---
title: 'I Tried The World''s Spiciest Snacks'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=fn8GDHnOV4o'
video_id: 'fn8GDHnOV4o'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 1673
---

# I Tried The World's Spiciest Snacks

> Source: [I Tried The World's Spiciest Snacks](https://youtube.com/watch?v=fn8GDHnOV4o)

## Summary

In this video, Joshua travels across five countries—India, China, Thailand, Korea, and Mexico—to taste the world's spiciest snacks, from ghost peppers to nuclear noodles. He rates each snack on heat and flavor, discovering that the best spicy snacks balance intense heat with delicious taste.

### Key Points

- **India: Ghost Pepper Challenge** [00:12] — Chef Saransh introduces the Naga chili (ghost pepper). Joshua rates it 7.5/10 for heat and 6.8/10 for enjoyment, noting it's tasty but very hot.
- **India: Spicy Momos** [01:11] — Momos with 'Lama Special' chutney are rated 4.5/10 heat and 7.5/10 overall. The heat is consistent and addictive, not overwhelming.
- **India: Andhra Chili Chicken & Misal Pav** [02:10] — Andhra-style chili chicken is mild (2/10 heat) with max chili flavor. Misal Pav (4-5/10 heat) has a delayed heat that creeps up in the throat.
- **India: Jolochip (One Chip Challenge)** [03:38] — The Indian version of the One Chip Challenge is rated 8/10 heat but only 3/10 flavor. Joshua finds it too hot without enough taste.
- **China: Rabbit Heads in Chengdu** [05:00] — Local food writer Harry introduces chili-covered rabbit heads. Joshua rates them 9/10 overall, noting the heat is tolerable and the flavor is umami-rich.
- **China: Convenience Store Snacks** [06:07] — Shredded beef bites and 'Explosive' chips have a building heat (3.5/10) with numbing Sichuan peppercorn. The jerky is rated 8/10 for flavor.
- **China: Sichuan Spring Rolls** [07:22] — Non-fried spring rolls with chili oil are the spiciest in Chengdu (9/10 overall). Joshua calls them 'a banger' with sour, spicy, and crunchy textures.
- **China: Braised Spicy Skewers** [08:26] — La Lu Chuan-chuan (duck tongue, tripe, etc.) is rated 9/10. The numbing sensation from Sichuan peppercorn is described as 'static electricity'.
- **China: Nuclear Noodles (Level 5)** [10:04] — The spiciest option requires a waiver. Joshua rates it 7.8/10 heat and 6.8/10 enjoyment, noting the oil lingers and makes it less enjoyable.
- **Thailand: Miang Kham** [12:20] — Mark Wiens introduces a betel leaf wrap with chili. Joshua rates it 3/10 heat and 9/10 overall, praising the balance of sweet, sour, and spicy.
- **Thailand: Fermented Sausage with Green Chili** [13:27] — Sausage fermented with rice and pork, eaten with raw green chili. Rated 8.5/10 overall; the acidity from fermentation cuts the heat.
- **Thailand: Nam Phrik (Chili Dip)** [14:14] — A charred chili dip with fish chips. Heat is only 2/10, but flavor is 9/10. Joshua compares it favorably to salsa.
- **Thailand: Extra Spicy Laab** [15:33] — A special extra-spicy version of laab (minced meat salad) is rated 8.8/10 overall and 3/10 heat. The chilies provide fragrance more than burn.
- **Thailand: Nuclear Som Tam (Papaya Salad)** [16:54] — The spiciest papaya salad with more chili than papaya. Joshua rates it 9/10 overall, noting the heat builds but the flavor keeps him coming back.
- **Korea: Spicy Tteokbokki** [18:28] — Rice cakes in a sweet-spicy sauce. Rated 6.5/10 heat and 7.5/10 overall. The texture is soft and chewy, better than US versions.
- **Korea: Spicy Bomb Chicken Skewer** [19:03] — A grilled chicken skewer with a sharp, stabbing heat. Rated 7.9/10 overall; the heat is on the edge of uncomfortable.
- **Korea: Spiciest Instant Ramen** [19:44] — Convenience store ramen rated 5/10 heat and 6.8/10 enjoyment. Joshua finds it less spicy than the chicken skewer.
- **Korea: Ambulance Tteokbokki** [20:35] — Extra-spicy tteokbokki rated 7/10 heat and 8/10 overall. The heat is strong but doesn't overpower the flavor.
- **Mexico: Esquites with Takis & Habanero** [21:17] — Corn salad with Takis and habanero sauce. Rated 5.5/10 heat and 8.5/10 overall. The habanero is fragrant and the dish is well-balanced.
