2014's Entry: 5-Pepper Chili Ramen (Honorary Mention: Judges)

This Japanese wasabi chili was the very first chili recipe I ever mastered, way back in college. So yeah, there was some pride in the fact it managed to get a shout-out when we re-tooled it for 2014.

Besides branding, flair, and the addition of the ramen, another goal for this entry was to "take back" our status of the spiciest chili at the Takedowns (after being told our 2013 breakfast chili was "good, but not spicy enough."). Thus the addition of 5-peppers (including ghost pepper sauce, naturally). Please note: this is probably the spiciest chili we've made, so cut back on the peppers, hot sauce, etc. if you're not so big on the spice factor (you can always add more!).

One important piece of advice (learned the hard way at this Takedown): when cooking two gallons of chili using multiple meats, it's REALLY easy for said meat to form a lump at the bottom of the pot and, well, char. We realized this too late and ended up with a slightly burnt taste to our chili. Though the judge that chose us for his honorable mention enjoyed that char, it definitely changed the intended flavor of the chili. Point being, stay on top of that simmer and stir frequently!

Batch Size: This yields 1/3 of the 2 gallons we made for the competition--so around 5-6 adult-sized servings (I'm guessing).

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sesame oil, divided 2 onions, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound ground beef 1 pound bulgogi (or thinly sliced steak) 1 14.5-ounce can peeled and diced tomatoes 1 12-ounce Dogfish Head wasabi beer (or any IPA) 1 cup strong brewed coffee 4 ounces tomato paste 2 ounces miso paste 8 ounces beef broth 3 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoons ground cumin 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoons ginger 1/4 teaspoon scorpion pepper (or 1t red pepper) 1 teaspoon salt 2/3 small tube wasabi paste 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (plus oil for frying) 1 serrano pepper, chopped 1 habanero pepper, sliced and de-seeded 1 jalapeño .5 teaspoon Ghost pepper sauce or sriracha 1/4 cup Soy sauce 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce 2 tablespoons mirin [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]Bacon fried ramen (one recipe's yield)

Wasabi peas (optional)

Steps:

1. Saute onions and garlic in 1/2 sesame oil until tender (about 5 min).

2. Add bulgogi/steak and sauté until almost all redness is gone. Add 1/2 bottle of beer, cover and boil, letting steam out once.

3. Add ground beef and spices and sauté until juices run clear and have reduced. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat remaining oil. Cook anaheim, serrano and habanero peppers in oil until just tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour in the tomatoes, remaining beer, coffee, tomato paste and broth. Season with sugar, wasabi and ghost pepper sauce, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add peppers cover and simmer 1.5-2 hours (30 min in, we tasted and added extra: soy sauce, hoisin, mirin, oyster sauce, ginger and 5 spice powder--your taste may be different)

5. While the chili simmers, heat oil in a dutch oven or deep pot (enough to cover the sweet potato cubes). Once oil is hot, fry the sweet potato cubes until nice and crispy. Remove potatoes and set on a paper towel to catch excess oil. (Or you can skip this step and throw potatoes into chili with 30-45 minutes left to cook).

6. Once chili is close to desired thickness (you’ll want it a little on the thin side to accommodate sweet potatoes), add fried sweet potatoes and stir in to mix. Adjust seasonings to taste.

7. Serve chili over bacon fried ramen with wasabi peas on top.