Species Capsicum annuum Scoville scale 100,000–225,000 SHU Rank Cultivar | Heat Very hot Higher classification Sweet and chili peppers | |
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Scientific name Capsicum annuum 'Bird's Eye' Similar Shallot, Greater Galangal, Kaffir lime, Indonesian bay leaf, Cymbopogon citratus | ||
Bird's eye chili, bird eye chili, bird's chili or Thai chili is a chili pepper, a cultivar from the species Capsicum annuum, commonly found in Ethiopia and Southeast Asia. It is often confused with a similar-looking chili derived from the species Capsicum frutescens, the cultivar "siling labuyo". Capsicum frutescens are generally smaller and characteristically point to the sky. Bird's eye chili can also be found in India, particularly in Meghalaya, Assam, and Kerala. It is used in traditional dishes of the Kerala cuisine. This cultivar is also found in rural areas of Sri Lanka, where it is used as a substitute for green chilis. It is also a main ingredient in kochchi sambal, a salad made using freshly scraped coconut ground with bird's eye chilis and seasoned with salt and lime juice. It is used extensively in Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, Lao, Khmer, Indonesian, and Vietnamese cuisine.
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Some English speakers also refer to this cultivar as Thai hot, Thai dragon, and boonie pepper.
Description
The bird's eye chili plant is a perennial with small, tapering fruits, often two or three, at a node. The fruits are very pungent.
The bird's eye chili is small, but is quite hot (piquant). It measures around 100,000–225,000 Scoville units, which is at the lower half of the range for the hotter habanero chili but still many times more spicy than a jalapeño.
Characteristics of the bird's eye chili plant
Origins
All chilis found around the world today have their origins in Mexico, Central America, and South America. They were spread by the Spanish and the Portuguese, together with many other now common crops such as maize, tomatoes and pineapples. This is now called the Columbian Exchange. The chili varieties found in Southeast Asia today were brought by Spanish and Portuguese colonists and traders in the 16th or 17th century.
As food
In Vietnamese cuisine, these chilis are used in soups, salads, and stir-fried dishes. They are also put in fish sauce as a condiment or eaten raw.
In Thai cuisine, these chilis are highly valued for their fruity taste and extreme spiciness. They are extensively used in many Thai dishes, such as in Thai curries and in Thai salads, green as well as the ripe red chilis; or they can just be eaten raw on the side, with for instance, khao kha mu (stewed pork trotter served with rice).
As ornamentals
The more decorative, but slightly less pungent chili, sometimes known as "Thai ornamental", has peppers that point upward on the plant, and range from green to yellow, orange, and then red. It is the basis for the hybrid cultivar "Numex twilight", essentially the same, but less pungent, and starting with purple fruit, creating a rainbow effect. These peppers can grow wild in places such as Saipan and Guam.
In health
Due to the slow release of capsaicin through small ventilated pores within the skin of the chili, it has been regularly used throughout India for its antibacterial qualities. Having been applied by lightly grazing the affected area with a ripe chili it can help clean wounds and fight the risk of infection.