Special Spicy Asian Dishes

Spicy food can sometimes be too hard to handle, but it doesn’t change the fact that millions of people love consuming food that tickles (and/or tortures) the palate. Chili is the most common spice used to rev up the flavor of otherwise bland dishes. However, some Asian dishes use more than the standard chili to spice up the flavor of some of their favored recipes. Here are a few of the most notorious spicy Asian dishes that you should try.

Tom Yum is the world-famous sour and spicy soup which is native to Thailand. Tom Yum variations are the Tom Yum Gai and Pla, which serves chicken and seafood with the sour-spicy soup, respectively. This aromatic soup easily entices a lot of tourists, despite warnings that it can be explosively hot (locals prefer the super-hot soup). The combination of bird’s eye chili, kaffir lime leaves, and lime juice makes this soup a tempting meal that should be paired off with lots of rice and sweet lemonade. Yum!

In Szechuan (or Sichuan as some people spell it), the cold Chinese climate makes it difficult to eat food that is not spicy. Because of this, the Radish Pepper, a salad of crunchy radish strips, chopped bird’s eye chili, and loads of pepper powder became a constant companion of all main courses served in the area. No Sichuan meal is complete without the Radish Pepper salad, so make sure to taste this if you happen to stay in the area for a holiday.

Everybody knows how a Korean cannot live without the famous Kimchi. However, not everybody knows that the basic Kimchi recipe is nothing compared to the Bibimbap Kimchi, an enhanced Korean dish that integrates the Kimchi into the main dish. Brace yourself for this is one tasty, traitorous dish. The first few seconds after biting let you enjoy the flavorful meats and savory sauces. A few seconds after, the sensation is like exploding dynamite in your mouth. Make sure to have lots of rice or bread beside you to help get rid of the oils in your mouth if it gets too unbearable.

Technically speaking, Indonesia’s grind sauce is not a meal by itself, but most Indonesian dishes are incomplete without it. It’s like gravy for your mashed potatoes; without the gravy, mashed potatoes seem to lack the flavor and are unappealing. Be prepared to ingest this volcanic chili condiment when you visit the beautiful islands of Indonesia.

India is known for its spice-filled dishes. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise if one of the best spicy meals you can find in Asia can be found in this aromatic country. The Vindaloo is a sauce-filled dish of marinated meats and a red, spicy sauce made with coriander, ginger, mustard seed, and chili. The sour meat complements the sharp, spicy tang of the sauce. If you happen to visit India during fair weather, this is a very good lunch or dinner meal.