Thai Chili
Thai chilies, also called bird's eye chilies, are small, slender, very hot peppers (roughly 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville units) central to the heat and brightness of Thai, Vietnamese, and Lao cooking.
How to buy
Look for firm, glossy, unwrinkled chilies. They're sold green (less ripe, grassier) or red (fully ripe, slightly sweeter and often a touch hotter); fresh is most common, though dried versions appear in some pastes and condiments.
How to store
Keep fresh chilies in the fridge in a paper-towel-lined bag for one to two weeks, or freeze them whole for several months with little loss of heat or flavor.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Sharp, direct heat with a clean, slightly grassy or citrusy edge and little of the fruity sweetness found in Caribbean chiles -- very intense for such a small pepper.
- Texture
- Thin-walled and crisp raw; they soften quickly in hot broths or sauces, releasing their heat rapidly into the dish.
- Aroma
- Bright, sharp, slightly vegetal smell; the small size is deceptive given how concentrated the capsaicin is.
How to prepare
- Thin-sliced — Added raw as a garnish for soups, noodles, and dipping sauces.
- Pounded in a mortar — Crushed with garlic and other aromatics as the base of a curry paste.
- Whole, bruised — Lightly smashed and dropped into broths to infuse heat without full intensity.
- Pickled in fish sauce — Sliced and steeped in fish sauce (prik nam pla) as a classic table condiment.
Classic dishes
Thai
- Tom yum soup — A hot-and-sour soup where bruised Thai chilies deliver sharp, building heat.
- Tom kha gai — Coconut chicken soup balanced by the heat of bruised bird's eye chilies.
- Som tam (green papaya salad) — Shredded green papaya pounded with Thai chilies, lime, and fish sauce.
- Larb — A minced meat salad where chopped Thai chilies bring sharp, direct heat.
- Pad kra pao — Stir-fried holy basil and minced meat with pounded garlic and Thai chili.
- Thai green curry paste — Fresh green Thai chilies pounded with aromatics as the paste's defining heat.
- Thai red curry paste — Dried or fresh red Thai chilies form the backbone of the paste's color and heat.
- Prik nam pla — Sliced Thai chilies steeped in fish sauce and lime as a table condiment.
- Khao soi — A northern Thai curry noodle soup finished with chili in oil and fresh chili garnish.
- Drunken noodles (pad kee mao) — Wide rice noodles stir-fried with basil and a generous hit of Thai chili.
- Papaya salad with bird's eye chili — Chilies pounded directly into the dressing for a sharp, lingering heat.
- Thai chili vinegar condiment — Sliced chilies steeped in vinegar as a tart, hot table sauce for noodle dishes.
Vietnamese
- Nuoc cham — A dipping sauce of fish sauce, lime, sugar, and minced Thai chili.
- Pho with chili garnish — Sliced Thai chilies served alongside the soup for diners to add heat to taste.
- Bun cha — Grilled pork and noodles served with a chili-spiked dipping sauce.
Substitutions
- Habanero Pepper — Comparable or greater heat but a fruitier flavor -- use fewer habaneros to match the same heat level.