- **Mexico: Aguachile** [23:00] — Shrimp aguachile with chiltepin. Heat is 3.5-4/10, flavor is 10/10. Joshua calls it the best aguachile he's ever had.
- **Mexico: Spicy Taco (Chile de Agua)** [24:41] — A taco with chile de agua, quesillo, and macha sauce. Rated 5/10 heat and 9/10 flavor. The bartender's creation is balanced and delicious.
- **Mexico: Salsa Macha Challenge** [25:37] — Homemade salsa macha on tortilla chips. Rated 7/10 heat and 9.8/10 flavor. Joshua declares it the perfect spicy snack—crunchy, spicy, slightly sweet.
- **Conclusion: The Balance of Spicy Snacks** [27:16] — Joshua concludes that the best spicy snacks are about balance, not just heat. The heat should enhance the experience, not dominate it.

## Transcript

Today,
I'm tasting the spiciest
snacks in the world!
From melt-your-face-off
street food in Thailand...
Oh, my God!
to this insane creation in Mexico.
Because I want to know who has the best,
most addictive spicy snacks.
So let's get started in
India with Chef Saransh,
who's starting us off with
the hottest chili in India.
It is called Naga chili, Raja Mirch,
or ghost pepper,
because you might not exist
after you consume this.
Oh yeah!
That's hot!
He's just biting again into it!
I think I'm gonna finish it.
It just puts me to shame!
My God, it's really not bad.
Oh!
Oh!
Hold on.
It's kicking in!
Woo!
Oh yeah!
Uh!
Honestly spiciness?
I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10.
It's hot.
In terms of enjoyment, I'll give it a 6.8.
It's really tasty.
It actually tastes good.
This is up there.
I know you might have been
expecting a bag of chips,
or a One Chip Challenge.
But every country snacks differently,
and that's exactly what we're doing here.
Think about it;
the world's obsessed with spicy snacks.
It's a combination of salty, sweet heat...
Ah!
that constantly makes you want
to go back for another bite.
Although in this case,
I'm not sure I want to.
So we'll be eating snacks from the
most famous to the most nuclear
that they have to offer.
But next up are dumplings known as momos,
and I can only pray
they're more forgiving.
Probably the best momos you can find.
They do a spicy chutney,
but if you ask for the Lama Special,
they put the chutney all around the momo.
It looks very spicy.
If there's a spicy snack...
if I've ever seen one,
this is one of them.
Oh, my God!
It's so hot.
I ate the whole thing.
It's hot, but it's not,
like, so aggressive that it kills you.
But this is of key, key,
key, key importance:
It is a consistent heat.
It's not like it hits you and
then it fizzles out right away.
This is, like, coating my whole mouth.
As you exhale...
you feel that heat.
As you inhale...
you feel that heat.
I love this because
it's an addictive spice,
not a "kill you" spice.
I would give it like a 4.5
out of 10 on the heat level.
I think that sounds about good.
This is a good heat level, nice and light.
Whoa!
Are you...
can you handle this?
Are you okay?
Clearly, Joshua's winning this one.
I see stars!
Overall, although they were delicious,
I'd give about a 7.5 out of 10.
Woo!
I feel the heat turning up!
We got more.
On to the next.
Now onto our final dishes in India,
one of which I know I'm gonna regret.
Josh,
I have two levels of spice for you here.
This is from Andhra Pradesh,
which is down south.
This is called Andhra-style chili chicken,
made with lots of green chilies.
You might have thought, "Oh,
it's spinach," 'cause
that's what I thought.
It's not.
And your second one is from Maharashtra,
which is essentially called Misal Pav.
You dunk this pillowy,
soft pav in the super hot,
the spiciest Misal Pav that you can get.
Oh,
I thought you were saying "missile,"
like it's gonna blow up my mouth...
I hope it does!
Well, I don't.
Shall we start with the chili chicken?
Mmm!
That's so good.
It's more of a warming heat
than it is like a bang,
bang bang.
I would put it on a 2 out
of 10 on the spicy scale,
but the flavor of the chili is maxed out.
My ideal spicy snack is where
it's like a 2 to a 4 on heat,
but they're coaxing all the
flavor out of the chili.
I hate it when something's just
spicy for the sake of being spicy.
Now let's try this one.
Take a bit of this namkeen, as we call it.
It's like a fried snack that you add to
this before you dunk it with the pav.
How about we just scoop it
and have it with the namkeen?
Oh sure.
Okay.
Oh!
Oh God!
Creeps up on you a little bit.
Yeah, it just...
it's in your throat.
Yeah.
The reason why is because
it's in a liquid state.
The heat is delayed,
so you don't really
get a chance for it to,
like,
coat your palate before you swallow it.
So you swallow it thinking you're okay,
but then it activates.
