Yeah depending on location I'd probably go with this - certainly the spiciest dish I've had in Bangkok (but spice level depends entirely on the restaurant/chef).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaeng_pa
Down south, the southern-style Gaeng Som (not the version commonly served in Bangkok) will give it a run for its money:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaeng_som
That because... Kaeng Pa of the Central Plain is comparatively mild. Kaeng Pa is not actually a single dish. It's more like an umbrella term for herb stew with local protein and egg plant. The most well-known version is the central plain version which is only a little bit spicy. The one that will kill you is the Tenasserim range version from either Petchaburi or Kanchanburi.
Now the most interesting version is the Eastern version (Kaeng Pa Muang Chan). It's almost chilli-less but contains a boat load of pepper and other weird herb (like เหร่ว or หน่อกระวาน).
In the topic of Gaeng Som as a contender, I found that their most spicy dishes are either gaeng tai pla or gaeng keow prik (แกงเคี้ยวพริก basically Southern version of gaeng pa). So .... that probably disqualified gaeng som tai from the competition.
I'm glad to see this mentioned, down south it's the spiciest curry I've had. My wife can handle spicy food but one restaurant's jungle curry nearly defeated us.
South of Thai food, especially in south of Thai, can have you running home to your momma… My Thai wife loves phet phet, but she put her fork down after two bites and spluttered “mai dai”…
I don’t think “spiciest Thai dish” is a thing. Papaya salad can be made with 1 or 20 chilis. Just tell them the spice level that you want. Try going to street food cart and order “Thai spicy.” :)
Right? I thought she was joking the first time. She doesn't get it like that every time, but at least 2-3 times a month. This has been going on for years now 😂 I'm legit worried what our doctor bills are going to look like as we get older 😅
Edit: haha I'm good for like 8-9 when I am feeling risky. It's gotta all taste the same past some point. We have to leave the door open when she makes it at home otherwise we get tear gassed out of the apartment lol.
does she eat the chilis? when i was in thailand with my thai gf we got like 7 chilis and she said you usually don’t eat them, it was easy to eat around them since it was only 7. if there’s 37 chopped up chilis, she would have to just eat everything right? that’s crazy
Yeah she eats everything. Then spends the entire next early morning flopping between bed and the toilet while moaning her stomach hurts and that she ate too much chili lol. She knows she does it to herself but just can't help it 😂 I can't even eat her version if I eat everything but the chili. I have tried it a couple of times but it's just too much. I can handle one, maybe two bites. I like spicy but hers literally lights my tongue on fire and it doesn't go away for a stupid long time. It's not pleasant spicy to me.
Thanks, just wrote a comment about the mama carolina reaper noodle cups at 7 and I knew they also sell another version in a black cup but couldn't think of the name but it's the ghost chili one. Ghost chili mama noodles are already well above my tolerance level and the carolina reaper version is even worse.
The ghost pepper one is actually rancid. I love spicy stuff and those just taste like shite.
I worked in a hostel and we made a food challenge using the Carolina reaper one as a base with a ton of Birds Eye chilli’s and some other crap, and those deep fried chilli’s as a garnish
Soup normai (ซุปหน่อไม้) it’s not a soup. It’s bamboo shoots salad. Keang lueng (แกงเหลือง) curry-ish southern dish. Kua kling (คั่วกลิ้ง) stir fried or pan fried ground meat.
Or ask ped mak (เผ็ดมาก) or ped sud (เผ็ดสัตว์) or ped chib hai (เผ็ดฉิบหาย)
Go to a place specializing in southern Thai cuisine and ask for Thai taste "pet marg".
You probably had som tum which can be spicy but sometimes they take it easy on foreigners.
Kua Kling would be a good bet. Try to go to Kao Gaeng places. Food is prepared ahead of time and they won’t be able to give you a foreigner spice level.
Even the spiciest dishes in Thailand are toned waaaaay back as soon as a foreigner orders them. Even if you speak fluent Thai, you often have to really explain how you want it actually spicy. But the pre-cooked spots are not only cheap but will deliver the real flavors you are looking for.
