Phrik 101

[Austin]

There have been some interesting questions around here lately regarding the different chilies used in Thai cooking. To address some of these concerns I put together a short illustrated list of the most common ones. I've tried to describe how the chilies look, how spicy they are, and how they're used.

The most commonly used chilies in Thailand are undoubtedly phrik khii noo, literally, "mouse dropping chilies":

These are generally also the hottest chilies in Thailand, and can range from tiny in size (as pictured above), to almost 2-3 time the length shown above. They are used in almost every conceivable way: ground up in curry pastes, smashed up and added to stir fries, smashed up and added to soups or salads, or used in nam phrik, Thai-style "dips". Dried phrik khii noo are used in curry pastes to add a spicy taste.

Another common kind of chili are phrik chii faa, literally, "pointing at the sky chilies", apparently for the way they grow:

Phrik chii faa generally range from mild to slightly spicy, and come in three colors: green, red, and orange. They are most commonly used as a garnish. They can be sliced into rings and preserved in vinegar as a condiment for noodle dishes, or sliced or julienned and used to garnish curries such as kaeng phanaeng. Sometimes they are used fresh in curry pastes, but this is generally to add color or body, rather than spiciness.

Phrik chii faa are also dried:

Dried phrik chii faa are an essential ingredient in most curry pastes, and provide red color and body, although, as mentioned above, not a lot of spice.

Another chile that is most commonly used as a garnish are phrik yuak:

These are usually mild, and are almost always the pale green color shown above. Sliced, they can garnish a variety of dishes, and are especially popular in Thai Muslim cuisine, where they are somtimes stuffed with fish and steamed or boiled.

Phrik karieng:

can at times be the spiciest Thai chilies of all. They are recognized by their yellow and orange colors (although they are normally somewhat shorter than the ones shown above). They are eaten fresh in some northern and northeastern Thai dishes, but are more commonly dried:

and ground up to be taken as a conidment with noodle dishes.

Phrik num:

are almost exclusively associated with the northern Thai dish, nam phrik num. This dish sees the chilies grilled along with shallots, garlic and tomatoes, and then pounded together into a spicy "dip". The chilies are typically longer than phrik chii faa, and can range in spice from hot to very hot. In northern Thailand, they are often a darker shade of green than shown above.

And finally we have bell peppers, or phrik yak ("giant chilies"):

These are virtually only used in stir-fried dishes of chinese origin, and are very mild.

[Ptipois]

Thanks, Austin. A badly-needed guide, and your pictures are beautiful and informative.

You write that phrik chii faa goes from mild to slightly spicy — however, some orange-colored chii faa I've come across came out as very very hot. And sometimes I've found some relatively mild phrik khii nuu (yes they were khii nuu, their size and shape were unmistakable). I suppose that's part of the universal mystery of chillies.

Phrik khii nuu have a unique, subtle, unmistakable taste once you go beyond their fieriness. Seeding them before adding them to pastes, dressings or any dishes brings forward that flavor, but it's a tough job. I know our friend khun Pim always deseeds them.

Edited March 26, 2006 by Ptipois (log)

[C. sapidus]

Austin: That is an awesome primer; it has everything except a tasting feature (I often wish that eGullet had a tasting feature). At a minimum, it sounds like I need phrik khii noo and phrik chii faa to make Thai curry pastes (my current obsession).

Phrik khii noo: These are easy. I can get fresh or frozen phrik khii noo at the Asian grocery, save and grow the seeds, or grow Thai Hot Dragon Hybrid.

Phrik chii faa: This one is tricky because I have never seen it locally. How long are phrik chii faa? Are they thin-skinned (like a drying chile) or are they meatier? Are any Mexican chilies reasonable substitutes - perhaps something like Mirasol?

Phrik yuak: These look like cubanelle or banana peppers (long wax chilies). I wonder if the taste is similar. I would probably default to Poblano chilies, which are readily available, have a wonderful (if non-traditional) flavor with mild heat, and can be stuffed or used as a garnish.

Phrik karieng: How long are these? Are they thick- or thin-skinned? Except for the color, very hot Cayenne or de Arbol chilies might be the closest approximation. Is the flavor of phrik karieng significantly different from that of phrik khii noo?

Sorry for all of the questions, and thanks in advance for any help -- Bruce

[Abra]

I have a bag of khii noo in my freezer. I'm so glad to know to call them mouse droppings, as in "honey, would you clean out the freezer for me, but be sure not to toss my mouse droppings!"

[Austin]

Ptitpois: Yes, even here in Thailand, chili spiciness can sometimes be inconsistent! Personally, the only chilies I deseed are the large dried phrik chii faa before using them in curry pastes (the seeds are hard to grind up!).

Bruce: Phrik chii faa tend to be about four inches long, and are very thick-skinned. I'm not familiar with Mexican chilies, but would say that the mirasols you mentioned don't really look the same. The phrik karieng shown in the pic are actually quite long. The ones I'm familiar with are much shorter (about 1" long) and are usually somewhat wrinkled looking, and are somewhat wide near the stem. They are thinner, and spicier and more "sharp" than phrik khii noo, I would say. Again, they're most commonly used dried.

Austin

[ChefCrash]

Phrikin great.. Where am I gonna find these in mid Michigan? Still trying to find decent Jalapenos.

Beautiful photos Austin, here as well as your website.

Since we're on the subject, maybe you can help me. The last few summers I've planted Cayenne and Jalapeno peppers. Why is it that the same plant would bare peppers with no heat and then some that are super hot? One summer none of the peppers had any heat. Is it temperature? Sun light? Irrigation?

