4 Courses. 9,000,000 Scoville of Heat. 1 Winner. The tastiest spicy food challenge ever done.
*It is highly recommended to handle the spicy chilies with gloves. Every recipe suggests a range of quantity for the chilies, add as many as you’d like for your heat level.*
Fried Cauliflower and Romesco
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
Romesco
1 16-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup (80g) toasted almonds
2 tablespoons (39g) tomato paste
1 tablespoon (9g) smoked paprika
1 teaspoon (2g) cayenne powder
1 tablespoon (10g) sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
Salt, to taste
Water, as needed
1/2 cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil
Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets
Vegetable oil, for frying
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 lemons, zested and juiced
INSTRUCTIONS
For The Romesco
To a blender add the roasted red peppers, garlic, almonds, tomato paste, smoked paprika, cayenne, vinegar and salt to taste. Blend on high speed until a smooth paste forms.
Add in a splash of water to loosen the mixture slightly and then, with the blender running on low speed, stream in the olive oil until evenly combined and the sauce is emulsified. Set aside.
For The Cauliflower
Fill a heavy bottom pot just over halfway with vegetable oil and heat over medium high until the oil reaches 350℉ / 177℃.
Fry the cauliflower in batches, for 3-4 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden brown, crispy and tender. Strain out of the oil and place in a bowl. Season immediately with salt and lemon juice to taste, tossing to evenly coat. Spread the fried cauliflower out on a sheet pan and then repeat with the remaining batches of cauliflower.
Spread some of the romesco sauce onto a serving plate. Top with fried cauliflower, salt to taste and lemon zest to garnish. Serve immediately.
Budae Jjigae
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15minutes
Serves: 2-4
INGREDIENTS
Sauce
5-10 bird’s eye chilies, stem removed and roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (23g) gochugaru
1 1/2 tablespoons (33g) gochujang
1 tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons (36g) mirin
1 1/2 tablespoons (24g) soy sauce
Assembly
1 can SPAM, cut into ½-inch slices
½ block firm tofu, cut into ½-inch slices
4 ounces (113g) shiitake mushrooms, cut into ½-inch slices
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, root end removed
1/2 cup (79g) kimchi, roughly chopped
Homemade Budae Jjigae sauce
4 ½ cups (1L) chicken stock
4 ounces (110g) instant ramen noodles
1 1/2 cups (90g) Korean rice cakes (soaked in cold water for 15 mins)
2 slices American cheese
3 green onions, thinly sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
For The Sauce
In a mortar and pestle, grind together the chilies, garlic, and salt until a paste forms.
To the paste stir in the gochugaru, gochujang, sugar, mirin and soy sauce until well combined. Set aside in a bowl.
To Assemble
In a 12-inch wide and 5-6-inch deep saucepan, that is not over any heat, add each of the following ingredients in their own sections in the pan: SPAM, tofu, shiitakes, enoki mushrooms and kimchi.
Spoon the sauce into the center of the pan and pour the chicken stock over everything.
Turn the heat to medium high, cover with a lid and boil for 7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Remove the lid and add the ramen noodles, rice cakes, American cheese, and green onions. Make sure the noodles and rice cakes are submerged in the liquid.
Boil, uncovered, for 4 minutes or until the noodles are soft. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Seven Pot Gochujang Chicken
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
Seven Pot Gochujang Chicken
8 chicken wings
8 chicken drumsticks
2 teaspoons (10g) fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon (2.5g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (8g) freshly grated ginger
1 cup (130g) cornstarch
1/2 cup (75g) all-purpose flour
MSG, to taste (optional)
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 green onions, thinly sliced (for garnish)
Sauce
5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon (3g) toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup (68g) honey
3 tablespoons (44g) ketchup
2 tablespoons (50g) gochujang
2 tablespoons (20g) soy sauce
2-5 seven pot chili peppers, stems removed
INSTRUCTIONS
For The Seven Pot Gochujang Chicken
Place the chicken in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle over top the salt, sugar, and ginger and toss to evenly coat. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the sauce.
Fill a heavy bottom pot just over halfway with vegetable oil and place over medium high heat until it reaches 320℉ / 160℃. Have a sheet pan lined with a wire rack near the hot oil.
When ready to fry, whisk together in a large bowl the cornstarch, flour, salt and MSG to taste. Coat all the chicken pieces evenly with the dredge and shake off any excess back into the bowl. Place on a sheet pan.
Add the dredged chicken, in batches, to the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes to par cook; the chicken will still be pale in color. Remove to the sheet pan with the wire rack and cool while you par fry the remaining chicken.
Increase the oil temperature to 375℉ / 190℃.
Again, in batches, fry the chicken for 3-4 more minutes or until golden brown, crispy, and the internal temperature reads 165℉ / 74℃. Drain off the excess oil on the sheet pan lined with the wire rack.
Transfer the fried chicken to a bowl and add half of the sauce, tossing to evenly coat.
Plate the chicken wings and garnish with sliced green onions.
For The Sauce
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside in a bowl.
Curry From Hell
Prep and Marinade Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
Curry Paste
5 tablespoons (35g) Kashmiri chili powder
3 teaspoons (8g) toasted cumin seeds
2 teaspoons (5g) toasted coriander seeds
1 teaspoon (5g) toasted fenugreek seeds
3 cloves
4 green cardamom pods
2 teaspoons (5g) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon (3g) freshly ground black pepper
3 T-Rex dragon’s s breath chilies
2 chocolate moruga scorpion chilies
12 cloves garlic
1-inch knob fresh ginger
1/3 cup (78ml) white distilled vinegar
2 cups (473ml) water
Salt, to taste
Curry
1 1/2 pounds (680g) beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 white onion, finely chopped
1-inch knob ginger, peeled and grated
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup (40g) ghee
2 1/2 tablespoons (38g) tomato paste
2 cups (473ml) beef stock
10 curry leaves
Salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon (2g) Mad Dog Plutonium 9 extract, (optional for added extreme spice)
Cilantro leaves, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
For The Curry Paste
In a blender, add all the spices, sugar and black pepper and blend on high speed until everything is a fine powder.
Add the chilies, garlic, ginger, vinegar, and water and blend until smooth. Carefully remove the lid and season with salt to taste (at your own risk). Remove the paste to a bowl and set aside the dirty blender to use again later.
For The Curry
Preheat the oven to 375℉ / 190℃.
Place the beef in a large bowl or container and add the curry paste. Using gloves, toss the curry paste with the beef, to evenly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 30 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, add the onion, ginger, and garlic.
Place a 12-inch skillet over medium heat and add the ghee. Once the ghee is hot and melted, add the onion mixture, stirring often, and season with salt to taste. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onions have softened.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes or until softened and lightly toasted. Add about a quarter of the total beef stock, stirring to combine with the tomato paste, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until the veggies are completely softened.
Carefully pour the sauce back into the blender you used for the curry paste and blend until smooth. Pour that mixture back into the skillet and combine with the rest of the beef stock.
Add in the marinated beef as well as any of the marinade and stir to combine. Add the curry leaves, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cover with a lid and transfer into the preheated oven. Braise the beef for 2 hours or until the sauce has reduced and the beef is tender.
Optionally, for some extreme heat, stir in Mad Dog Plutonium 9 extract.
Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve!