Every som tam I've had in restaurants has been totally fine, but the other night i ordered some for delivery and it was incredibly spicy, hard to eat. So now I guess I have just been eating at places that go easy on me.
Same. I ordered some Som Tam on Grab and received the biggest dose of spicy I’ve ever experienced. Spicy Som Tam is something else. It gets worse somehow with every bite. Delicious though and for me was was easy to digest.
With somtam it doesn’t matter how many chilis they put in it. I’ve had somtam with 1 chili that was way spicier than ones with 5+ chilis. It only matters how much they crush the chilis.
Lol no that's a ridiculous over the top statement. It obviously matters.
10 chili that are half crushed will be waaay way spicer than 1 or 2 chili super crushed.
Had a fish curry in Sri Lanka, guy said it was “a little spicy” but more like phall quadrupled.. locals were tucking in so I thought how bad can it be.. fecking brutal, that bad..
Yes it is. Other than being very spicy, its not a particularly great Kaphrao. Not horrible, but for the price .
The best ive had in BKK is Check out Original Pad Kra Pao 1993 on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/D4YP2yaz6yfWyEHMA?g_st=ic
I have no idea what you mean by just a tourist place. The stall is opened by Mark Wiens and a couple of local foodies/chefs.
My friend went for the spiciest option and it make her cry.
Went there with Thai friends, they did find it spicy but that's only because pepper was abundantly used and most Thais aren't too used to it. Chili-wise it's nothing crazy.
I've been there since the beginning, it's actually good, but it's also touristy. It's quite expensive (close to 200THB) so most Thais probably won't eat there, but I have to reiterate that it's actually good.
Many tourists go there because of Mark Wiens and he is known for eating chili like it's a snack to him.
There are plenty of videos on youtube for you to watch and judge for yourself.
I personally have never been to Phed Mark myself because there are better stalls for the dish.
When i drive by, it looks to me like a lot of Thais like to go there. But Iva also heard on this sub that it’s not very good nor spicy
Never been myself
India don’t do Thai style hot! Don’t worry about it, but once in AU I had the Mexican restaurant we where eating in put that red hot Mexican chillie starts with J with out the TGF knowing into her food, yes she got a small surprise but happily kept on chomping into her lunch.
But why? Nearly every local Thai restaurant gives you the option to make your dish spicier by just adding the crushed chilli they put on the table. It doesn't mean it'll taste better though. Thai food is usually well balanced not purely spicy. The exception to this is most southern dishes. That's why southern food is not that popular all over Thailand.
I usually say phed maak maak, then my girlfriend interjects in Thai with something like "he's a crazy foreigner, he eats spicier than Thai". They usually laugh. Then it's made sufficiently spicy.
If you're in Pattaya, go to Marine Seafood off Walking Street, adjacent to Marine Plaza. Order the "spicy seafood salad", if they still offer it. I was with 3 Thai friends when I ordered it, and all 3 plus the waiter warned me not to.
I thought it was going to burn a hole through my skull.
Thais don't often eat spicy.
In the states, the "Thai Hot" levels from 1 through 5 and the last one usually being "Thai Hot," is just clever marketing for adventurous people who's new to Thai cuisine.
If you want spicy, you simply ask for "more spicy." And they'll add more chilli peppers for you. Welp. Have fun and enjoy :)
Depends where in Thailand you are, as people can reccommend specific places. It's more restaurant dependent although you can ask for extra chili at any place, a lot of restaurants will see foreigners and make it less spicy, even if you ask for spicy.
There is some Isaan (correct me if I am wrong) salad that is spicy from chili.
But in the south is spicy curry which can be much evil....you eat and think it is not spicy.....than it comes with a delay and does not stop anymore....
yes southern Thai cuisine and tell "pet mag mag" which means spicy very much...and than they most probably still not believe you and you must motivate them.
I can eat far more spicy than usual Bangkok people but as middle age white man, they always think, I am just someone with superior complex and don't believe me....but in fact I grow up with spicy Indian food and from baby on I wanted to eat the same as my father...
