Fresh Vietnamese Chiles

[sekelmaan]

I am trying to figure out what the little green and sometimes reddish fresh chile peppers are that one can get at Vietnamese places. They are very hot and generally non-Viets don't get them unless they ask, but does anyone know the variety?

Thanks!

[Duppie]

rabaja is correct and pretty much any good Asian market will have them fresh or pickled fresh in bottles but they are also available in West Indian and Caribbean groceries. We call them bird peppers.

[rabaja]

You mean the bird's eye chiles?

They are very hot, and I find them in asian markets in small baggies. They keep a couple of weeks in the fridge in the baggy, and are excellent in nuoc cham.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=thai+c...

[sekelmaan]

I suppose. It is certainly close to that if it is not the same pepper. I wasn't sure if the Bird's Eye was unique to Thailand, but it looks like it has gotten itself all around the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird%27...

[Duppie]

It did. They grew wild in Trinidad,Granada,Barbados and Guyana apparently brought in by Asian traders in the early 18'th century and spread by indigenous birds. We not only cooked with them but was a must in the garden if you had parakeets,parrots and macaws.
The ones I grew up with was hotter that the ones I buy in my favorite Asian grocery or NYC's Chinatown however.

[rabaja]

wow, that's hot. I love the heat they give, but I have to be careful as they are way more potent than your average arbol, or jalapeño.

I get them on Clemente in SF, and now, at my teeny tiny asian store in San Rafael. Can't imagine how little I'd use in each dish if they were even hotter!