Thai Chilies

[BLR_DUBLIN]

Can someone tell me how many different types of chilies are native to Thailand and which type is the hottest. I planted some seeds from some dried chilies and they are comming along nicely. I want to plant more but different ones.
Cheers,
Brian

[Lancer]

i don't know how many types there are. but i think prik-kee-noo is very spicy.

[rcalaimo]

Here in Hawaii , The cardinals sure like to eat my chiles.SO I have to go out before they do to harvest them.

[Anatta]

The most hottest chillie with high power to made everybody cry that I know is Prik Kariang. My dad use to got it from Karnchana Buri province.

By my opinion should have many kinds of chili in Thailand. In regular we actually use Prik kee nu to be ingredient for many kinds of Thai food menu that need more hot spicy taste such as Yum,Somtum,Tomyum,Pad Krapraw and others menu that can made you cry.

from my notice there are 6 kinds of chili that we actually use it in frequency for cooking.

1.พริกขี้หนูเม็ดเล็ก Prik kee nu med Lek ,this kind of chili have smallest size than any kinds of chili.

2.พริกขี้หนูเม็ดใหญ่ Prik keen nu med yai , this kind of chili have bigger size than Prik keen nu med Lek but smaller than Prik chee fa and Prik yuak.

3.พริกชี้ฟ้า Prik chee fa , this kind of chili have bigger size than Prik kee nu . Prik chee fa have less hot and spicy taste than prik kee nu.We use it to be ingredient for menu that not much spicy and use its green and red colour for dress up food for more nice looking to eat. Some kind of Thai food menu with not much spicy that use this chili to be ingredient are Gang Kiew Wan , Num Jim Mue Satae ,Num Prik Pla-Ra ...etc.

4.พริกหยวก Prik yuak ,this kind of chili have bigger size as same as Prik chee fa but have more round shape with soft tone of green colour. Prik yuak have less hot and spicy taste than Prik chee fa .We use it to be ingredient for many kinds of fried vegetable and meat menu such as Kow Pad Prik Yuak , Kung Pad Num Prik Poaw Sai Prik Yuak … etc.

5.พริกกระเหรี่ยง prik kariang ,one kind of chili with small size as Prik Kee nu but have more hot and spicy taste than Prik kee nu. We use it for add more spicy taste to every menu such as prik kee nu .

[Thongthai]

Brian,

We grow Thai chilllies in Wexford, there are a few simple pointers you need to follow. We grow a number of different types but the most reliable are key noch and key nu (literally bird shit and mouse / rat shit respectively).
1) Your first crop of chillies from the plants will not be representative - try them but don't use the first crop to guess what the rest will be like
2) The amount of sunlight that the plants get will determine how much capsaicin is produced, so in winter your chilies will be milder than in summer
3) Keep pruning or they will stop fruiting
4) They love a bit of plant fertiliser, and well drained soil, in summer they'll drink a lot of water.

It's a labour of love, and the hardest thing of all with growing these chilies in Ireland is that you are never quite able to rely on the hotness !! The last harvest we took in August was as hot a key nu as ever Thailand has produced.

Hope this helps,

Norman