But this is another
good example of balance,
though.
It's not too bad.
Hotter!
We've taken it up a step.
We're in, like, the four-to-five region.
It's getting hot.
Okay, so we're done.
Wow!
Uh-uh!
I have a small surprise for you.
I hope it's a kiss.
This was two for you,
and this was four or five for you.
I have a 10 for you.
Is this like Jolochip,
the Indian version...
Yes!
of the One Chip Challenge?
You know that that's
illegal in America now.
It's manufactured in India.
Of course it's illegal in America!
I did not make that joke.
Holy...
Okay, why are you stepping back?
Smells kind of good.
This smells kind of good, right?
It smells like RIP, I think.
All right, I'm doing one bite.
I'm just tasting.
Yeah.
Okay...
not so bad.
Oh, yeah!
Oh yeah!
Woo!
Oh yeah!
Oh yeah!
Oh, I feel it.
This doesn't taste as bad
as I thought it would.
It is extremely hot.
I'm building it.
I'm salivating.
I've had ghost pepper
intensified hot sauces,
and they usually taste terrible.
It's all about heat, and this tastes okay.
Heat level, probably an 8;
flavor, maybe a 3.
Not a good example of a spicy snack.
Oh, yeah, it's hot.
It's a little hot, but I'm resisting.
It's like a metaphor for life:
Ups and downs.
Things get better, things get worse,
but they'll always get
better one way or another.
Unless you die.
We move on.
It's no surprise India brought the heat.
We now make our way to China,
more specifically Chengdu,
the heart of Sichuan,
where their legendary Sichuan
peppercorns numb the palate.
A little something called Mala.
There's nothing else like it.
And supposedly, it's next level here.
Then we have Harry, a local food writer,
who claims he's gonna be easing me
in with chili-covered rabbit heads.
Honestly, kind of hype about this.
This is actually quite a challenge
for any foreigner who tries
rabbit head first time.
Let's see how you tackle it.
I'm gonna get my finger underneath
the meat just so that it's
a little loosened up.
Pop the cheek out.
There's the cheek.
And then...
Mmm!
Mmm.
Ah!
Super good!
The heat level is very tolerable.
It's got a good umami.
It makes me kind of think of, like,
a similar heat level to Lao Gan Ma.
Maybe a little bit hotter.
Now I'm holding in my hand
is hand-shredded rabbit.
It's the body part of the rabbit.
This is a perfect snack
because it's spicy,
chewy,
and you can just enjoy it
while you drink a lot of,
like alcohol.
So let's try that.
FYI, you eat it wrong.
I ate it wrong?
Yeah.
The steps are all wrong.
What was wrong with it?
You split the upper and the lower teeth,
yeah,
then you suck the meat
out of the lower part,
then you will get a very clean jawbone.
This is really good!
It's juicy,
it's got multiple layers of texture,
salted perfectly.
It's got just the right
amount of heat where,
like,
it sticks to your lips and your
lips are tingling a little bit.
But it's not, like, overwhelming at all.
Overall, I would give this,
like, a nine out of ten.
We value, you know,
fragrance more than spiciness.
The fragrance should come
before spiciness because
pure spiciness is boring.
Onto the next!
This next spot has got me hyped.
A Chinese convenience store.
I love a little convenience store snack,
but I know Harry's trying to light me up.
Here we got shredded beef bites,
which are quite literally vacuum sealed,
like a little spice bomb.
And his favorite chips...
says "Explosive".
Yeah "Explosive"!
Hot and spicy.
Wow okay.
It has all these beautiful dried chilies,
potato chips on the front.
And the smell smells strongly
of Sichuan peppercorn.
Shall we dig in?
Mmm!
No, it's good.
It's very light.
It's a light spicy.
The one thing I will say is,
as you eat more of these,
the oil of the chili slowly begins
to coat your palate more and more.
So it starts not so spicy, like a one,
then it builds to a two,
three,
but it kind of tops out
at a three and a half.
This is a very desirable spicy, like,
addictive.
And I'm starting to
get that numbing spice.
This is lovely.
This is supposedly spicier.
It's like a kind of like a jerky almost.
Oh!
There's a little bit of heat in there.
Yeah, it's getting there, right?
Whoa!
Okay.
Oh,
this is so good.
This is rich.
This is almost like having, like,
hot pot in the form of jerky.
It's like sweet beef, and it's spicy,
and it's numbing.
4 out of 10 on the heat scale.
It's better than any jerky I've ever had.
For jerky, this is like an 8.
It's great because now
I'm getting my protein in.
I'm carb loading.
Looking for more heat.
We stopped for a light street-side snack,
and I have to say,
I think Harry might have been baiting me
a little bit here with the first snacks,
because these spring
rolls look like trouble.
