What's the hottest food you've ever eaten?

The first time I orderd Kung Pao Beef I didn't realize (or see) the those little red chilis in it. I chomped down on a whole one hidden with some of the beef. Instant pain. I've had some Thai dishes that were a bit hotter, but nothing so concentrated.

Doug, the chiles are why I LIKE Kung Pao chicken! I always eat every one of the little buggers.

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Oh, I love the flavor the chilis impart and even of the chili itself. I just try a small piece now before eating a whole one.

In Austin, TX in the mid-80s, a Vietnam Vet brought home his Thai bride. She cooked home-style cooking at their Thai restaurant in North Austin, off the main track. Pretty much any dish was hotter than the next, and hotter than anything I've had in other restaurants of any ethnicity.

A green curry at a Thai restaurant. I told them I wanted the hottest curry they had. I guess I got it...could barely put the stuff in my mouth. The corners of my eyes were leaking tears just from the smell.

To this day, I still don't know if that was their normal hot dish or whether the Chef felt challenged, somehow, by my request.

Richard

Not a doubt about it. Years and years ago, did some R&R up in Chang Mai, Thailand (OK, so we were supposed to be in Bangkok). We'd been drinking a "few" litre bottles of Singha and I ordered some dinner at a street cafe....forget evact what was ordered. I told them I liked it spicey/hot. This stuff was unbelievable. One bite my mouth felt like a volcano went off. I slugged down an entire litre of beer in nano-seconds. Still on fire, I grabbed a pitcher of beer off another table, without so much as a "may I" and drank it as well. I think they thought I was one strange farang. My mouth is still recoiling just thinking about it over 40 years later..
Shoulda stayed in Bangkok!!

These have been amusing stories. I simply am not in the same league when it comes to hot stuff. I like spicy foods but I suspect that my level of tolerance is much lower that most folks who have posted.

I recall three instances of big heat. The first was 20+ years ago in a Chicago restaurant named Hunan Palace I believe. A group from my wife's place of employment went to dinner. The appetizer sampler ordered for the table included several sauces....sweet and sour, mustard, and something reddish in color with what appeared to be an oil base. Not knowing what it was but being forewarned by its color, I put a little bit on my plate, then tasted a drop. I thought someone had put acid on my tongue! I had a pinpoint of pain like someone had stuck a needle in my tongue. Felt like it had been cauterized!!! Of course, my eyes immediately watered as well. No one at the table could tolerate the sauce.

About seven years ago we were eating at the local roadhouse....kinda outdoors, middle of July, temps in the 90s. The special that night was jambalaya, which I love. This was waaaay spicy though. I ate maybe half of it before conceding defeat, temporarily. Took the rest home and eventually finished it. But that night, I was sweating profusely. Ever since then, if I order jambalaya in my daughter's presence, she inevitably says, "Eeeewwww....you're not gonna be dripping are you?"

The third occurrence was lunch with some folks from work at BW3's. I ordered a dozen of the Jamaican jerk wings. I thought I had eaten these before with no problem. If so, something was different that day. I could only handle about 5. There was a strange sensation though. First, I had never had heat impact my lips before. Only my tongue, typically. But that jerk sauce burned my tongue, mouth and lips. Second, I never had heat where the impact seemed cumulative. To me, the last jalapeno I have from the nachos tray is just as hot as the first. These jerk wings though, the heat seemed to accumulate. After the second wing, I was taking breaks between bites. And my mouth would cool down. But when I went for the next bite, the heat level in my mouth would soar past where it had been before the break. I never had that happen before, nor have I experienced it since.

And I still like jambalaya and jerk sauces. Suspicious Oriental sauces are avoided however.

About 20 years ago I went to a restaurant in Hawaii and had a roasted chicken served with a piri piri sauce. I couldn't get past the heat to taste the flavor. Very disappointing dish!

A buddy of mine was a heat freak. He brought an assortment of salsas to my home once. One of them had been made from pureed yellow chiles, and garlic. That's it - those were the only two ingredients. It was meant to be used a condiment, but I was scooping it up like there was no tomorrow. Each burst of heat was followed by a craving for yet another - hmmm, where have I run into that sensation before?

Anyway, what followed was the most miserable 24 - 36 hours of my life, as I tracked the chile's journey through my system, becoming aware of each twist and turn in my intestines until they were finally gone from my system. Horrible.

I'm a veteran capsaicin lover, but there are four events that I remember.

I ate at a Sri Lankan restaurant where I ordered one notch above medium heat. Good thing, because it was just on the edge of my tolerance. I can't believe how anyone could eat the hottest.

In St. Paul, home of pretty bland food, I ordered a Thai soup as hot as they could make it, expecting it to be tepid as usual. The chef stood in the doorway and watched me eat it--and I did.

