Thai dragon pepper (Capsicum annuum)
I've been looking everywhere for this Thai dragon chili pepper. I've looked at several nurseries and they all seem to have only the more common peppers like jalapeno, cayenne, etc. Finally I dropped by this nursery near work and guess what I found! I bought three of them and it's probably going to be more than enough for the season. Last year I harvested a lot of them and ended up bringing it to work.
Thai dragon pepper is a very hot pepper and used mostly in Asian cooking. Be careful when you handle it because you'll definitely feel the burn. I don't know how many times I've forgotten about this and rubbed my eyes after touching these peppers, it's not something you want to experience! I don't know how my co-workers from India do it but they actually pop these in their mouth like they are popcorn!
It's very easy to grow, all it needs is full sun and moisture. Don't rush to harvest them because the pungency won't be as intense. Take a look at an interesting article from Organic Gardening magazine about different kinds of peppers that has bigger yields, earlier harvest, and more intense flavors.
May 22nd, 2009 - 01:57
I’m a little scared to try super hot peppers like this one. The heat sounds intense!
May 24th, 2009 - 13:45
Looking at the scoville count….YOW! I’m another one that tends to rub the eyes after handling peppers, so I know exactly what you mean. Look forward to an upcoming pepper harvest!
May 24th, 2009 - 22:17
Rowena – I wasn’t sure about scoville count compare to others but I just looked it up and it’s not as hot as the habarnero peppers!