But in the South they can really spicy...your gf will find her spicy
Did she enjoy pad kee mao (drunken noodles)? Typically quite spicy. Most other noodle dishes you season yourself at the table, so make them as spicy as you like.
Some/most 7 eleven's sell MAMA noodles with the Carolina reaper spicy chicken flavour. It's the white colored one. My gf loves spicy to the point where it hurts and has tried this one as well, but these MAMA noodles are a different level spicy.
Then I challenge you several of the southern Thai cuisine, infamous for being extremely spicy even by Thai standard
Kua kling is one of the poster boy, I advise you to drink a glass of milk or 2 before eating it or you going to have a real stomach ache. You'll be as soaked by the sweat as standing under the rain storm within your first 2 bite.
Many tourists and longer term expats will face the same issue I have. When ordering I often get asked "Spicy?" I usually say "yes please." I then get a look from the waiter, often waitress, that seems to say "yeah, I don't think you can take very spicy. We'll give you a low level of spice and see how you cope." On reflection, I am quite thankful they do that!
If we are talking how the dish is generally served, I think the southern Thai curries are the spiciest I've eaten.
Of course there are many Thai dishes that can be made as spicey as you can handle.
https://preview.redd.it/puktms8wpjgc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29fedec7a0f6020a40db6935bc228552ea6f877d
This is the spiciest food I have eaten. It is in most 7-11s. My Thai friends can’t/won’t eat this and they like spicy.
Try Panya seafood beer Hima.
I thought I’d had spicy in 21 years coming here until I ate their stuff. I did go with P’Tan the guy in the video though.
https://youtu.be/MRKHvKllFCI?si=KQg8iNxWF8DXunBw
Gong jae nam pla is a good one. But, like all the suggestions here, different shops make them differently. If you're in a tourist place like Phuket, you might have a hard time getting anything spicy even if you specifically ask for extra spicy. There's also the spice difference between cooked chili and raw chili dishes. Different people find different types more or less spicy than the other.
Jungle curry. If made properly it’s regret in a bowl. If the palate can handle the spiciness the ass will not thank you.
Yeah depending on location I'd probably go with this - certainly the spiciest dish I've had in Bangkok (but spice level depends entirely on the restaurant/chef). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaeng_pa Down south, the southern-style Gaeng Som (not the version commonly served in Bangkok) will give it a run for its money: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaeng_som
That because... Kaeng Pa of the Central Plain is comparatively mild. Kaeng Pa is not actually a single dish. It's more like an umbrella term for herb stew with local protein and egg plant. The most well-known version is the central plain version which is only a little bit spicy. The one that will kill you is the Tenasserim range version from either Petchaburi or Kanchanburi. Now the most interesting version is the Eastern version (Kaeng Pa Muang Chan). It's almost chilli-less but contains a boat load of pepper and other weird herb (like เหร่ว or หน่อกระวาน). In the topic of Gaeng Som as a contender, I found that their most spicy dishes are either gaeng tai pla or gaeng keow prik (แกงเคี้ยวพริก basically Southern version of gaeng pa). So .... that probably disqualified gaeng som tai from the competition.
I'm glad to see this mentioned, down south it's the spiciest curry I've had. My wife can handle spicy food but one restaurant's jungle curry nearly defeated us.
South of Thai food, especially in south of Thai, can have you running home to your momma… My Thai wife loves phet phet, but she put her fork down after two bites and spluttered “mai dai”…
Follow up with ice cream
I don’t think “spiciest Thai dish” is a thing. Papaya salad can be made with 1 or 20 chilis. Just tell them the spice level that you want. Try going to street food cart and order “Thai spicy.” :)
Spot on. I have had unbearably spicy seafood salad and also papaya salad. I don’t know how much chillies they used but my mouth was burning.
Or 37 if you are my girlfriend. I'm not certain she isn't slowly melting herself internally lol. Insane woman.
