The Orange Thai pepper is one of many different varieties of Thai pepper, similar in heat to typical red Thai peppers, though unique for its vibrant orange color.
Scoville Heat Units: 50,000 - 100,000 SHU
The Orange Thai pepper is a thin chili pepper that is very similar to the typical red Thai pepper, though unique for its orange ripening pods.
The chili peppers grow a few inches long overall and have very bright, colorful orange skin. I place them in the medium-hot category along with other Thai peppers, though the fruity flavor may make them seem slightly milder.
The plants are very productive and can yield up to 200 chili peppers.
Learn More about the Thai Pepper here.
How Hot is an Orange Thai Pepper?
Orange Thai Peppers range from 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale. Compare this to a typical jalapeno pepper, which averages 5,000 SHU, and the bird's eye pepper is anywhere from 10 to 20 times hotter. That's quite a lot of heat!
Cooking with Orange Thai Peppers
I've grown these pods in my garden several times now and the plants are always productive. Because of the amount of peppers, their good level of heat, and their vibrant color, these peppers are ideal for making hot sauces, chili pastes, salsas, or for dehydrating and grinding into chili flakes or chili powders.
I often use them when making spicy fried rice dishes, spicy noodle dishes, and working them into different Thai and Thai-inspired recipes.
I also enjoy chopping them and cooking them into every day foods, like soups and stews. I greatly enjoy the heat and flavor.
Thai Pepper Recipes
- Khao Soi (Northern Thai Coconut Curry Soup)
- Spicy Thai Curry Chicken Soup
- Chili-Garlic Shrimp with Thai Lime Rice
- Yellow Curry Paste
- Sambal Oelek
- Homemade Sriracha Hot Sauce
See also these Types of Thai Chili Peppers
Got any questions? Feel free to contact me any time. Happy to help! -- Mike Hultquist
About Mike
Mike is the author of "The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook" and "The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook". He is a chili pepper enthusiast who has run Chili Pepper Madness for many years.
Dan says
Great site, a special thanks for helping me identify this particular variety in my garden. I'd be curious to find another heavy cropping variety like this is, it's insane how many pods it produces and the orange colour adds a cool spin when you make sauce.