Thai food. Immediately one may think of chilies, spiciness and associated foods like Tom Yum Goong. And why not? Thai food is renowned for its spiciness. The food here is so hot that you actually have to tell the waiter or cook to lower the spiciness or to not add chilies at all. But you’re already here, so you might as well dine like a local.

So, let’s get to know about our little spicy friend, shall we? Known as Bird’s Eye Chili but more comically known as Prik Khee Noo (Mouse Dropping Chili) to the locals, these little suckers pack quite a punch! It is in almost any kinds of dish, ranging from your typical stir-fried rice dish to soups to Isaan food and even fish sauce condiments. But where does it rank in comparison to other peppers in the world? These peppers score somewhere between 50,000-100,000 heat units on the Scoville scale. Tabasco sauce is around 2,500-8,000 heat units, cayenne peppers score between 30,000-50,000, the African Bird’s eye (also known as piri piri) is at 100,000-350,000 and pepper spray is 5,000,000–5,300,000. So, yes there are actually hotter peppers out there in the world! And the hottest, the Naga Viper Pepper, a hybrid chili created in England which measures at 1,359,000!

So, next time you dine Thai food, just remember there are hotter stuff out there. So, give mouse dropping chili a try. We dare you.

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