A global guide to chillies and how to use them

Telegraph

11-06-2025

Britain is hooked on heat. Hot sauces fly off the shelves, chilli oil is drizzled over everything and even mayonnaise gets the Scoville treatment. But for all this fiery obsession, the chillies in British supermarkets barely hint at the variety used in the cuisines we love.
Ocado reported a 90 per cent year-on-year rise in hot sauce sales, with searches for Korean varieties up by 119 per cent. Restaurants serving heat-heavy food – Korean, Thai, Mexican, African Caribbean and Chinese – are thriving. So, with more than 4,000 chilli varieties worldwide, why do supermarket ranges barely scratch the surface?
'It's partly because they rely on growers who produce high-yielding, easy-to-grow varieties they can buy in enormous quantities,' says Natt Boarer of the Chilli Mash Company, one of the UK's largest growers and importers of ethically grown chillies. Shelf space is a constraint, too, according to Waitrose (when shopping for chillies, local Asian and African-Caribbean grocery stores are a better bet), and perhaps there's also a knowledge gap, as recipes that call for chillies in the ingredients list are often vague.
So, what does 'one chilli' mean, exactly? It depends on the cuisine and dish you're cooking, as these chefs and food writers explain…
Mexico
Hot jalapeño, fierce serrano and milder serrano – plus their smoky and sweet dried counterparts
In Mexico, no meal is complete without chillies. Whether raw, roasted, dried or blended into sauces, they bring heat, smoke, sweetness or depth to almost everything on the table, says Yahir Gonzalez, the head chef at modern Mexican restaurant Zapote in London.
Fresh chillies considered essential in Mexican cuisine include jalapeño, their heat and texture bringing vibrancy to dishes like guacamole. Milder poblano are used like peppers, stuffed and cooked or tossed into salads. Serrano, fiercer than jalapeños, brighten classics such as the seafood dish aguachile.
When fresh chillies are dried they take on a different name in Mexico, as well as a new identity; the dried chillies must be toasted, lightly fried or soaked in warm water before cooking to draw out their flavours.
Chipotle (dried and smoked jalapeño) have a gutsy heat that's perfect in sauces and mayonnaise. The gentle fruity warmth of guajillo (dried mirasol chilli), meanwhile, is perfect in sauces for tamales and marinades for tacos al pastor. Milder pasilla (the dried form of the chilaca chilli) are best used in sauces or moles alongside meat or fruit. 'Pasilla can be used instead of chocolate for similar depth of flavour in savoury dishes,' Gonzalez adds. Ancho chillies (dried ripe poblanos) add mild heat and sweet, raisin-like flavour to moles and sauces.
India and Sri Lanka
Chillies arrived in India and Sri Lanka with the Portuguese in the 16th century, changing their cuisines forever. For chef Roopa Gulati, author of Indian Kitchens (Bloomsbury, £26), two are essential: dried red kashmiri and fresh green finger chillies.
'Red kashmiri chillies are my best friend,' she says. 'They have a rich, deep colour and a mild flavour that's not overpowering.' These ruby bullets stain oil crimson, seep into sauces and linger with warmth rather than fire. Sometimes Gulati soaks them for chutneys or meat marinades, and also drops them whole into hot oil to release their aromatic bite.
There's always a stash of green finger chillies at the bottom of her fridge, too. She splits and deseeds them before finely chopping for scrambled eggs or chilli cheese toast. In kachumber, the punchy Indian salad, they're left raw, adding a pop of sharpness to the mix. They also lend fragrance to curries.
Not all chillies are created equal, however. Those in British supermarkets and even Indian shops don't compare to those in India, Gulati argues. 'Here, they taste a bit flat,' she says. Their seeds and membranes are also more pungent than those in India, so she always removes these so the chillies' flavours can shine.
Dom Fernando, the founder of Sri Lankan restaurant Paradise in London, also favours small green 'rocket chillies', either chopped raw into sambals or split open for curries. Dried red chillies, meanwhile, bring smoky depth, forming the base of spice blends. 'Or use them in a temper,' he suggests: 'fry them whole with spices and aromatics before adding them to curry or dal'.
Sichuan
Mild and smoky er jing tiao and potent facing heaven
