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Thai Chiles Delivery or Pickup

The Instacart guide to Thai chiles

Thai chiles add color, flavor, and heat to a wide variety of dishes. Instacart makes it easy to get fresh Thai chiles delivered to your home. Our easy-to-use Instacart app enables you to order Thai chiles no matter where you are. With Instacart, you can enjoy contact-free pickup or speedy home delivery in as little as 2 hours!

About Thai chiles

Also known as bird's eye, bird eye, or bird's chiles, the Thai chili pepper adds a pop of heat and fruity flavor to many dishes. Although they're all called Thai chili peppers, there's no single variety of Thai chiles. Over 79 different kinds of chili peppers fall under the umbrella of Thai chile peppers. In general, Thai chiles are small, tapered peppers with a pungent aroma. The glossy skin is brightly colored, ranging from green when unripe to deep red when fully mature. Thai chiles have an earthy, fruity flavor and a building heat that lingers long after eaten. 

The most common Thai chiles in the supermarket are:
  • Prik kee noo: This is the most well-known Thai chili. This very hot variety is also called the Thai dragon pepper.
  • Prik leung: This spicy Thai chili is yellow-green and matures to red-orange.
  • Prik chee fah: These Thai chiles can be green or red. They are mild in flavor and heat.
  • Prik yuak: Thai chiles picked when immature and green. These chiles have sweet, fruity flavors with little heat.
  • Prik jinda: Red or green, these Thai chiles are very spicy.
The Thai chiles on the supermarket shelves are primarily grown in Thailand, with smaller amounts from Europe and North America. Thai chiles are available year-round.

Thai chiles have lots of vitamins and minerals. They are especially high in carotenoids, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.

How to pick out Thai chiles

When choosing a Thai chili pepper, look for brightly colored glossy skin with no blemishes. Peppers should be firm but not hard. Avoid leathery, blemished, or mushy peppers.

How to use Thai chiles

Chiles are an important ingredient in Asian dishes, especially Thai and Vietnamese. Fresh Thai chiles can be ground and added to curries or used to make Thai chili pepper sauce. Sliced fresh chiles can be added to stir fry, soups, and noodle dishes. 

Dried Thai chiles add flavor and color to any dish. You can dry chiles quickly in an oven or by stringing them on a thread and allowing them to air-dry over several weeks. Grind dried peppers into flakes or powder for use as a seasoning or to make homemade hot sauce. 

Pickled Thai chiles are an excellent condiment for rice dishes, salads, and noodles. Pickle your chiles by cutting them into thick slices and adding them to a salt and vinegar brine.

The ribs and seeds inside Thai chiles are especially spicy. Remove the ribs and seeds before cooking to create a milder dish.

Thai Chiles Near Me

Buy your favorite Thai Chiles online with Instacart. Order Thai Chiles from local and national retailers near you and enjoy on-demand, contactless delivery or pickup within 2 hours.

FAQs about Thai chiles

Fresh Thai chiles will stay fresh for a week in your refrigerator crisper drawer. Wrap them in a paper towel or paper bag to prevent moisture buildup. Dried chili peppers will keep for months in an airtight container in the pantry. Fresh Thai chiles can be frozen in plastic bags for up to a year.

The active ingredient that makes Thai chiles hot is capsaicin. Capsaicin is an oil and does not dissolve in water, making it very difficult to remove if you get it in your eyes or on your skin. Ordinary hand soap cannot remove capsaicin oil.

To avoid feeling the burn from Thai chiles for hours, always wear gloves when handling them and never touch your eyes or skin. If you forget to use gloves or accidentally touch your skin, here are a few options for neutralizing capsaicin oil on your skin:
  • Isopropyl alcohol and dish soap: Both household staples can handle both dirt and oil. Rinse your hands with rubbing alcohol, and then wash with dish detergent until the burn is gone.
  • Hand grease cleaner or dish soap: Both of these will remove the capsaicin oil causing the burn.
  • Calamine lotion: Apply lotion as many times as needed to remove the burn.
If you eat a Thai chile and the heat is uncomfortable, drink or eat full-fat dairy products. The fat in dairy binds with the capsaicin and reduces the heat.

If you get Thai chile oil in your eyes, resist rubbing your eyes and remove contacts immediately. Flush your eyes with a saline solution, and then flush your eyes with full-fat milk.

Wilbur Scoville developed the Scoville scale in 1912 to measure chili pepper heat and pungency. The more capsaicin in a pepper, the higher its rating on the scale.
  • Mild: 0-40,000 Scoville units
  • Medium: 4,000 to 15,0000 Scoville units
  • Hot: 15,000 to 50,000 Scoville units
  • Extremely hot: over 50,000 Scoville units
Thai chile peppers are ranked as "extremely hot," with a rating that ranges from 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville units.

You can save yourself a trip to the store by shopping for Thai chiles through Instacart. Use the Instacart app or website to order Thai chiles along with other products. You'll appreciate the time you'll save, and you can get your items in as little as 2 hours!