Noodle Journey Supplement: Bravado Aka Miso Hot Sauce

In this bonus episode, I highlight a personal favorite: Bravado Spice Co.’s Aka Miso Ghost Reaper hot sauce. This one’s become my go-to when I want to inject serious heat into a bowl of noodles without losing the underlying flavor of the dish.

Read more: Noodle Journey Supplement: Bravado Aka Miso Hot Sauce

Unlike typical American hot sauces that rely on vinegar and salt to brute-force their way into your food, this one brings real complexity. The ingredients include ghost pepper, Carolina Reaper, aka (red) miso, tamari, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, togarashi, and salt. It’s an umami flavor bomb: savory, slightly funky, and built to complement Asian-inspired meals. I’ve used it in ramen, stir-fry, fried rice, and even on dumplings. A little goes a long way, though. Five or six drops in a full bowl of noodles is plenty for me, otherwise I feel like the spice gets a bit overwhelming.

You can find it at Bravado’s official site, Amazon, or Heatonist. Heatonist is my personal recommendation, since they offer great service and a killer selection.

Spiciness:
This stuff is hot. The ghost pepper and Carolina Reaper combo brings the pain fast and lingers even longer. It’s not going to knock out chili-heads, but for most people, this is firmly in serious heat territory.

• 8/10

Overall:
This is balanced, rich, heavy on the umami, and multi-layered. This is everything a good hot sauce should be, not just hot, but filling a void that other hot sauces can’t fill. It enhances rather than dominates, especially when paired with Japanese or Korean-style noodles. Easily one of the best noodle-friendly hot sauces I’ve tried.

• 9/10

If you’re looking to elevate a bowl without totally warping its flavor, this is one to keep on hand.

Notes since filming: Not much to say here, I just really hate how phoned-in this video was and how I didn’t show the actual sauce consistency. Still, I keep it around as a bit of a relic from the early days of the channel, and also to hopefully steer some spice lovers to this sauce, because it really is worth seeking out.