Chillies are the backbone of Sichuan cooking, says Xiaoxiao Wang, the founder of Noodle and Beer in London. 'They add layers of aroma, smokiness, fruitiness and even a numbing sensation when paired with Sichuan peppercorns,' he says.
Slender, deep red er jing tiao chillies, with their mild heat and smoky aroma, are essential to Noodle and Beer's signature chilli oil, which slicks hotpots, noodles and stir-fries. 'Home cooks can blend it into homemade chilli oil or grind it into flakes for an authentic Sichuan kick,' Wang suggests.
For feistier heat, 'facing heaven' is a small and potent chilli deployed in dry-fried dishes. 'It delivers a sharp, upfront heat that lingers,' Wang says. 'Home cooks can use it whole in stir-fries, crushed into sauces or infused in vinegar for a bright, spicy condiment.'
Thai
Medium-hot prik chi faa and 'vicious' prik kii nu suan
Chillies are embedded in Thai cuisine, even appearing in some sweet dishes, says John Chantarasak, a co-founder of AngloThai in London. 'It's unthinkable to not have their presence at each and every mealtime,' he says.
Chillies bring 'fruity and addictive spice' to everything from stir-fried pastes and coconut cream curries to punchy, citrus-spiked dressings. 'A common Thai dinner table condiment is simply chopped chillies soaked in pungent fish sauce, adding a salty and spicy hit to any dish, ' he says.
Two chilli varieties dominate Thai cooking. Prik chi faa (long spur chillies), which grow to around 10cm and come in green and red. 'It's best to remove the seeds to dampen the heat,' Chantarasak says. Prik kii nu suan, or prik kee noo suan (bird's eye chilli) are 'viciously hot and fiercely addictive,' he says. 'Pound them into the base of dressings and sauces like nam jim for salads and for dipping grilled meat or seafood.'
Caribbean and West Africa
Sweet, fruity Scotch bonnet and versatile piri piri
Scotch bonnet forms part of a quintet of aromatics (along with thyme, garlic, ginger and pimento/allspice) that feature in many Jamaican dishes, says chef Melissa Thompson, author of Motherland (Bloomsbury, £26). 'It's a common misconception that Jamaican food is about heat above all else,' she says. '[Dishes] are incredibly fruity and floral.'
Scotch bonnets are chopped and added to curries in the early stages of cooking, or tossed into the pot whole (after making a small incision in them) and removed before they disintegrate. 'This way they impart the flavour but not loads of heat,' Thompson explains. 'If you've ever seen a pot of rice and peas being opened, with a single whole 'scotchie' on top, that's what's happening.' She suggests adding Scotch bonnet to any dish that calls for chilli heat.
A word of warning: Mexican habanero chillies are often mistakenly sold as Scotch bonnets, Thompson says, so it's useful to know the difference. Habaneros are elongated with smooth skin and a citrusy, floral heat. They're primarily used in salsas, pickles, marinades, and as a table condiment. They're also excellent in raw salsas to serve with grilled meats, seafood, and tacos. (Finely chop and mix with lime juice, finely chopped onion and finely chopped tropical fruit such as mango.)
Scotch bonnets are rounder, more ridged, and have a sweeter, fruitier flavour with hints of apricot and tropical fruit.
Just as certain chillies are used widely across multiple cuisines, the Scotch bonnet stars in many Nigerian dishes – along with African bird's eye chillies, or piri piri, which the Nigerian food writer Yemisi Aribisala explains are used in 'everything, basically, folded through jollof rice, sauces, casseroles and more'.
Her sister's 'special paste' for many different dishes, including casseroles, calls for: two African bird's eye chillies, two finger chillies, one small Scotch bonnet, one 30g packet each of coriander and flat parsley, 2½-3cm piece of fresh root ginger and five to six large cloves of garlic. Add to that a teaspoon each of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried thyme, dried ginger and dried garlic, and the juice of a small lemon, and you have the grounds for a dish to warm body and soul.
Where to buy chillies fresh and dried
Our experts suggest trying local Asian and African-Caribbean grocery stores for fresh and dried chillies. Large Chinese supermarkets Wing Yip, Loon Fung, SeeWoo and Xing Long Men Supermarket have branches across London.
For dried Mexican chillies, Gonzalez recommends Masafina.