I think...
You have already tried
the Vietnam version,
right?
Yes.
But, in Sichuan, we don't fry it.
We just wrap it, and then we put some,
like, really good sauce on it.
I'm excited to try it.
Let's go in.
It's hot.
It is hot!
God, that is a...
That is a banger!
That is so, so good.
I don't ever want another spring
roll ever again unless it's this.
The texture, it's soft on the outside,
crunchy on the inside.
And the way that these are made, they,
like, soak up that chili oil,
and there's a little bit
of vinegar in there too.
So it's sour, spicy,
salty.
And then you have these crunchy
vegetables in the middle.
Out of all the snacks we've
had in Chengdu thus far,
this has been the spiciest and
also, in my opinion,
one of the most exciting and flavorful.
It beats out any spring
roll I've ever had.
Even the crunchy fried ones,
I don't even miss them.
It's like a 9 out of 10.
If you do not have a spice tolerance,
you might not be able to handle this one,
but this is...
It's worth fighting for.
It's worth the teary
eyes and the runny nose.
Bar none,
one of my favorite little spicy
snacks we've had on the video
so far.
Onto the next!
All right, so Harry wasn't lying.
A braised spicy skewer is next.
I'm going to be honest,
this sounds right up my alley,
but it could also still be deadly.
Many skewers, many a snack.
It's called "La Lu Chuan-chuan".
They put it in a very hot
sauce with multiple flavors.
All sorts of offal: duck tongue, tripe,
intestines, stomach lining,
heart.
Yeah,
just try one of them.
Oh so...
oh!
Oh, it's spicy...
Oh, it's so fragrant, though!
It's like a perfect example of
a snack because most snacks are
small bites, easily eaten,
but powerfully flavored.
This is duck's intestine.
This is tripe.
I don't know what that is.
All I know is that my lips are tingling,
my tongue is going numb.
But
I love it, though.
I love every second of it.
So you were biting it before.
Now they are biting you, right?
Yeah.
Yeah!
Are you sweating?
Yeah that's...
Sweating a little bit...
You're sweating.
Sorry, I'm the shame of Sichuan!
The spice that people
are typically used to...
It's the sensation of stinging, burning.
This is very different.
What you're getting really intensely is
numbing,
like this almost cooling
effect in your mouth,
and it's almost like static electricity.
This is taking it a step
up on the spicy scale,
but it's not taking it a step down
on the flavor and enjoyability scale.
And for that, I'm giving it another nine.
This is a great little snack.
I think everybody can enjoy this,
but I do think that those who are wary of
spicy are gonna be pushing the gas pedal a
little harder than they were anticipating,
which makes it a little fun, right?
Or order more beer.
Should we get a beer?
Yeah, let's have a beer.
Ah!
Yeah...
Wow, China was a true journey.
But now it's time for the nuclear option.
It's a stretch to call it a snack.
It's as close to a snack as we
could find with a nuclear option.
Although this is the Sichuan region,
they don't really like
to blow their mouths up,
which I can respect.
So this place offers five
different levels of spicy.
This is level number five.
It is the spiciest option they have.
So spicy that they force
you to sign a waiver.
Oh my God, there's that many?
I don't even know what this says.
If there is any trouble
caused by the spiciness,
the shop doesn't take any responsibility.
I can't fucking read this!
I just signed it.
And I explained it to you...
After I signed it!
All I smell is Sichuan.
Why are people walking up to us?
We're garnering an audience
for these noodles right now.
Oh oh oh perfect.
I think the key here is: don't slurp.
Cause if you slurp too hard
and it hits your lungs,
then you're gonna get fucked up.
Oh, it's hitting.
Oh, it's hitting!
Here's what I'll say:
it's hot and I feel it,
and it's increasing in temperature.
But out of all the spicy...
good Lord!
Okay, it's getting you.
It's really hot.
On a scale of 1 to 10 on spicy,
I'd give it like a 7.8.
It's up there, maybe even an 8.
What makes this bad is the oil.
Because the oil doesn't go away.
It stays.
It lingers.
It's an eight.
In terms of enjoyability, though,
it is still really good.
I'd give it like a 7, a 6.8 out of 10.
Because the heat is so much that
it is dragging down the experience.
Now, before we left,
for some reason,
everybody saw my reaction and thought,
"Oh, yeah,
that sounds like a good idea to try."
I think what they didn't realize
was I have a bigger spice
tolerance than most would think.
Okay, it's too much for me.
Sorry.
Out of 10, how spicy is it?
It's a 12!
While everyone's trying to
breathe and Harry's contemplating
maybe his life choices,
I'm moving on.
Because what's next, I would argue,
has been touted as some
of the spiciest food.
Of course,
I'm referring to ordering
things "Thai spicy."