I tried a new Thai restaurant in Albuquerque and ordered my lunch Thai hot. Now that was hot! The Thai server said he couldn't eat it that hot.

Several years ago, at the Fiery Foods Festival, Dave's Insanity Sauce had been banned from letting people taste its sauce. So Dave mixed together two of his next hottest sauces, called it Atomic Blast and you could taste it if you signed a release. I tried some on a tortilla chip. Not bad, I thought. Not too terribly hot. I moved away and was walking down the next aisle about 45 seconds later when it finally hit. I'm sure my face turned bright red. And I didn't just start sweating, I actually was raining sweat. I stood there for a while until it finally subsided. Unbelievable, but I got a certificate for trying it.

BTW, I went to the Fiery Foods Festival a couple of weekends ago. It gets better every year. I understand almost all the booth spaces are taken for next year already. I'm a Scovie judge, so I get in for free and during the commercial hours without the multitudes of the public (complete with huge strollers--insane).

Anyway, what followed was the most miserable 24 - 36 hours of my life, as I tracked the chile's journey through my system, becoming aware of each twist and turn in my intestines until they were finally gone from my system. Horrible.

That's why you eat ice cream afterwards. Then, next morning you start yelling, "Come on, ice cream!"

Yes, yellow chiles and especially habaneros are very instructional. They teach you were food goes after we eat it.

-Paul W.

In high school, my friends and I had a chinese mustard drinking contest. My parents ate (and continue to eat) chinese at least twice a week and they never throw anything away. We had containers of the stuff.

I ended up puking on my sister's tennis shoes.

Chinese mustard is a wonderful decongestant. Really clears out the sinuses.

And in quantity, as you discovered, it's also a potent emetic.

Nothing better with egg rolls, spring rolls, or Chinese barbecued spare ribs, though.

-Paul W.

Chinese mustard is a wonderful decongestant. Really clears out the sinuses.
...-Paul W.

Simple Chinese mustard type recipe - Put about 1 tablespoon of dry mustard (I use Coleman's) in a cup. Add enough of either beer or white wine and stir to make the proper spreading consistency. It's great on hot dogs with a dill pickle. I find mustard and horseradish to be more of an olfactory type hot - different from peppers type hot, which burn the tongue, lips and throat. Peppers type hot can screw up your wine palette for a long time, whereas with horseradish and mustard the recovery time is a few minutes at most. At least that is my experience. I avoid hot peppers and wine.

Man, I am such a wimp compared to the rest of you. I have a fairly low tolerance for really spicy food, so I just don't eat much of it. I guess the hottest things I've tried to date were a Caribbean habanero sauce that a friend brought back from some island (which had wonderful flavor to go with the kick) and a hot sauce called "Oso Hot".

"Oso Hot".

Made out of bears?

"Oso Hot".

Made out of bears?

Funny you should ask. It's from a place called the Brown Adobe, "Your New Mexico Connection". It's supposedly only for those who can "bear" really hot stuff.

I'm a veteran capsaicin lover, but there are four events that I remember.

I ate at a Sri Lankan restaurant where I ordered one notch above medium heat. Good thing, because it was just on the edge of my tolerance. I can't believe how anyone could eat the hottest.

In St. Paul, home of pretty bland food, I ordered a Thai soup as hot as they could make it, expecting it to be tepid as usual. The chef stood in the doorway and watched me eat it--and I did.

The Sri Lanka Curry House in Minneapolis? Back when it was still open and I could still eat the real stuff, I did hot to very hot at the Curry House. Pushed my limits, though.

But probably even hotter than that was the jerk chicken at Harry Singh's Caribbean Restaurant in Minneapolis. I don't recall what level of heat I ordered it at -- but it was one level too hot. Harry was from Trinidad, and there were some serious habaneros in his sauce. He was still open as of a few months ago, and I definitely recommend a meal there. The food has flavor as well as heat. I recommend the jerk, and the sorrel drink.

There's not a lot of hot food in the Twin Cities, but some of it is the real deal.

When I was at Thai cooking school the first thing we learned to make was our daily salt and pepper. This is your table seasoning used on all foods throughout the day. It is a concoction of chopped garlic, scallions, bird peppers [more or less depending on your tolerance level], mixed with the right balance beetween fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar and sugar. (And, there is a right balance!). I've been addicted ever since. Please, give it a try.

Yeah, the Sri Lankan restaurant was in Minneapolis. I ate there about 20 years ago.

Jo Ann,

I've been served that "daily salt and pepper" condiment in Thai restaurants, and you're right, it's heavenly. Never had a recipe for it before, though. Thanks!

-Paul W.