There are so many types of chili pepper in Thailand. Different ones are used for different dishes.

The most famous one must be 'prig kee nu'. It's a very short, small green and red pepper. It is about one inch in length. It is the hottest of the pepper family. Prig kee nu is available in oriental grocery stores in the US. If you are visiting Hay Market, an open air market in Boston, it is available there, too. You can keep it frozen for years. I usually buy a large quantity and wash the pepper thoroughly. Let it air dry then put in a freezer bag and freeze until you are ready to use it. Just take what you need each time before using. It is a lot easier to slice when it is frozen.

'Prig chee fah', is not very hot and often used for its color and spice. The name literally means pointing toward sky chili. It is about3-5 inches in length. It comes in green and red.

'Prig yoorg', is pale green. It is not hot at all.

This is also known as Birdseye, thai chile, Fresh Thai chile peppers and/or thai chile peppers

These little peppers are about an inch long and very hot. Green ones are not ripe, and red are ripe, but you eat either one and mix them together for color.

Red ones are sometimes dried and ground then put on the table as a condiments.

There are several types of dried chili peppers available in Thailand. However, only small dried chili is available here in the US. The size indicates the intensity of the heat; the smaller the hotter. The chilies are sun-dried.

In Thai cooking, the larger dried whole chilies are used to make curry paste. The whole chili is soaked and the seeds are removed to avoid the heat. Without the seeds, the chilies are pounded along with other spices to give a wonderful flavor and color.

The smaller chilies are individually eaten rather than incorporated into a mixture.

You can buy whole dried chili pepper and also ground chilli pepper. You can also make it yourself. To make it yourself, toast the pepper in a hot pan until you can smell the spicy aroma. It should take about a minute or so. Then grind it in a food processor.

Dried ground chili pepper is used as a condiment for noodles.

This is a sauce made from chili, garlic, vinegar and salt and comes in a small plastic jar, frequently with a green lid. It is similar to Sriracha sauce, but is chunkier and not as spicy.