Thai Chili
Thai chilis are a hot pepper chili variety found all over Southeast Asia.
Their sweet, spicy tropical flavor is a key ingredient in lots of my favorite Thai dishes, so I wanted to try growing them at home!
Birds Eye Chili
These small pointy red chilis are called prik ki nu in Thai, meaning mouse dropping chili, after their shape.
But I’ve noticed in the states, Thai chilis are often synonymously referred to as bird’s eye chilis, after the category of ornamental peppers that grow almost upside down.
It makes me wonder if people confused the Thai ornamental pepper that grows upright with Thai hot peppers.
The 5-colored Numex Twilight pepper was cultivated off of the Thai ornamental, and has mild peppers growing upside down in a vibrant rainbow.
They start off purple, then gradually go through 4 further color changes from green to yellow, orange, and ultimately red.
If you don’t particularly like spicy food and want a pretty pepper in the garden, go with Thai ornamental chilis.
If you like the flavor combination of spicy and fruity, grow Thai hot chilis.
Thai super hot chilis grown indoors
Growing Thai Chili Peppers
I love Thai food so I wanted to try my hand at growing my own Thai hot peppers.
I got the seeds from True Leaf Market and grew the entire pepper plant indoors, inside my hydroponic gardens.
Thai Chili Grow Guide
| Botanical Name | Capsicum annuum |
| Common Name | Thai chili pepper, Thai chili, birds eye chili, Thai hot pepper |
| Mature Size | 18-24 inches tall |
| Days to Harvest | 75 days from seed |
| Light | Full sun |
| Soil Type | Rich, well draining soil |
| Soil pH | Neutral (6.0 – 6.8) |
| Hardiness Zones | USA Zones 5-7 |
| Native Area | Asia |
| Pests | Aphids |
| Diseases | Powdery mildew |
Growing Hydroponic Thai Chilis Indoors
Best Indoor Gardening Products to Grow Thai Chilis
Indoor Gardens
Use Your Own Seeds
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Typically pepper plants can get quite large.
It’s always a good idea to give plants as much room as possible, especially with indoor gardening, so I grew 3 of these in my Aerogarden Farm XLs.
They’re extra large hydroponic systems that sit on the floor and have a 3 foot grow height capacity.
But, I think you could grow one in a Harvest XL or Bounty if you kept on top of pruning.
The smaller Amazon indoor gardens or Aerogarden Harvest would probably be doable, but a bit more challenging since they only allow a plant to grow up to 12 inches.
Thai chilis are one of the easiest pepper varieties to grow, and super productive.
Tiny white flowers appear all over the plant, and I didn’t do any pruning or hand pollinating.
I kept on top of nutrition and just check back every couple weeks to harvest more chilis.
If you want to improve your pepper fertilization rates, I recommend adding a fan.
I use this room fan that cools down the room dramatically (a must in NYC summers) and does double duty aerating my plants and helping pollination.
It’s also silent and unobtrusive.
Small clusters of Thai chilis grow in a bush like format, with 2 to 3 peppers per branch.
They start out green and take a couple weeks to ripen to red.
These tiny hot peppers are always the first of my pepper plants to form peppers, and always the most prolific.
I harvested about 50 chilis to keep the plant producing, and quickly got another 50-100 three weeks later.
They practically grow themselves!
How to Grow Thai Peppers
Here’s a video grow guide covering everything you need to know about Thai hot peppers, from seed to harvest!
coming soon
How Hot Are Thai Chili Peppers
Despite being just 1 to 2 inches long, Thai chilies are HOT.
They measure around 50,000 – 100,000 Scoville heat units – less than a habanero but 5-10x hotter than jalapeños.
When to Harvest Thai Chili Peppers
Thai chili peppers can be harvested in both their young green stage and their ripe red stage.
Green Thai chilis won’t have as much heat.
I like to wait until the first bath of Thai chilis have mostly turned red, then harvest all the peppers off the plant, green and red. This prompts the pepper plant to produce a second batch of peppers.
Frequent harvests encourage plants to keep producing new fruit!
I don’t recommend letting peppers dry out on the vine.
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How to Dry Thai Chili Peppers
Since Thai chilis are so small, they dry quite quickly.
If you have a massive amount and want to dry them all quickly, use a dehydrator.
You can also use a needle to gently pierce the stems of the peppers and string 20-30 on kitchen twine. Hang these vertically to air dry in a room with good air circulation.
What I find easiest is to simply lay out a single layer of Thai chilis on a baking tray. Place them in a well ventilated room near a window and they’ll dry out in about a week.
How to Store Thai Chili Peppers
Make sure the peppers are dry. I would recommend not pre-washing the peppers as any moisture will speed up the rotting process.
If you plan to use them within a week, store fresh Thai peppers in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer.
For any Thai chilis you won’t be using right away, place them in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid.
You can also freeze Thai chili peppers.
Thai chilis are super productive compared to other hot peppers
What to Do with Thai Chili Peppers
Thai chilis are a staple in Thai food, and found throughout Southeast Asian cuisine.
Both the green and red chilies are used – sometimes separately where green chilis are used to make green curry, red chilies to make red curry, and sometimes in combination.
Raw green Thai chilis combined with hot red chilis can add flavor while tempering the heat level.
Some of my favorite Thai dishes that call for Thai chilies include
- Thai Basil stir fry (pad kra pao)
- Green papaya salad (som tum)
- Thai red curry
- Thai green curry
I also love making a simple Thai condiment that goes well with any kind of Thai food. It’s just chopped Bird’s eye chilis with fish sauce and lime juice.
But I’m always experimenting in the kitchen and looking for new recipes to use up my Thai chilis!
I got a comment recently that the Thai chili pepper leaves are used in soups for extra flavor… might have to try that soon!
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