Recipes
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Photograph by Scott Semler, food styling by Michelle Gatton, prop styling by Erica Lutz
Recipes Spicy Salmon Hand Rolls
If you’re new to gochugaru, Korean red chile flakes, we suggest heading to your nearest Asian market to get some. Then make this spicy recipe, which is a good way to discover how deliciously fruity, sweet, and smoky gochugaru can be. (Seriously, prepare to be forever changed.)
Photograph by Cody Guilfoyle, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie, Food Styling by Thu Buser
Recipes Spicy Kimchi Sujebi
Making your own noodles doesn’t need to be arduous. Sujebi is a great one for beginners since the dough is torn, not painstakingly shaped, and it gets tossed into bubbling broth to cook.
Photo by Jeremy Leibman
Recipes Nashville-Style Hot Chicken
You don’t need a fryer to make hot chicken. You don’t even need to break down the bird if you don’t want to; ask your butcher to cut it into 10 parts: 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, and 2 wings, and 2 chicken breasts that have been halved into equal portions.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie
Recipes Spicy Tomato Feta Pasta
Remember the baked feta pasta that went viral on TikTok back in 2022? We thought it was missing something, and that something was heat. So, we added Calabrian chile paste, which melts right into the dish.
Photograph by Heami Lee, food styling by Frances Boswell, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
Recipes Burnt Masala Wings
With three types of chiles (árbol in the spice mix, serrano in the marinade, and sriracha in the glaze), these roasted wings pack in the heat. Feel free to skip the oven and head outside to the grill instead.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Suzie Myers
Recipes Slicked and Spicy Lamb Noodles
The heat in this weeknight pasta recipe comes from crushed red pepper flakes, which bloom in hot oil with cumin seeds and smoked paprika.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens
Recipes Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
We’d make this for the toppings alone—sour cream, corn chips, cilantro, lime—but earthy canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce make such a good pairing for black beans, we certainly wouldn’t want to leave them out.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
Recipes Spicy Salmon Roll Bowl
There are two layers of heat in this spicy recipe: chile-flecked shichimi togarashi, a Japanese pepper blend, and an oil-based chile crisp such as Lao Gan Ma.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams
Recipes Spicy Shrimp Endive Spears
Gochujang has entered the chat. Mixed with mayo to make a spicy sauce for chopped shrimp, the fermented red chili-bean paste is what makes these veggie spears such enticing cocktail party appetizers.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones
Recipes Mala Beef Hot Pot Broth
This fiery red broth is a labor of love, but it’s worth it—your hot pot spread depends on a rich, flavorful base.
Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
Recipes Spicy Beef Noodle Soup With Mushrooms
What’s not to love about a spicy recipe that leaves you with leftovers of a dried bird chile condiment? You can use it to wake up your scrambled eggs and avocado toast the next morning.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kendra Vaculin, prop styling by Emma Ringness
Recipes Ginger-Garlic Fire Cod
Modeled after Hunan-style steamed fish, this fiery, weeknight-friendly dinner is rounded out with a cucumber salad and steamed white rice. But more about the fiery part: We swapped traditional duò jiāo for Calabrian chile paste, a more readily available fermented chile product.
Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
Recipes Creamy Chili Crisp Pasta
Spaghetti, Greek yogurt, salt, water, and chili crisp—we like the Lao Gan Ma brand for its funky fermented soybeans—are all you need to make this ever-so-slightly spicy food.
Photograph by Alex Huang, Food Styling by Tiffany Schleigh, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro
Recipes Italian Long Hots With Tahini Yogurt
Nutty, cooling, garlic-infused tahini yogurt makes an ideal condiment counterpart to tender, glazed (and unpredictably spicy) long hot peppers—whether as a side dish, toast topper, or sandwich stuffer.
Photograph by Heami Lee, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Nicole Louie
Recipes Cajun Shrimp Fried Rice
Cajun seasoning generally isn’t very hot, if we’re talking about the Scoville scale, but we think it has its own reasons for being called “spicy”: its mixture of cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, oregano, and thyme.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
Recipes Spicy-Sweet Sambal Pork Noodles
Store-bought ramen—we like Sun Noodles, manufactured in Carlstadt, New Jersey—soak up fiery, tangy-sweet flavors of pad kee mao (a.k.a. drunken noodles) and meaty tomato sauce.
Eva Kolenko
Recipes Fresh-Chile Hot Sauce
Once you have the basic method down, experiment in the kitchen with the chiles and flavors you love the most. (Habanero and mango, anyone?) And speaking of spicy sauces, here are some of the best ready-made BBQ sauces, in our humble opinions.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
Recipes Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
The concentrated heat from the garlicky sambal oelek finds harmony with rice and crisp lettuce, both of which help cool off your tongue between bites.
Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
Recipes Spicy Braised Tofu
Not that you really need convincing, but this recipe is reason enough to stock up on a few packages of tofu. It will quickly go into your weeknight supper rotation. (And then there are all of these tofu recipes too.)
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Gerri K Williams
Recipes Chipotle-Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
Use the smoky sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo to form the base of a flavorful paste. That will then coat cauliflower florets before they go into the oven to become tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, and, yes, spicy.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
Recipes Spicy Braised Eggplant Noodles
A few store-bought pantry items such as gochujang, tomato paste, and miso will help you get this vegetarian pasta dinner on your table (and in your belly) tonight.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk
Recipes Hot Honey Wings
This spicy dish is simple to make but tastes complex thanks to everyone’s favorite condiment: hot honey. Combine thinly sliced Fresno chiles, honey, butter, and salt in a small saucepan. Simmer it, then remove it from the heat and stir in apple cider vinegar. That’s it!
Photo by Alex Lau, , Food Styling by Sue Li
Recipes Shrimp and Basil Stir-Fry
Don’t let the sweet basil fool you—this shrimp recipe means business. The sauce, which comes together after a whirl in the blender, turns a deep brick red in the pan and clings to the seafood so you get heat in every bite.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco, prop styling by Emily Eisen
Recipes Spicy Pork Bowl With Greens and Carrots
This easy weeknight dinner will make you the household hero. By leaning on inexpensive pork tenderloin and store-bought sambal oelek and gochujang as your spice elements, you’ll have dinner ready in the time it takes to cook your rice.