These hot spices are slowly cooked with chicken for hours, allowing the flavors to deeply penetrate the meat. The dish is then served with boiled eggs and a side of flatbread.

Thailand is renowned as one of the spiciest countries in the world, and its dishes are packed with chilies. The Thai prefer green chilies over ripe ones to enhance the spice level of their meals. Among the spiciest Thai dishes is the stir-fried beef called Neu Pad Prik, made with thinly sliced beef, spring onions, basil, and a generous amount of green bird's eye chilies, a variety commonly used across Southeast Asia, known for its intense heat and regarded as the 'king of chilies.'

Neu Pad Prik (Thai-style stir-fried beef) is Thailand’s spiciest dish, featuring a large amount of bird's eye chilies, which will make anyone who tries it sweat. The dish is simple yet packed with flavor, combining thinly sliced beef with basil, spring onions, and bird's eye chilies. You can find this iconic street food all over Thailand, but if you’re not a fan of intense heat, be sure to ask the vendor to adjust the spice level, as the original recipe may be too fiery for some!

Tom Yum is a renowned spicy and sour soup from Thailand. Anyone who tries it for the first time is immediately captivated by its distinct aroma and intense heat. The most common versions of Tom Yum feature shrimp, seafood, or chicken, with the spiciness coming from a combination of Thai bird's eye chilies, kaffir lime leaves, and fresh lime juice. To balance out the heat, it is often served with white rice. The primary ingredients in Tom Yum include shrimp (ranging from medium to large), chicken, and mushrooms. Essential seasonings include kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, young galangal, shallots, fresh chilies, lime juice or tamarind, herbs, tomatoes, coconut milk or cream, chicken or pork broth, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and seasoning powder.

The recipe for Tom Yum can vary by region, but the core ingredients remain the same—kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and galangal. The authentic Thai version includes coconut milk (or cream), which gives the soup its rich and creamy consistency. In Vietnam, additional ingredients such as sautéed tomatoes, tamarind (or lime juice), and fresh chilies are used to create the signature tangy and spicy flavor. In regions where kaffir lime leaves are unavailable, they may substitute with regular lime leaves or cilantro, though the flavor won’t be exactly the same as the original. Kaffir lime leaves should be added at the end of cooking to avoid bitterness, unlike Thai lime leaves which can withstand longer cooking without losing their flavor or becoming bitter.

Papa a la Huancaina is a renowned dish from Peru and is perhaps one of the spiciest potato dishes you can find. The dish is visually striking, but behind its appearance is a level of heat that will leave you in awe. Papa a la Huancaina consists of cold potato salad served with a rich Huancaina cheese sauce, accompanied by lettuce, black olives, corn kernels, and boiled eggs. The Huancaina sauce is made from fresh cheese, evaporated milk, salt, and Amarillo chili, a famously spicy pepper.

Papa a la Huancaina is a traditional Peruvian appetizer made with yellow boiled potatoes in a spicy sauce known as Huancaina sauce. Although the name of the dish originates from Huancayo, a city in the Peruvian highlands, it actually comes from Lima. It has become a staple of daily and festive Peruvian cuisine, often served cold on a bed of lettuce, garnished with black olives, corn kernels, and hard-boiled eggs.

The sauce is made from fresh white cheese, vegetable oil, yellow Peruvian chili, evaporated milk, and salt blended together in a food processor. Some recipes call for garlic, onions, and ground salt as additional ingredients. This sauce is also used in many other dishes across Peru. In southern Peru, instead of Huancaina sauce, it is served with Ocopa sauce, which is made from roasted peanuts, fried onions, tomatoes, cream or evaporated milk, crackers or dry bread, salt, and huacatay. Papa a la Huancaina is a beloved dish among Peruvians, often enjoyed during picnics and trips.

Buffalo wings, also known as crispy fried chicken wings, are a staple of American cuisine. These wings are typically deep-fried, then coated with a spicy cayenne pepper sauce mixed with melted butter. The dish was first created in 1964 at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York by Teressa Bellissimo. They are usually served hot and crispy, accompanied by celery or carrots, and often paired with blue cheese.

The wings are drenched in Tabasco sauce, chili powder, and sometimes fresh chopped peppers. When eating these wings, the spiciness hits you like a ‘tongue-torching’ sensation. The heat doesn’t stop at your taste buds—it spreads through your body, intensifying the experience. Many people enjoy them with a side of sour cream or blue cheese to cool down the heat.

Kimchi is one of the most famous dishes worldwide. In 2013, UNESCO recognized Kimchi as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. It’s not only a beloved dish in Korea, but it’s also a common food in Vietnam, often served at family meals or in restaurants. Although the dish has become widespread in Vietnam, its spiciness has been toned down significantly.

Kimchi is an extremely popular dish in Korea, where it helps people combat the harsh cold weather. The main ingredients are napa cabbage or cucumbers, with many other ingredients added, but the key spice is red pepper powder, which gives it a fiery heat. Have you ever tried kimchi? Share your experience with Mytour!

Oelek Sambal is not a dish, but a type of chili paste from Indonesia, and its spiciness is truly intense. To put it simply, Oelek Sambal can be described as fresh chopped chili paste. It’s made with some of the hottest chili peppers in the world, with minimal additives. Among the peppers used to make this fiery paste are Habanero, Cayenne, Jeanette, Chili, Spanish peppers, and the notorious Naga Jolokia, which is ten times hotter than Thai chilies. The heat is so intense that eating it can leave your lips burning red.

Sambal is a spicy dipping sauce that originates from Indonesia and Malaysia, though it’s especially popular in Indonesia. The locals love spicy food, making sambal a top choice for their meals. The key ingredient is fresh red chili peppers, and there are 300 different types of sambal. These range from sambal with grilled fish, fried fish, and dried fish to those made with chicken or beef. However, the simplest and most common version is the Java-style sambal. To describe the heat of Oelek Sambal, think of it as fresh chopped chili paste with very few added ingredients.

The Sichuan province of China is famous for its spicy cuisine, where chili peppers play an indispensable role in everyday life. Among the various spicy dishes, the Sichuan hot pot stands out as the most intense. The broth for Sichuan Hot Pot is prepared with garlic, onions, and Sichuan chili peppers, renowned worldwide for their numbing heat. The dish is typically served with thinly sliced raw meats and an array of fresh vegetables.

Sichuan Hot Pot is also known for its deeply flavorful broth, enhanced with peppercorns, spices, and numerous types of chili peppers. This combination creates a fragrant and fiery soup that tingles on the tongue, making it nearly impossible to stop eating. Notably, hot pots may come with two or more compartments to offer different broths, though most Sichuan restaurants today feature a two-section pot—one side packed with fiery spices, while the other is milder, catering to diverse tastes.

Delicious shrimp dishes are loved for their sweetness, nutritional value, and appealing presentation. Shrimp can be found in a wide variety of dishes, from simple to elegant. However, in the Mason-Dixon Line region, shrimp is prepared in a distinctively spicy way that not everyone can handle due to its intense heat.

Anyone from the southern side of the Mason-Dixon Line can tell you about the extreme spiciness of this shrimp dish. The recipe can include green and red chilies, tomatoes, shrimp, and sometimes chicken. But the true level of heat comes from combining Chili and Cayenne peppers, two of the hottest varieties. If you want to test your limits with this fiery dish, be sure to pair it with white rice or bread, or you might not survive the heat.