We Found Incredible Noodles… But They Kept Getting Hotter!

TL;DR

Two home cooks taste and guess the origins of five progressively spicier noodle dishes from around the world.

Key Points

• 1.Round 1 was a warming Himalayan noodle soup misidentified as Mongolian. Sherpa noodle soup, featuring Szechuan pepper, Indian green chilies (30,000–50,000 Scoville), and vegetables, is popular in Nepal — both guessed Mongolia and earned one point each.
• 2.Round 2 featured the world-famous dan dan noodles from China's Szechuan region. Made with facing heaven chili (50,000–75,000 Scoville), sesame paste, soy, vinegar, and crispy pork mince, the dish's name comes from the Chinese word for the poles street vendors used to carry it.
• 3.Round 3 was pad kee mao (drunken noodles) from Thailand, correctly identified by both. Made with wide flat rice noodles, bird's eye chilies (up to 100,000 Scoville), holy basil, fish sauce, and oyster sauce, earning each contestant three points.
• 4.Round 4 introduced ghost pepper black noodles reaching up to 1,000,000 Scoville units. Daebak brand instant noodles are a Korea-Malaysia collaboration, with dark noodles colored by cocoa powder and purple carrot extract — Jamie's answer of Malaysia was accepted alongside Korea.
• 5.Round 5 featured Shinigami ramen from Las Vegas, built around a Carolina Reaper broth averaging 1.57 million Scoville. Created in 2020, diners must be over 18 and sign a waiver; it won gold in Best of Las Vegas 2024 and features a nine-minute finishing challenge.
• 6.The spice escalation was deliberate and dramatic across five rounds. Chilies ranged from Indian green (30,000) to Szechuan facing heaven (75,000), bird's eye (100,000), ghost pepper (800,000–1,000,000), and finally Carolina Reaper (1.57–2.2 million Scoville).
• 7.Jamie won the overall game with ten points to Mike's eight. Despite clue controversies in round four, Jamie edged the win — though both hosts joked it wasn't worth the pain of the final dish.