Love spicy food? Then you will love this recipe collection of mouth tingling dishes! Whether you are a lover of chili paste, black pepper, or prefer the mouth numbing effect of Szechuan peppercorns, we’ve got it all covered.
I fell in love with spicy food in Bangkok, Thailand. At first I could barely handle the heat from a tiny Thai chili as it set my mouth on fire. But, the longer I stayed and the better my palate became at handling the heat. By the time I left – 6 months later – I was topping my noodles with chili paste and plenty of fresh red and green bird’s eye chilis. I became obsessed with the heat and smokiness of chilis as they added so much depth of flavor, and have ever since remained a lover of all things spicy.
In this roundup you will find 20 spicy Asian dishes that range from mildly spicy to very spicy. I’m using different types of condiments and peppers such as spicy chili crisp, bird’s eye chilis, chili paste, chili oil, and black pepper, to impart heat to the dishes. If you are new at spicy food, I recommend using less than what the recipes call for. Like it super crazy fire-in-your-mouth spicy? Add more! Remember that it’s important to make it just right for your palate, so you can fully enjoy the food!
Smacked Cucumber with Chili Oil
One of my favorite Chinese appetizers of all time! I can never get enough of the crunchy pieces of cucumber tossed in a vinegary, salty, hot, and nutty sauce. It goes well over rice, with noodles, in a sandwich – with everything!
Szechuan Style Nasu Dengaku
A Szechuan take on the traditional Japanese nasu dengaku! The mixture of nutty, savory, umami, slightly pungent, peppery, and spicy from the sauce, marries beautifully with the mildly sweet flavor of eggplant.
Spicy Edamame With Garlic Sauce
This is a delicious snack or side that’s full of savory, nutty, and smoky flavors. These boiled edamame pods are dressed in a sauce made of garlic, ginger, gochugaru, and sesame oil. It’s more smoky than it is spicy.
Tom Yum Soup
A sour and spicy bowl of tom yum soup using 5 bird’s eye chilis! I love this soup because it tastes very authentic to the soup I’ve had in Thailand. It’s refreshing, cleansing, quite spicy, and is full of herbaceous and pungent flavors.
Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Tofu Stew)
Soondubu may be my favorite Korean dish because it hits all the right notes with me. It has the kind of heat that I can tolerate (the type that doesn’t build up and get worse over time) and the soup is packed with delicious seafood, tofu, and a raw egg. It’s both comforting and satisfying.
Jjamppong (Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup)
Jjamppong is another Korean spicy seafood soup except that this one comes with noodles. The flavors are similar to soondubu – smoky, briny, full of umami – minus the nutty taste of sesame oil and the use of dried anchovies.
Spicy Miso Ramen
You’ll love the fiery kick in this spicy miso ramen! A mix of peppery tobanjan and gochugaru gives this popular Japanese noodle soup a Korean flair. The ramen is finished with a flavored oil made of green onions and ground black pepper.
Red Coconut Curry Soup
Plenty of red curry paste is used in this red coconut curry soup to give the dish heat and an element of pungency. This is one of my all time favorite Southeast Asian noodle soup! The broth is a mixture of coconut milk, chicken stock, and fish sauce, with some peanut butter for sweetness and nuttiness. So good!
Pan Fried Noodles With Spicy Chili Crisp
These Hong Kong style noodles are hot, pungent, salty, and smoky, with a texture as addictive as potato chips. I’m using a mix of fresh cilantro and basil to give these crispy noodles plenty of aromatics and herbaceous flavors.
Spicy Vegan Sichuan Noodles
There is nothing boring about these vegan noodles! These chewy rice noodles are topped with a crunchy and earthy mix of celery and mushrooms that are seasoned with hot and peppery gochujang, soy sauce, and chinkiang vinegar.
Cold Asian Noodle Salad
This is a refreshing chilled noodle salad with bright and nutty flavors. The heat and smokiness comes from a combination of dried red chilies and some chili oil. Perfect as a light snack or as a side to other Chinese influenced dishes.
Tteokbokki (Dukbokki)
Tteokbokki is a popular Korean dish made of rice cakes (similar to mochi in texture) and fishcakes swimming in a bright red sweet and spicy sauce. I personally can only have a little at a time as the heat from the gochujang can be overwhelming. But it’s absolutely delicious!
Vegan Mapo Tofu
This is another outstanding plant based dish you must try at least once in your lifetime! The earthy flavors from the chopped mushrooms impart so much flavor that it makes most meat based mapo tofu pale in comparison. Add to that silky soft tofu, sweet leeks, spicy gochujang, smoky gochugaru, pungent and hot spicy chili crisp, and you have the ultimate mapo tofu recipe!
Pad Kra Pao Gai (Thai Basil Chicken)
Pad kra pao gai has been one of my favorite dishes of all time for decades. I can easily have it 2-3 times a week and never tired of the salty, garlicky, and spicy flavors. I also love to top mine with plenty of freshly chopped cilantro and basil.
Black Pepper Chicken
A different kind of spicy, this chicken stir fry uses a ton of black pepper to infuse warmth, some heat, and some floral notes. The dish is savory and a little acidic with plenty of peppercorns to make you sneeze!
Szechuan Chicken
Szechuan chicken is a spicy dish that hails from Chinaโs Sichuan province. The dish is made of chicken that has been marinated and dipped in egg and cornstarch, and stir fried with dried chili peppers and a simple soy and sesame sauce.
Kung Pao Cauliflower
This is the vegetable version of the classic spicy kung pao chicken. Made with cauliflower and roasted peanuts, this vegetable stir fry is seasoned with a savory and sweet sauce, a hot chili sauce, and a whole chopped bird’s eye chili.
Garlic Shrimp With Chili Crisp
Spicy chili crisp and sriracha sauce bring plenty of heat to these moist and tender shrimp! It’s a simple and delicious shrimp stir fry that can be made in about 25 minutes.
Crazy Hot Chili Garlic Sauce
This is not a dish but a must try condiment for spicy food lovers! I am using over 40 Thai chilis in this recipe, so be ready for a super fiery, sour, sweet, and really amazing homemade Asian style hot sauce!
Homemade Rayu โ Japanese Chili Oil
Lastly, another must try condiment for spicy food lovers! This old school Japanese chili oil is often used as a flavoring oil for ramen, gyoza sauce, noodle and rice dishes, and stir fries. It’s full of smoky, gingery, and five spice like flavors, and only takes about 15 minutes to make.