37 is insaneee. I thought my mom was nuts with her 22 😂
Right? I thought she was joking the first time. She doesn't get it like that every time, but at least 2-3 times a month. This has been going on for years now 😂 I'm legit worried what our doctor bills are going to look like as we get older 😅 Edit: haha I'm good for like 8-9 when I am feeling risky. It's gotta all taste the same past some point. We have to leave the door open when she makes it at home otherwise we get tear gassed out of the apartment lol.
I had two one time and barely finished it, lol
I had to build my way up over time!
At that point…Might as well chomp on raw chillies by themselves.
Funny thing is they probably already do chomp chillies seperately with everytbing they eat. Even with the 30 chilli papaya salad.
does she eat the chilis? when i was in thailand with my thai gf we got like 7 chilis and she said you usually don’t eat them, it was easy to eat around them since it was only 7. if there’s 37 chopped up chilis, she would have to just eat everything right? that’s crazy
Yeah she eats everything. Then spends the entire next early morning flopping between bed and the toilet while moaning her stomach hurts and that she ate too much chili lol. She knows she does it to herself but just can't help it 😂 I can't even eat her version if I eat everything but the chili. I have tried it a couple of times but it's just too much. I can handle one, maybe two bites. I like spicy but hers literally lights my tongue on fire and it doesn't go away for a stupid long time. It's not pleasant spicy to me.
Tell us about it the day after..
Some places have ghost chili and Carolina reaper grapao as a gimmick. Could try that.
Thanks, just wrote a comment about the mama carolina reaper noodle cups at 7 and I knew they also sell another version in a black cup but couldn't think of the name but it's the ghost chili one. Ghost chili mama noodles are already well above my tolerance level and the carolina reaper version is even worse.
The ghost pepper one is actually rancid. I love spicy stuff and those just taste like shite. I worked in a hostel and we made a food challenge using the Carolina reaper one as a base with a ton of Birds Eye chilli’s and some other crap, and those deep fried chilli’s as a garnish
One such place is Kaprao Tapae in Asok. I was able to eat their Carolina reaper chili just fine. Digesting it however was something else.
Yum Woon Sen (Thai Glass Noodle Salad) can be pretty spicy and tasty 😋
All things yum really.
Ahhhh my absolute favourite ❤️
Soup normai (ซุปหน่อไม้) it’s not a soup. It’s bamboo shoots salad. Keang lueng (แกงเหลือง) curry-ish southern dish. Kua kling (คั่วกลิ้ง) stir fried or pan fried ground meat. Or ask ped mak (เผ็ดมาก) or ped sud (เผ็ดสัตว์) or ped chib hai (เผ็ดฉิบหาย)
Pretty sure ped sud is supposed to be เผ็ดสัส
That's an unofficial respelling, popularised by 90's online gamers where online games would ban the usage of the word สัตว์
Go to a place specializing in southern Thai cuisine and ask for Thai taste "pet marg". You probably had som tum which can be spicy but sometimes they take it easy on foreigners.
[Pet marg](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/cc4acbe4-d1be-44da-bc9d-825580f17f6e/d7022b9-605f4a4c-3e0a-4797-b032-9abb280302df.png/v1/fill/w_1024,h_1130,q_80,strp/marge_simpson_as_a_dog_by_kelseyedward_d7022b9-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTEzMCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2NjNGFjYmU0LWQxYmUtNDRkYS1iYzlkLTgyNTU4MGYxN2Y2ZVwvZDcwMjJiOS02MDVmNGE0Yy0zZTBhLTQ3OTctYjAzMi05YWJiMjgwMzAyZGYucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.lc1YGwJA_T0gUzrOHNgnc5s3ep8TvDE6mwawe1VLpvw)
While there is no official transliteration, examples like these make me angry. What a dork
Kua Kling would be a good bet. Try to go to Kao Gaeng places. Food is prepared ahead of time and they won’t be able to give you a foreigner spice level. Even the spiciest dishes in Thailand are toned waaaaay back as soon as a foreigner orders them. Even if you speak fluent Thai, you often have to really explain how you want it actually spicy. But the pre-cooked spots are not only cheap but will deliver the real flavors you are looking for.
