If you like spicy foods, you may want to try a Thai chili pepper. But first, consider how it compares to other peppers on the Scoville scale and how you can use the pepper in your cooking.
Thai Chili Scoville Scale
The Thai chili falls in the middle of the Scoville scale, a scale that measures the spiciness of a particular pepper. For example, a red bell pepper has 0 Scoville units because it’s not spicy at all.
However, the ghost pepper is at the top end of the scale with 1,000,000 Scoville units. The Thai hot pepper comes in at 80,000 Scoville units. It’s not quite as hot as some, but it’s near the top of the scale.
Just below that is the Thai dragon pepper, with 75,000 Scovilles, but it can go up to 100,000 Scoville units. The Thai chili pepper itself can have anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville units of heat.
For better or worse, the Scoville scale isn’t the most scientific way to measure heat. However, it does tell you about how much sugar you have to add to a pepper to get the heat to go away completely, and the Thai chili peppers require quite a bit of sugar.
How Hot Are Thai Chili Peppers?
The reason the Thai chili pepper has a range of Scoville units is that there are dozens of varieties of the pepper. Some are spicier than others and so are closer to 100,000 Scoville units, while the others are milder and closer to 50,000.
One common type is the prik num, or banana pepper. Another name for this pepper is Sriracha, the namesake of the common sauce. If you want something spicer, you can try prik jinda or prik kee noo.
On the other hand, prik chee fah and prik yuak are two milder types of Thai chili peppers. But they’re still Thai chili peppers, so they’re not too mild.
Milder Peppers
If you don’t have a high heat tolerance, there are plenty of milder peppers. They may not be Thai chili peppers, but they can still provide a bit of spice. That way, you can add flavor to your dishes without overdoing it if you can’t handle the heat.
You can also use some milder peppers to slowly work up to eating Thai chili peppers. These other foods are great for building tolerance over time. You can start with a Cajun belle pepper, which has between 100 and 1,000 Scoville units.
Of course, one of the most famous peppers is the jalapeños, which comes in at 3,500 to 6,000 units on the Scoville scale. Super chili peppers start at 30,000 Scoville units, and they go up to 40,000.
Cayenne and tabasco peppers both contain between 30,000 and 50,000 Scoville units. So if you can handle those, Thai chili peppers may not be too much hotter.
Spicier Peppers
Maybe you have a high tolerance for spice, and the Thai chili pepper isn’t spicy enough for you. There are a few peppers that are higher on the Scoville scale that you can try. The exact flavors may differ, so keep that in mind before substituting the following peppers.
Habanero peppers are some of the most well-known. Red and orange habanero peppers range from 150,000 to 325,000 Scoville units. Meanwhile, the standard habanero pepper comes in at 200,000 units.
The Jamaican yellow pepper averages out to be 300,000 units on the Scoville scale. If you can handle 400,000 to 450,000 units, you may enjoy the Caribbean red hot pepper. Finally, there’s the aforementioned ghost pepper with 1,000,000 Scoville units.
How to Cook With Thai Chili Peppers?
If you want to enjoy a spicy meal, Thai chili peppers are a fantastic addition to many recipes. They’re particularly common in Asian cuisine, such as Thai food. You can use the peppers as a garnish or incorporate them right into the food.
Another popular way to cook with them is to add them to a curry paste. That way, the curry will have more spice and overall flavor. The red peppers can also add color to various Thai dishes.
You could use the peppers to make a spicy relish or add them to fish or vegetable meals. If you dilute a chili paste, you can turn it into a spicy sauce. Add as little or as much of the pepper as you like so that you can get the right amount of heat for you.
How to Build Spice Tolerance
Before you start cooking with Thai chili peppers, you may want to try some milder options. That way, you can slowly work on your ability to eat something so spicy.
Start with something like jalapeño peppers and work your way up the Scoville scale. Once you’re able to tolerate jalapeños, you might try a bite of a super chili pepper. Repeat the process until you can easily tolerate close to 50,000 Scoville units.
After that, you can try a bit of Thai chili pepper. As you work your way up the scale, make sure you have something like milk to drink. That can help you cool down your mouth between bites of the spicy food.
What About Thai Chilli Pepper?
The name may have an extra L, but Thai Chilli Pepper isn’t a typo. Instead, it’s the name of a local restaurant in Brandon and Lutz, FL. Two of the locations are in Brandon, while Lutz is home to the third.
Both cities are in the Tampa area, so you can visit if you’re a local. You can also schedule a trip to the nearby city if you’re from out of state.
As the name suggests, the chain serves Thai food. They serve appetizers, salads, and noodles, among other Asian standards. Some of the menu items are spicy, but others may be easier to tolerate if you aren’t a fan of spicy foods.
Be sure to check out the restaurant whenever you’re in southwest Florida.