Xiao mi la pepper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 'Xiao Mi La Pepper' |
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| Genus | Capsicum |
| Species | Capsicum frutescens |
| Cultivar | 'Xiao Mi La' |
| Heat |  Very hot |
| Scoville scale | 75,000 SHU |
| Xiao mi la pepper | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 小米辣 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | "Little Rice Chili" | ||||||
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The Xiao Mi La pepper is a type of chili pepper. Its name, "xiao mi la," means "Little Rice Chili" in Chinese. This pepper is very popular in Chinese cooking. It is one of the three most used peppers in China, along with the facing heaven chili and two vitex chili.
Sometimes, people in China call it "Thai Pepper." However, in other parts of the world, "Thai Pepper" might mean a different kind of chili. The Xiao Mi La pepper is special because it is the only wild pepper found in China. It grows naturally in the southern Yunnan Province as a plant that lives for many years, called a perennial shrub. This pepper is very tough! It can grow well in hot and humid places. It also resists diseases from East Asia and can even grow in dim light and poor soil.
How Spicy Is Xiao Mi La?
The Xiao Mi La pepper is one of the spiciest peppers you can easily find in places like Beijing's markets. Its heat level is measured using something called the Scoville scale. The Xiao Mi La pepper has a Scoville rating of about 75,000 units. To give you an idea, a bell pepper has 0 Scoville units, and a jalapeño pepper usually has between 2,000 and 8,000 units. So, Xiao Mi La is much hotter!
Cooking with Xiao Mi La
Because it is so spicy, Xiao Mi La is a key ingredient in many hot Sichuan dishes. These dishes are famous for their bold and fiery flavors. Some popular dishes that use Xiao Mi La include:
- Lazi Dry Pepper Chicken Wings: This dish features crispy chicken wings tossed with lots of dried chili peppers.
- Mala Xiang Guo: This is a stir-fried hotpot that is cooked twice. It has a mix of spicy and numbing flavors.
- Shangxin Ban Kongxincai: This is a very hot water spinach salad. Its name even means "tragically hot" because of how spicy it can be!
Besides being used fresh or dried in dishes, Xiao Mi La peppers are also made into flakes and powders. These are used to add a spicy kick to many different foods.