The spicy snack journey
continues here with Mark Wiens.
I'm interested to see
where this is gonna go,
'cause I know that you can modify the
spiciness depending on what the dish is.
Because a lot of dishes are
cooked after you order them.
They're customizable.
There's no limits to the
amount of spice you can eat.
I would like to survive.
That's my one ask.
Let's begin.
Of course,
Mark's first snack has entire chilies
chopped up and thrown into it.
So in Thai It's called Miang Kham,
and it is a wild betel leaf as the base;
it's the leaf that she
wraps everything in.
She adds in peanuts, toasted coconut,
a whole sliver or chunk of lime, ginger,
shallots, and a sweet paste.
I like to call it an herbal candy.
So you plop the whole thing in your mouth.
I'm scared.
You know what?
Sometimes you gotta dink it and sink it,
baby!
Mm.
Oh, my God.
It's amazing.
Amazing!
And just when you think
you figured out the flavor,
you get hit with a new flavor.
The heat is like teasing you.
The heat starts to climb,
but then the sweetness
brings it back down.
Heat starts to climb,
and then a little acid kicks
in and knocks it back down.
So balanced.
This might be the best
way to enjoy a chili,
because you get that
unadulterated chili fragrance.
But the sweetness and the acidity and all
sort of the other ingredients distract you
from the heat in a way that you really
get to appreciate the flavor of it.
People think, like,
sometimes Thai food is a chili challenge.
But no, it's about whenever there's chili,
there also has to be a counterbalance.
Whether that be acidity,
whether that be some sweetness.
Everything is taken into consideration
to maximize your taste buds.
That was incredible.
Should I just give it a nine?
I'll just give it a nine for spice.
Frankly, it wasn't that spicy.
I'd say about a 3 out of 10.
Surprisingly, now,
if we're starting off this good,
I cannot wait for what
else Thailand has to offer.
So this one's unique
because it's a sausage.
This is the fermented sausage
fermented with rice and pork.
What you do,
because there's no chilies
inside the sausage,
you always chase it with a green chili.
And also, you gotta get some young ginger.
Definitely.
It is a requirement.
It's mandatory to eat
this with green chilies.
You have to.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Yeah.
Put the whole chili in your mouth.
You put the whole chili?
Not too spicy.
Oh, yeah.
I'm okay.
I'm okay.
I was really expecting
that chili to be super hot.
It wasn't bad at all.
I think it's because of the sausage.
The sausage has a lot of
acidity from the fermentation.
It's got a sour tartness to it.
Almost like a salami in a way that
helps cut the heat a little bit.
It's more tolerable.
You get to enjoy the fragrance,
the fruitiness from the chili
without killing your mouth.
Sometimes you gotta
just trust the process.
Honestly, this is like an 8.5 for me.
Phenomenal!
This would pop off in LA.
I'm gonna eat a spicy one here,
and then I'm gonna regret saying that.
Moving on.
Woo!
I'm scared.
There's a lot of chili in here, Mark.
Okay,
so we're gonna eat
something called nam phrik,
which literally is like a chili dip.
It's a variety of different
chilies which have been charred.
Also some shallots charred in there,
maybe some herbs, maybe some galangal,
garlic, and pounded up into a chili dip.
And you would choose your fish or
your vegetables to then dip it.
You'll find many different varieties,
and I think it's actually one of the
lesser-known traditional Thai foods
that should be eaten more often.
Oh, it smells amazing.
They add fish sauce,
usually gives it that extra salty umami,
depth of flavor.
The fish chips to go with this?
These are fried pieces of fish.
Whoa.
The fish chip is amazing.
It's so clean-tasting and, like,
unbelievably crispy.
I thought it was gonna be hard.
It's very wispy and almost like fatty.
You crunch and then it just melts.
And this is so, so good.
It's not too spicy at all, actually.
This is like maybe a 2 out
of 10 on the spice scale,
but like, on the flavor scale,
it's like a nine.
This is better than any
salsa I've ever had.
This is really good.
Phenomenal, but I know they're spicier,
so let's move on.
This is a quick pit stop.
I don't know how hot this is gonna be.
These are literally whole fried chilies.
This became a huge trend a
couple years ago in Thailand
and you see them everywhere.
There's a little heat in there,
but really it's just like a little fruity,
a little almost smoky, earthy.
It's a nice little snack, somehow.
It's addictively tasty and crispy.
Really good.
8 out of 10.
And for spice score,
I'd give it yet another
shocking 3.5 out of 10.
It just wasn't that spicy,
but it was delicious.
And I did eat the whole
pack and not feel very good.
Josh,
we're gonna have a dish
which is called laab next.
She's selling it right
here within the market,
and she has it bagged and ready to go.