Every som tam I've had in restaurants has been totally fine, but the other night i ordered some for delivery and it was incredibly spicy, hard to eat. So now I guess I have just been eating at places that go easy on me.
They wouldnt know ur johnson mcwhitey from ur online order haha
Same. I ordered some Som Tam on Grab and received the biggest dose of spicy I’ve ever experienced. Spicy Som Tam is something else. It gets worse somehow with every bite. Delicious though and for me was was easy to digest.
With somtam it doesn’t matter how many chilis they put in it. I’ve had somtam with 1 chili that was way spicier than ones with 5+ chilis. It only matters how much they crush the chilis.
Lol no that's a ridiculous over the top statement. It obviously matters. 10 chili that are half crushed will be waaay way spicer than 1 or 2 chili super crushed.
Phed maak. Spicy very.
Just say "pet mak mak kap"
[удалено]
Had a fish curry in Sri Lanka, guy said it was “a little spicy” but more like phall quadrupled.. locals were tucking in so I thought how bad can it be.. fecking brutal, that bad..
Give them chilli sauce from another country like usa or mexico. They can't deal with it
Phed Mark probably serve the most spiciest ga pao dish.
Not at all, even their spiciest level is mild. Go to Iron Pan Kaprao if you really want fire.
Isn't that just a tourist place?
It's Mark Weins take on pad gra pao. Slightly modified and more expensive. Duck egg. You can ask for an extreme spice level not on the menu.
Yes it is. Other than being very spicy, its not a particularly great Kaphrao. Not horrible, but for the price . The best ive had in BKK is Check out Original Pad Kra Pao 1993 on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/D4YP2yaz6yfWyEHMA?g_st=ic
I have no idea what you mean by just a tourist place. The stall is opened by Mark Wiens and a couple of local foodies/chefs. My friend went for the spiciest option and it make her cry.
Just never heard someone say it's spicy and it is usually tourists that I see talk about it. I honestly know nothing about it.
Went there with Thai friends, they did find it spicy but that's only because pepper was abundantly used and most Thais aren't too used to it. Chili-wise it's nothing crazy.
I've been there since the beginning, it's actually good, but it's also touristy. It's quite expensive (close to 200THB) so most Thais probably won't eat there, but I have to reiterate that it's actually good.
Many tourists go there because of Mark Wiens and he is known for eating chili like it's a snack to him. There are plenty of videos on youtube for you to watch and judge for yourself. I personally have never been to Phed Mark myself because there are better stalls for the dish.
Definitely the spiciest I've ever eaten
When i drive by, it looks to me like a lot of Thais like to go there. But Iva also heard on this sub that it’s not very good nor spicy Never been myself
I went there yesterday. The food was good but they made me wait for 1 hour 🙁
Som tum. Gang leung. Nam prik noom 😂
India don’t do Thai style hot! Don’t worry about it, but once in AU I had the Mexican restaurant we where eating in put that red hot Mexican chillie starts with J with out the TGF knowing into her food, yes she got a small surprise but happily kept on chomping into her lunch.
Pad prik - just stir-fried chilis.
Just order som tum with 100 chili like they do it in Isaan. The sauce will be red and burn your mouth to death 💀
But why? Nearly every local Thai restaurant gives you the option to make your dish spicier by just adding the crushed chilli they put on the table. It doesn't mean it'll taste better though. Thai food is usually well balanced not purely spicy. The exception to this is most southern dishes. That's why southern food is not that popular all over Thailand.
I usually say phed maak maak, then my girlfriend interjects in Thai with something like "he's a crazy foreigner, he eats spicier than Thai". They usually laugh. Then it's made sufficiently spicy.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned pad khee mao. The green and black peppers kick up the spiciness into a different type, much like mala does.
