A selection of chillies from Thailand

With at least 79 separate chilli varieties from three species in Thailand, most are small and high in heat or pungency.

Red chillies are a key ingredient in Thai cuisine, but green chillies are also used – hence the national dishes of Thai green curry and Thai red curry. The hottest Thai chilli is called phrik kii noo (translated as ‘mouse droppings’) but we know it as a ‘bird’s eye chilli’ as it can look like the eye of a bird from the stem end.

Chillies from Thailand: Prik Jin Da, Prik Kee Noo Suan, Prik Ka Reing