So most people will get this for takeaway.
But we asked her to make us a
special version that's even more
spicy than the usual version.
He was like,
"Can you make it more
spicy?" And she just kind of,
like, lightly smiled and then made it.
There's always a little bit of
hesitation because they're like,
"Are you sure you want it extra spicy?"
Shall we?
Yeah.
You can see the tons of
little chilies in here.
She definitely amped it up.
There's so much chili flake in this,
so many chili seeds,
that when you bite it,
not only are you crunching on crispy rice,
you're crunching on chili seeds.
That's, like, the majority of the bite.
But I think the chilies here are
more about the actual fragrance.
Like, it's a little bit of heat,
not much, but it's that toasty,
smoky fragrance that the
chilies really provide.
But the laab itself is so flavorful.
This is almost like a perfect spicy dish.
And it's one of those dishes that
there's so many different variations.
You can make it with so
many different proteins.
Everyone has a little bit of a different
recipe and a different balance of flavor.
8.8.
It's a banger.
3 out of 10 on spicy.
I can feel the heat, but I'm not dying,
though it's balanced.
A lot of people will say, "Oh,
Thai food is so spicy.
Thai food is so spicy."
But if you have a spice tolerance, like,
really,
it's not about blowing your mouth up.
It's just balance.
Balance aside, for our final stop,
Mark decided I didn't have enough pain,
so he made sure to light me up
before I left Thailand with a true,
high-spicy snack.
Khot phet khrap!
Sai yi-sip met.
Why is he laughing about it?
He's like,
"Do you really want it spicy!?!" Like,
really spicy.
So we made it to the nuclear option.
We asked for the spiciest papaya
salad we could possibly get.
Som tam.
I mean,
you can tell by looking at it there's
more chili than there is shreds of papaya.
There's a lot of chilies in there.
Dry chilies, fresh chilies.
All right.
Okay, Mark,
if you're gonna get all the chilies,
I'll do it too.
Come on, Josh.
We're going all in, man!
All right.
All right, all right.
I am nervous.
But you know what, though?
Because Mark is here,
I feel protected by an angel.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Here we go.
Oh, it's kicking in.
It's kicking in!
Mark doesn't care.
Let me get another bite there.
Mark, if you're doing it, I'm doing it.
Oh, my God!
How do you keep going, man?
You're a monster!
It's spicy, but it's really good.
It's so bouncy, salty,
just a hint of sweetness.
That fermented complexity.
Yep.
Also has this great acidity to it, too.
I love the lime juice.
He adds in a little bit
of tamarind water as well,
give it some sourness.
Is that the part hitting me in the face?
But you know what, though?
I still want to go back
in for another bite.
It's not so hot that I'm like, "Oh,
I can't keep eating this."
It also has an addictive sort of umami
to it from that fermented fish sauce.
A little bit of funk.
Oh, my God, it hit the back of my throat!
How is it getting hotter, though?
I don't understand salads like this.
I think because of the mix of chilies,
because they pound them up,
it takes a few minutes for the
real power of the chili to kick in.
Out of all the som tam I've had—I've
had a lot—and this is better than
90% of the ones I've had in America.
Solid 9 out of 10.
But there is a lot of pain.
I was kind of surprised that they didn't
have the outright spicy snacks here,
but at the end of the day,
Thailand had me coming back
for more and more and more,
and maybe that's how spicy
snacks are supposed to be.
It's not just about
lighting your mouth up.
But we still have two countries to go.
Now we're on to Seoul, Korea.
But before our guide arrived,
I did some solo heat hunting at a street
food market right outside our hotel.
Spicy tteokbokki.
It's like a rice cake, basically.
This is also hot, by the way,
by the looks of it.
Cheers.
Oh.
A lot of the tteokbokkis I've
had prior are a lot more,
like, savory,
very garlicky, very rich,
very salty.
The tteokbokki is more like spicy-sweet.
Like heavy, heavy,
heavy on the sugar,
which I have no problem with.
I'm a fan.
Umami's good.
The garlic's nice.
The texture of the actual rice cake—so
much better than what you would get in
the US—it's so soft and luscious and
pillowy and chewy and just banging.
Dude, this is an addictive bite.
Flavor is maximum.
I think it's like a solid 7.5.
And for spice,
I'd give it a solid 6.5 out of 10.
The more I ate it, the hotter it got.
It's not my first pick,
but it is a delicious one.
Moving on...
further down,
I found some grilled chicken
skewers advertising a spicy bomb.
Yeah, that should do.
I'm a little nervous about this one.
They're calling this "Spicy
Bomb" chicken skewer.
We were just walking.
We found this.
Cheers.
Oh, God, that's hot!
Whew!
