Thai pepper
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 Bird's Eye Chili
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Thai pepper (Thai: พริกขี้หนู, phrik khi nu(lit. mouse dropping chili)) refers to any of three cultivars of chili pepper, found commonly in Thailand, as well as in neighbouring countries, such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. It can also be found in India, mainly Kerala, where it is used in traditional dishes of the kerala cuisine (pronounced in Malayalam as kanthari mulagu).
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[edit] Non-pungent "Thai Pepper"
"Thai pepper" can also refer to black pepper, as it is a literal translation of the Thai word for it, พริกไทย phrik thai. This term refers to the peppercorns used in many Thai dishes, as well as ground black or white pepper and derives from the distinction between peppercorns being traditionally Thai versus chili peppers, which only arrived in Thailand in the sixteenth century.
[edit] Cultivars
[edit] Bird's eye chili pepper
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| Heat: Very Hot (SR: 50,000-100,000) |
The main Thai pepper seen in South-East Asian cuisine. These tiny fiery chilis characteristically point upward from the main plant, and can be found with colors maturing from green to red. They can commonly be found in many South-East Asian countries, but are more frequently seen in Thailand and Cambodia.
Although small in size compared to other types of chili, the chili padi is relatively strong at 50,000 to 100,000 on the Scoville pungency scale.
[edit] Proverb
Bird's eye chili can be found in South-East Asian markets alongside larger chilies, often times surprising people who are unaware that such a small pepper can be much hotter than the larger ones. This is the source of a proverb heard in many South-East Asian countries that roughly translates to "small like the bird's eye chili," which can best be described by the English equivalent, "Big things come in small packages."
"เล็กพริกขี้หนู" Thai
"Kecil-kecil cili padi" Malaysian
"Kecil-kecil cabe rawit" Indonesian
[edit] Common Names
The chilies may also be referred to as chili padi in Malay because their small size reminds people of the small grained rice eaten as a staple in the region.
As well as the Malay word, Thai chilies can also be referred to as cabe rawit (Indonesian), phrik khii nuu (พริกขี้หนู, Thai), Thai hot, Thai dragon (due to its resemblance to claws), Siling Labuyo (Filipino), Ladâ, and boonie pepper (the Anglicized name).
[edit] Thai Ornamental
The more decorative, but slightly less pungent variety, sometimes known as Thai Ornamental, has peppers that point upward on the plant, and go from green to yellow, orange, and then red. It is the basis for the hybrid Numex twilight, essentially the same but less pungent and starting with purple fruit, creating a rainbow effect, and among the group of capsicum annuum. These peppers can grow wild in places like Saipan and Guam. The Chinese in SE Asia call this pepper 'the chili that points to the sky'.
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