Bird's eye chilli, bird eye chilli, bird's chilli, piri piri or Thai chilli is a chilli pepper, a variety from the species Capsicum annuum, commonly found in Ethiopia and across Southeast Asia. It is used extensively in Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, Lao, Khmer, Indonesian, and Vietnamese cuisines. The bird's eye chilli plant is a perennial with small, tapering fruits, often two or three, at a node. The fruits are very pungent. The bird's eye chilli is small but is quite hot (piquant). It measures around 50,000 - 100,000 Scoville units, which is at the lower half of the range for the hotter habanero but still many times more spicy than a jalapeño. All chillies found around the world today have their origins in Mexico, Central America, and South America. They were spread by Spanish and Portuguese colonists, missionaries, and traders, together with many other now common crops such as maize, tomatoes and pineapples. This is now called the Columbian Exchange. The chilli varieties found in Southeast Asia today were brought there in the 16th or 17th century. In Vietnamese cuisine, these chillies are used in soups, salads, and stir-fried dishes. They are also put in a wide variety of sauces, sambals, and marinades, used as a condiment or eaten raw, both fresh and dried. In Thai cuisine, these chillies are highly valued for their fruity taste and extreme spiciness. They are extensively used in many Thai dishes, such as in Thai curries and in Thai salads, green as well as the ripe red chillies; or they can just be eaten raw on the side, with for instance, khao kha mu (stewed pork trotter served with rice).They also taste great in stir fries, pastas and soups!. They can be ground to make your own chilli flakes or chilli powders. These chilli peppers make excellent hot sauces, chili pastes, salsas. The vibrant colour & heat level of these dried chillies are ideal for a variety of uses. Bird's Eye Chillies are far hotter than jalapeños. It measures around 50,000 - 100,000 Scoville units. The bird's eye chilli is small but packs a very hot punch!.