Okay, first bite,
you get that crispy,
sort of nice chicken thigh.
It's seasoned pretty well.
Cooked nicely.
It's not dry.
It's moist, sweet, garlicky, salty umami.
And then just this churning
heat building up in my mouth.
I don't know what the heat is coming from,
but it's like a sharp, stabbing...
spicy pain.
It's not, like, debilitating.
It's verging the edge of
not being comfortable.
I do like this one a little
more than the tteokbokki.
I'll give it a 7.9.
Moving on.
Still recovering from that chicken skewer,
we started the next day with the goal
of trying the spiciest convenience
store ramen in the world.
However, we encountered one problem.
It's actually finding the damn thing.
I just keep seeing meat snacks.
I don't know where to find it.
Found it!
Yes.
Joining us in Korea is our friend Kim.
Now listen,
I know a lot of people would
consider instant ramen a meal,
but we heard a little bit of debate.
Some people would call it a snack,
so we might as well count it.
Plus,
it's also extremely spicy here in Korea.
You're scaring me.
You said,
"I don't think you can handle
this." Should we just dive in?
Okay.
My throat is burning.
It's spicy.
The broth has a building heat,
but I'm not, like,
dying though.
Honestly
I thought that those chicken skewers
were like three times hotter than this.
For overall enjoyment,
I'd give it a nice 6.8 out of 10.
On the spiciness scale,
I would give it like a 5 out of 10.
Moving on...
I really felt like there was
something spicier here in Korea.
When we did a little research,
we found a little thing
called ambulance tteokbokki.
While it didn't smell that spicy,
I was quickly hit directly
in the mouth with chili.
Definitely makes my mouth water.
Despite the heat,
I thought it was a super craveable dish.
I love that about spicy Korean food.
Heat pushed,
but never surpassing the
quality of the flavor.
Overall, I really like this.
An 8 out of 10.
But the spicy score...
I wouldn't say nuclear,
but a good 7 out of 10.
Pretty hot.
Asia still shocked me with how
different spice was in each country.
Now on to our next stop, Mexico City,
a place that always delivers on flavor.
But are they really going to be
able to get me with their heat?
Joining me again is my
good friend Gabby Renteria,
who'll be taking us to the
spiciest places she could find,
starting with an esquites filled to the
brim with Takis and habanero hot sauce.
There are these gorgeous,
massive clay pots set over charcoal,
steaming away.
This is some old world sh*t.
It's so beautiful.
The most beautiful thing is that...
it's totally fresh.
You have the esquite.
It's cooked with habanero
and chile de árbol seco,
like dried chile de árbol.
It's already...
spicy.
Like, the preparation is already spicy.
And then they add habanero.
Spicy chile piquín, we call it,
but habanero-based.
And this beautiful sauce
that makes my mouth water.
So it's a homemade preparation.
Are you eating this with
me or am I by myself here?
I'm worried about my
gastritis later today.
Ha!
This is spicy.
That is phenomenal.
Acidity is perfect.
I love that she added more salt.
It's a woman after my heart.
When she was putting the salt on,
I was like, "She knows,
she gets it."
She can dance.
Oh sh*t!
Oh sh*t, hey!
She was teaching me a few moves.
This is great.
Oh, my God...
I think...
Oh
it's hitting me.
This is spicy.
This powder is crazy.
You're not making a face.
I told you.
I have a high spice tolerance.
First of all,
the flavor of the habanero is so fragrant.
It's seasoned perfectly too.
What I love about this is it's
not just like a fire bomb.
It's also, like,
got the creaminess from the mayo.
Whatever, you know,
as in the US, this is like 10x that.
This is a different varietal of corn that
they're cooking fresh and serving like
this is unbelievable.
5.5 out of 10 on spicy.
Perfect level of heat.
It stings and it bites,
and then it goes away pretty quickly.
It's really well balanced.
The flavor, the salty acidity.
Overall, easy.
Eight and a half for me.
Crazy that this is a snack because
I could eat this all day long.
But we have to move on.
Honestly, it looks more deceiving.
It's a crazy dish.
An incredible bite.
Not really a challenge on heat for me.
Maybe a more classical
Mexican dish can change that.
We're here in Propio,
a restaurant with two very
close
amazing young chefs.
So I asked them to prepare, like,
a very classic aguachile.
Aguachile is one of the most
amazing preparations from the
north part of the country.
It's gonna be shrimp with lime,
spicy and amazing chile
that is the chiltepin.
A lot of people will say
that this is a whole meal.
It is a snack.
Like normal people in their daily life,
they will grab these very fresh...
ingredients and put it together, you know,
like a snack.
I think this is, like, a shareable snack.
Yeah.