[Austin]

ChefCrash: Afraid I can't answer that... If you'll refer to the latter pages of the Thai Cooking At Home thread, I mention that I have an infamously black thumb! Perhaps Bruce (C. sapidus) can shed some light on this?

Austin

[C. sapidus]

Austin: Thanks for the follow-up. I found dried phrik chii faa at Temple of Thai. I also ordered Hot, Sour Salty Sweet and David Thompson’s Thai food in hopes that the recipes will identify the appropriate chilies more clearly. Thanks again for freely providing a wealth of information.

We are having friends over for dinner on Saturday. The menu is evolving, but they expressed interest in Thai food so we will probably make green curry with beef (gang khiaw-wan nuea), hot and sour prawn soup (tom yum goong), and coconut rice (khaw man). With burgers or grilled chicken for the kids.

Bruce

[C. sapidus]

ChefCrash: heat, sun, drought, and time to ripen make chilies hotter. Chilies also tolerate dry soil better than plants such as tomatoes. A lot of rain make tomatoes watery and dilute their favor; perhaps this also happens with chilies (we usually grow ours in pots, so I don’t know). Are your plants in full sun? Were the mild chilies fully ripe? Did the lack of heat correspond with a cool spell?

Also, when you said the “same plant”, did you over-winter the plant indoors or was the plant grown from seed? Seed-grown plants can vary considerably because pollen from a mild chile (even a bell pepper) may have fertilized the hotter chilies and produced milder offspring.

Interesting problem. I would love to hear more.

Bruce

[Austin]

Bruce: Let me know if you have any questions about making any of the dishes you mentioned. Think you'll have a chance to post the results on the Thai Cooking at Home thread?

Austin

[ChefCrash]

ChefCrash: heat, sun, drought, and time to ripen make chilies hotter. Chilies also tolerate dry soil better than plants such as tomatoes. A lot of rain make tomatoes watery and dilute their favor; perhaps this also happens with chilies (we usually grow ours in pots, so I don’t know). Are your plants in full sun? Were the mild chilies fully ripe? Did the lack of heat correspond with a cool spell?

Also, when you said the “same plant”, did you over-winter the plant indoors or was the plant grown from seed? Seed-grown plants can vary considerably because pollen from a mild chile (even a bell pepper) may have fertilized the hotter chilies and produced milder offspring.

Interesting problem. I would love to hear more.

Bruce

←

I always get fledgling plants from the local greenhouse (5" tall). Last summer here in mid Michigan was beautiful. Warm 80's, low humidity (relatively speaking) with very little rain, so little we only cut the grass three or foue times and we watered a lot (could be the reason).

The Cayennes, planted in the ground got full sun, so did the Jalapenos though planted in one large planter on the deck. The plants bore a lot of peppers. We didn't know what to do with them.

How do you know if they're ripe? We picked them when they got big enough. About 2" long for the Jalapenos and about 5" for the Cayennes and still green.

One day we would pick a few jalapenos and find them sweet. A week later we pick some thinking they're gonna be sweet and surprise, super hot.

Sounds like your guess is correct. On a normal summer we get a lot of rain, so that's what caused the problem then. When we got a relatively dry summer last year, we over watered.

Do your peppers always turn out hot?

Thanks.

Edited March 27, 2006 by ChefCrash (log)

[C. sapidus]

Austin: I need to look over my recipes, and may have questions later in the week. Your insight would be greatly appreciated. One of our guests is not a big fan of cilantro, so I’ll probably serve that on the side. I’ll try to take some pictures for the Thai Cooking at Home thread.

ChefCrash: Cayennes and Jalapenos will turn red when fully ripe, so you might try leaving them on the plant a bit longer to develop more consistent heat. We usually pick chilies after they have started turning red. Our potted chilies are usually hot, but pots drain well and dry quickly. The chilies that we grew in the ground last year were eaten by a rampaging cherry tomato plant.

Bruce

[sanrensho]

Very helpful thread, Austin. Thank you for posting this information and especially the photos.

[WHS]

Phrikin great.. Where am I gonna find these in mid Michigan? Still trying to find decent Jalapenos.

←

Go to www.templeofthai.com

and you can order fresh chilis & kaffir lime leaves, etc.

[C. sapidus]

Austin: I found fresh phrik chii faa in the local Asian market. The chilies looked like your picture and had a nice taste - sweet, with almost no heat. They are in the freezer for future use.

I posted pictures of leftovers from our mostly-Thai extravaganza on the Thai cooking at home thread. They made a lovely breakfast.

Bruce

[jmcgrath]

Since we're on the subject, maybe you can help me. The last few summers I've planted Cayenne and Jalapeno peppers. Why is it that the same plant would bare peppers with no heat and then some that are super hot? One summer none of the peppers had any heat. Is it temperature? Sun light? Irrigation?

←

I've found that lots of sun, hot days and plant stress contribute to pepper heat. The only thing I can control is stress and I only water when leaves are drooping in the evening. Some drooping on a hot sunny day is normal. Ignore it as a sign that watering is necessary. Water the next day rather than that evening to avoid fungal problems.

Some varieties of jalepeno are bred to be mild. Avoid the Tam Jalepeno.

Peppers cross fairly easily within their species, C. Capiscum e.g,. and saving seed is questionable if you are growing more than one variety. They are perennials and will winter over if you have a sunny, 50F or more location. I kill them off when the pot gets to heavy to lift, about when the stem gets about 1" in diameter.

Jim

[ChefCrash]

Thanks Jim

Will be trying that this summer.