Any spice enthusiast knows that a dish without chillies or peppers is a dull dish. We’ve hunted down the world’s spiciest foods to give you a worldwide bucket list of meals that are guaranteed to delight you, surprise you, and possibly outdo you.

For a dish with a kick, try a bowl of sour and spicy tom yum soup. Originating from Thailand, the aromatic soup can contain both meat and seafood, along with plenty of lemongrass, lime juice and fish sauce. It gets its fiery kick from the deceptively small Thai bird’s eye chilli, which makes a big impact despite its size.

Sichuanese cuisine is not just one of the spiciest regional cuisines in China, but also one of the world's hottest. The essential dish to try is Sichuan hot pot: a rich broth spiked with Sichuan pepper and garlic, into which you dunk vegetables and meat, rather like a fondue. You can learn more about Sichuan food here. 

You might have tried fairly mild versions of jerk chicken before, but rest assured, if you try the dish in its native Caribbean, it’s guaranteed to set your tongue alight. The Jamaican dish is created by rubbing the chicken with a mix of allspice, scotch bonnet pepper and spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, spring onions (scallions), garlic, cloves and thyme. Find out how to rustle up this dish yourself here.

It might look like an innocent, forgettable and totally inoffensive dish, but Peru’s infamous papa a la huancaína is far from it. Served cold, the dish consists of boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs topped with a cheese sauce made from fiendishly spicy amarillo and habanero chilli peppers.

South Koreans eat almost two million tonnes of kimchi a year, but you’ve never tried the national cabbage dish quite like this before. Kimchi jjigae is all about technique rather than ingredients (onions, garlic, mushrooms, tofu, and a whole load of chillies, of course). The key to making this stew one of the spiciest dishes in the world is simmering it until fully infused and the broth reaches its spicy peak. Want something a little gentler? Try this recipe for kimchi fried rice at home.

Easy to whip up but not easy to eat with a smile, Thailand’s neua pad prik is an eye-wateringly spicy dish with a simple collection of ingredients: beef, herbs, shallots, garlic and a healthy portion of bird’s eye chilli peppers. It might sound fairly harmless, but the spice levels leave most people crying out for a glass of milk. 

This tomato-based New Orleans dish might look innocuous, and at first glance, so do its ingredients: onions, garlic, celery and shrimp. However, the liberal addition of fresh chilli, red and green peppers and cayenne pepper can make it surprisingly hard to handle. 

Synonymous with blisteringly strong spice, the word “vindaloo” is enough to strike fear into every unadventurous eater. Originally from Goa, this pork dish is flavoured with red chillies along with garlic and vinegar. For a twist on the classic, try this lamb version adapted by the Hairy Bikers.

Sambal oelek is often used as a rub, but it can be eaten as a hot sauce too, as long as you’re feeling brave. Popular across southeast Asia, it's made from a range of peppers, including habanero, bird’s eye chillies, Spanish peppers and cayenne peppers.

This ferocious Ethiopian chicken stew might leave you reeling, but it’s certainly flavoursome. The country's national dish, it blends rich spices such as ginger, coriander, cinnamon, allspice and cardamom, with a fearsome kick of red chilli and cayenne.

Originating from Mexico, this shrimp soup is a masterclass in balancing flavour with spice. With a base of onions, carrots, avocado, coriander (cilantro), and of course shrimp, the dish gets its electrifying heat from chipotle and guajillo chillies.

Popular in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, otak-otak is a spicy seafood cake served in a steamed or grilled banana leaf. It earns its place on this list thanks to the multitude of dried chillies, hot peppers and spices that pack heat into every mouthful. Try our otak-otak recipe here.

A Peruvian favourite, this stew combines garlic, onion, cumin and turmeric with meat, potatoes and amarillo peppers. It's traditionally made with tripe, but you might also find recipes that feature chicken as the central ingredient. Whichever version you try what you’ll really remember is the sting of the aji amarillo, that devilish yellow chilli pepper.

Another dish originating from China’s Sichuan province, ma po tofu will set your taste buds alight. Tofu and ground pork are accompanied by a tongue-sizzling combination of a spicy bean chilli sauce and the renowned Sichuan peppercorn. There's little wonder this dish has garnered fans the world over.

Japanese food might not be known for its insane spice levels, but if you look hard enough you'll find dishes with plenty of kick. This super-spicy ramen is one of the best: a traditional miso base with a large dollop of chilli oil and habanero peppers.

Known as the hottest curry in the world, phaal curry originated in the curry houses of Birmingham, England and is certainly not for the faint-hearted. It contains several different types of chilli, including the world’s hottest, bhut jolokia, which has even been known to burn holes in brave eaters’ throats. Some of those daring enough to try it have been taken to hospital after vomiting and hallucinating. Approach with caution.

Another sizzling Sichuan classic, this noodle dish is made with ground pork, garlic, peanuts, coriander (cilantro), spring onions (scallions) and a scorching black-bean chilli paste. It looks unassuming at first, as the unseasoned noodles are placed at the top of the sauce in a big bowl – but it’s up to you to mix it up and distribute the spice. Try Jamie Oliver's recipe at home.

This South Korean dish uses the national dish, kimchi, combined with garlic, onion, ginger, meat, egg, rice and vegetables. The kick comes from gochujang, a red chilli paste that can vary from mild to eyeball-searingly hot. We've got a bibimbap recipe you can try for yourself here.