Facing heaven pepper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The facing heaven pepper (朝天椒; pinyin: cháo tiān jiāo) is a cone-shaped, medium-hot chili pepper with very thin skin, between 3 and 6 centimeters in length, and 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter at the base. Originally from the Sichuan province in Southwest China, it owes its name to the fact that it grows upside down. Facing heaven is the second most widely used chili in Chinese cuisine (after the Sichuan Chili). Because of its attractive appearance, the dried chili is often added to dishes whole (whereas Sichuan chilies are more likely to be broken up or crushed). When lightly fried in oil it turns radiant red and loses enough of its heat to allow for it to be eaten whole. In China smaller chilies generally cost more than larger ones, because of their better color and more regular shape. Because of import restrictions, Facing Heaven chilies are difficult to find in the United States, but they are available in Chinese and specialty stores in Europe.