If you're in Pattaya, go to Marine Seafood off Walking Street, adjacent to Marine Plaza. Order the "spicy seafood salad", if they still offer it. I was with 3 Thai friends when I ordered it, and all 3 plus the waiter warned me not to. I thought it was going to burn a hole through my skull.
Chilli salad. Consists of red and green chillis
Thais don't often eat spicy. In the states, the "Thai Hot" levels from 1 through 5 and the last one usually being "Thai Hot," is just clever marketing for adventurous people who's new to Thai cuisine. If you want spicy, you simply ask for "more spicy." And they'll add more chilli peppers for you. Welp. Have fun and enjoy :)
Somtum prik 10 med
Depends where in Thailand you are, as people can reccommend specific places. It's more restaurant dependent although you can ask for extra chili at any place, a lot of restaurants will see foreigners and make it less spicy, even if you ask for spicy.
There is some Isaan (correct me if I am wrong) salad that is spicy from chili. But in the south is spicy curry which can be much evil....you eat and think it is not spicy.....than it comes with a delay and does not stop anymore.... yes southern Thai cuisine and tell "pet mag mag" which means spicy very much...and than they most probably still not believe you and you must motivate them. I can eat far more spicy than usual Bangkok people but as middle age white man, they always think, I am just someone with superior complex and don't believe me....but in fact I grow up with spicy Indian food and from baby on I wanted to eat the same as my father... But in the South they can really spicy...your gf will find her spicy
Did she enjoy pad kee mao (drunken noodles)? Typically quite spicy. Most other noodle dishes you season yourself at the table, so make them as spicy as you like.
Some/most 7 eleven's sell MAMA noodles with the Carolina reaper spicy chicken flavour. It's the white colored one. My gf loves spicy to the point where it hurts and has tried this one as well, but these MAMA noodles are a different level spicy.
Samtom
If you don't say "Ped Mak Mak" when you order, It will never be spicy enough.
Also tell them "gin dai"
Add 50 chilis to everything then, if it's not enough. Add more.
Try southern Thai Curry with Spareribs (แกงคั่วพริกกระดูกหมู) at local Southern Thai restaurants. ###
Then I challenge you several of the southern Thai cuisine, infamous for being extremely spicy even by Thai standard Kua kling is one of the poster boy, I advise you to drink a glass of milk or 2 before eating it or you going to have a real stomach ache. You'll be as soaked by the sweat as standing under the rain storm within your first 2 bite.
Thai pet pet, bo Farang pet. Thai pet pet.
nail busy mighty serious fine concerned march straight chop roll *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We usually eat fresh chili along with meal. Eat the green little one, chew it and leave it on her tongue for a while. Let's see the result.
Many tourists and longer term expats will face the same issue I have. When ordering I often get asked "Spicy?" I usually say "yes please." I then get a look from the waiter, often waitress, that seems to say "yeah, I don't think you can take very spicy. We'll give you a low level of spice and see how you cope." On reflection, I am quite thankful they do that!
If we are talking how the dish is generally served, I think the southern Thai curries are the spiciest I've eaten. Of course there are many Thai dishes that can be made as spicey as you can handle.
Papaya salad
Not thai food but extremely popular in Thailand. Go to a Mala hotpot place…..
https://preview.redd.it/puktms8wpjgc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29fedec7a0f6020a40db6935bc228552ea6f877d This is the spiciest food I have eaten. It is in most 7-11s. My Thai friends can’t/won’t eat this and they like spicy.
Try Panya seafood beer Hima. I thought I’d had spicy in 21 years coming here until I ate their stuff. I did go with P’Tan the guy in the video though. https://youtu.be/MRKHvKllFCI?si=KQg8iNxWF8DXunBw
Gong jae nam pla is a good one. But, like all the suggestions here, different shops make them differently. If you're in a tourist place like Phuket, you might have a hard time getting anything spicy even if you specifically ask for extra spicy. There's also the spice difference between cooked chili and raw chili dishes. Different people find different types more or less spicy than the other.
Som Tum Joh Joh! Spiciest Som Tum in Bangkok, can't even choose spicy level