Thai Bird's Eye
Also known as Bird's Eye Chili · Thai Chili · Prik Kee Noo · Prik Ki Nu · Cili Padi · Thai Dragon Pepper · Rawit
The Thai Bird's Eye pepper (also known as Bird's Eye Chili or Prik Kee Noo) is a tiny but fiercely hot chili famous across Southeast Asia for its explosive fruity heat and vibrant color. A staple in Thai curries, salads, and stir-fries, it delivers clean, sharp spice with a distinctive peppery-fruity bite.
About 2.9 times a Capsi Jalapeño (25,086 SHU typical).
Growing
~100 days to maturity
Fruit size
2.5–5 cm
Flavor & Use
Bright, fruity, and peppery with a clean, sharp heat that lingers. The thin skin and juicy flesh give a distinctive fresh bite. Green pods are brighter and grassier; ripe red pods are sweeter and more intense.
Culinary
About
Thai Bird's Eye peppers are small (1–2 inches / 2.5–5 cm long), slender, tapering, and often slightly curved fruits that grow upright on the plant. They start bright green when unripe and ripen to vivid red (occasionally passing through yellow, orange, or purple shades). The thin-skinned, juicy pods are extremely pungent. Plants are compact, productive perennials (often grown as annuals) that thrive in hot, humid tropical climates.
Backstory
All modern chili peppers trace back to Mexico, Central, and South America. Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried Capsicum annuum seeds to Southeast Asia in the 16th–17th centuries during the Columbian Exchange. The variety quickly adapted and became a cornerstone of Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian, and other regional cuisines. In Thailand it is known as *phrik khii nuu* (“mouse-dropping chili”) due to its tiny size and is essential in everything from fiery curries to fresh salads and dipping sauces. It remains one of the most widely used hot chilies in global Asian cooking today.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExplorePeppers bred from Thai Bird's Eye
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is Thai Bird's Eye?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 45,000–100,000 SHU (Lab-verified; typical 72,500). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat
- What does Thai Bird's Eye taste like?
- Bright, fruity, and peppery with a clean, sharp heat that lingers. The thin skin and juicy flesh give a distinctive fresh bite. Green pods are brighter and grassier; ripe red pods are sweeter and more intense.
- How do I grow Thai Bird's Eye?
- Thai Bird's Eye: about 100 days to maturity, tropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Thai Bird's Eye?
- serrano pepper, cayenne pepper, African bird's eye (peri-peri)