You could sit down with this whole plate,
but I've always felt like
this is a snack where you sit down
with two or three people and you
all nibble at it for a little bit,
and then you go f*ck off and do something.
So you were saying we should try
this by itself?
I think by itself.
We can start like that.
I hope he suffers with this.
¡Buenisimo!
I want to hug you, Alex!
That's insane.
That's so good!
This is the best aguachile I've ever had.
It's spicy!
After we took our first bites,
Chef came in and asked me to
try it with tostadas and mayo.
Oh, my God,
it's so good.
When the mayonnaise, the sauce,
the juice,
the aguachile combines
with the mayonnaise...
creates its own sauce that lacquers
the entire thing beautifully.
Flavors are so fresh.
At the end of the day,
if you're gonna make something spicy,
fine, make it as hot as you want,
but it should be balanced.
And this is perfectly balanced.
I'm not trying to kiss your ass.
I mean, this is,
like,
one of the best aguachiles I've ever had.
It kinda, like,
resonates back and forth
between a 3.5 and a 4 on heat,
but on flavor, it's like it's...
10.
Do you wanna cry?
He gave you a 10.
Chefs, thank you so much.
Unbelievable.
We could end the video now,
but we're not going to.
Moving on.
Although I'm left speechless,
it left no burn.
That said,
Gaby got a little crazy and brought
me to a local bartender friend who
literally invented a spicy taco that's
supposedly too spicy for the locals.
Okay, Joshua, you're ready to suffer.
This is spicy for me, for him,
for everybody.
What the [bleep] is this?
Why are you recording me?
What is this?
Chile de agua, quesillo,
pickled onion,
and a macha with chile de árbol,
a little bit of toasted
cinnamon and peanuts.
This is amazing.
He's gonna cry.
It is spicy, but it's like, well balanced.
It's acidic.
It's got good texture.
The cheese is fatty, but also refreshing.
It's a beautiful taco.
I have zero issues with it.
Spice level?
5.
Flavor wise?
9.
He never cried.
What am I gonna do?
Gabby's not giving up without a fight.
She said the bartender has a
little trick up his sleeve,
making me a margarita
laced with chiltepin.
I don't know what they're
trying to do to me here.
That's
that's hot.
It's hotter than this.
Smells really spicy.
[coughs] I'm fine.
Yeah, that's right.
Gabby got a taste of her own medicine.
You see,
that's what you get
when you play with fire.
She still has not knocked me out yet.
So she resorts to her...
last snack: tortilla chips
with a gauntlet of the hottest
salsas she could find.
The last one being a surprise
that she has not shown me yet.
This looks like I'm supposed
to clean my car with this.
They're not even trying
to make this look good.
Oh, God!
It's on my lip!
Even though some sauces look scary,
none really lit me up,
which I think they were getting
a little bit annoyed at,
frankly.
I've never seen someone
so determined to hurt me.
But okay,
now we move on to the supposed surprise.
Her friend Chef Alejandro makes an
insanely spicy homemade salsa macha.
Oh, my God.
Look at that!
Should I just put this
whole thing in my mouth?
Yes.
I doused my chip in salsa.
I'm not scared.
Gabby did not partake.
Woo!
Yes!
We got it!
Woo!
Oh, my God, it's hot!
It's like falling in love
and then breaking up.
First you get lured in,
and then you're like, "Oh,
wow,
love couldn't be any better than this."
And then all of a sudden,
they break up with you, and you're like,
"Oh, why does it hurt so much?"
I cannot believe you ate that.
We survived it.
Wow.
So good.
This is at the top of the pyramid for me.
This is so good.
This is exactly what I've been
looking for this whole time.
The whole point of a spicy snack is it
should be pushing the levels of heat
while still maintaining the enjoyability
of what it is that you're eating.
If it's so hot, you can't enjoy it,
there's no point.
The level of flavor should
surpass the level of heat.
And the closer you get to that apex,
the better off you're gonna be.
And this is meeting that.
It's crunchy, it's spicy,
it's slightly sweet.
You have the building heat in it.
7 on heat, 9.8 on flavor.
Gabby succeeded,
and all it took was a whole
spoonful of homemade salsa macha.
And that's just in one city in Mexico.
And after this,
I think Gabby has some sort of new
determination to hurt me on our next trip.
So that's great.
Really looking forward to that.
We flew the entire circumference of
the earth just to try spicy snacks.
And what we learned was it's not
always about melt-your-face-off heat.
Spicy snacks and spicy
food is all about balance.
The heat should make you
go back for another bite.
The heat should lift up the experience,
not pound it down into the ground,
including yourself and
possibly your toilet.
But arguably the biggest takeaway
is a great spicy snack really
does not come from a bag.
It might come from the side of a...
street.
Subscribe.
Love you.
See you.