Thai Pepper

Thai pepper is a small, red colored chili pepper known as prik kee noo in the local language. It is also known as the birds eye chili in the Western world, with a variety of spellings such as Phrik khee noo, prig khi nu and  Prik ki nu being used for the chili as well. There are a number of strains available for this Capsicum Annuum cultivar with the small sized ones being the hottest in taste.

The chili is also grown in other Far East countries namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines.

The chilies are also fragrant and lend a unique spiciness to various Asian dishes. They are usually available as Thai peppers in the Western World. They are used in flavoring seafood, meat and vegetable dishes in Thailand and can be seen on restaurant tables along with salt and pepper.  A special type of seasoning known as nahm bplah prik is prepared by immersing the chilies in fish sauce.

What is Thai Pepper?

The Thai chili peppers are usually green when immature and gradually ripen to become red. Both forms of the chili are used in Thai cuisine. The chili is also used in the dried form which is obtained by placing the red chilies out in the open until the moisture is completely lost. There are other varieties of the peppers that are popularly used while cooking Thai food.  The heat of the chilies are usually present in their membranes instead of the seeds.

Varieties of Thai Pepper

• Prik leuang- An orangish-yellow chili with intense heat and rich flavor.
   
• Prik kee noo suan- A nail-sized, tiny pepper that is extremely hot.
   
• Prik chee fah- A hot chili that resembles the Serrano pepper in size and taste.
   
• Prik yuak- A bigger sized green colored chili that is similar to the yellow wax pepper.

Culinary Uses of Thai Pepper

The pepper is used extensively in Thai cooking, with salads as well as Pad Thai dishes being made spicier with the addition of the chilies. Some of the most popular dishes that use the Thai peppers as ingredients are:-
 

• Som Tam- This is a spicy salad prepared with green papaya and incorporates the four chief tastes of Thailand with the chilies, sour lime, fish sauce and sugar added to the vegetable.
   
• Tom Yam- This is a clear soup made with lemon grass, kafir lime, crushed Thai chilies and galangal, boiled together with fish sauce.
   
• Pad Thai- A popular stir-fry dish of rice noodles containing tamarind juice, eggs, fish sauce, and chilies served with a garnish of roasted peanuts.

Health Benefits of Thai Pepper

The chili is believed to be very potent as a medicine and is used to cure arthritis, dyspepsia, flatulence and toothache according to the proponents of traditional healing methods.

 Trivia

Thai pepper is colloquially known as mouse dropping or mouse excrement.