11 Spicy Soups and Stews That Bring the Heat Every Time

This tangy, luscious soup is an excellent make-ahead dish. Simply puree everything except the garnish, and then chill. For a milder version, scale back on the serrano chile.

This dish is based on the classic Korean noodle soup kal gooksu (or "knife noodles," so named because the handmade dough is cut with a knife). In the traditional version, any spicy seasoning would be served on the side, but cookbook author and photographer Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee opts to mix hers right into the bracing soup, adding spinach for extra flavor.

Chef Tanya Holland's rich crab bisque is studded with plenty of lump crabmeat. Thanks to a hit of cayenne and Tabasco, the soup has a sneaky heat.

This sweet and spicy coconut-milk–based stew, developed by Food & Wine Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple, gets lots of bright flavor from spinach, basil, chiles, and lime juice.

Brothers and cookbook authors Matt Lee and Ted Lee created this gazpacho as a riff on a recipe from The Virginia Housewife, a seminal Southern cookbook first published in 1824. They sweeten the cold tomato soup with watermelon and make it fiery with habanero and poblano chiles

This posole from chef Richard Blais gets tons of flavor from tomatillos, poblanos, and jalapeños. Be sure to serve the fragrant chicken stew with all of the suggested garnishes — sliced cabbage, radishes and scallions, cilantro, watercress or purslane, Mexican crema, and lime wedges.

Sommelier Annie Shi, co-owner of King in New York City, grew up going to Korean restaurants with her family. Memories of dishes like Soondubu Jjigae, a spicy Korean tofu stew, became inspiration for a quick and easy stew of tofu and vegetables that she makes for cozy weeknight dinners. Recipe developer Anna Theoktisto's rendition of Shi's recipe features an umami-rich broth powered by Korean fermented soybean paste and a smart shortcut dashi made using a store-bought sachet filled with dried anchovies, shrimp, and kelp.

Carrots, turnip, zucchini, potatoes, and cod simmer in a spicy tomato broth redolent of garlic and cumin. The spiciness here comes from red-pepper flakes, but feel free to use harissa if you have it. Serve the fragrant stew with steamed couscous, which will absorb the generous quantity of broth.

For this spicy, soothing, and restorative chicken-and-rice soup, chef Ratha Chau prepares his own delectable chicken stock and roasts a chicken, which is then cut into large pieces and added to the pot. This version here uses prepared stock and rotisserie chicken to cut back on prep time.

Chef Josh Reisner's mapo tofu ramen is a beautiful marriage of mapo tofu, the spicy tongue-numbing Sichuan dish, and Japanese ramen. It calls for chicken and tofu; use just tofu if you want to create a vegetarian version. Make sure to have chile oil on hand for the finishing touch. The Golden Assari Chicken Chintan Stock included here can also be used to make Reisner's Adobo-Inspired Ramen, which incorporates the flavors of Filipino adobo.

This quick stew was developed by former Food & Wine editor Laura Rege. It gets savory flavor from pork belly and shiitake mushrooms, and heat from gochujang and gochugaru. The whole thing comes together in just 30 minutes.