Mandarin Monday is a recurring series designed to help you enhance your Chinese language skills by introducing entertaining and useful phrases and characters.
As the temperatures rise in Beijing, it's the perfect time to embrace the heat and indulge your senses at the Beijinger’s 2025 Hot & Spicy Fest!
To honor the vibrant little plants that ignite our mouths—or even our hearts if the Ghost Pepper gets under your skin—we’ve put together a list of the most popular naturally occurring chili peppers, including their names in Chinese and where you can find them in Beijing and/or China.
But first, let’s discuss Scoville Heat Units (SHU) – 斯科维尔辣度单位 (Sīkēwéi'ěr Làdù Dānwèi).
The modern SHU measurement method is based on a test created by American pharmacist Wilber Scoville (威尔伯·斯科维尔 Wēiěrbó·Sīkēwéi'ěr) in 1912. In this test, a specific amount of capsaicinoids is extracted from peppers, diluted with sugar water, and tasted by trained testers until the heat is undetectable.
In Scoville's initial tests, the total amount of sugar water used— for example, 5,000 drops to dilute the heat of a certain quantity of capsaicin—determined the pepper's heat rating. Now, corresponding heat levels are assigned an SHU number. In our example, that would be 5,000 SHU.
Now that we've covered the science, let's delve into the spices.
Chiltepín – 奇尔特平辣椒 (Qíěrtèpíng Làjiāo)
This is considered the mother of all chilies. Quite seriously, the chiltepín chili, primarily found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, is believed to be the wild ancestor of many chili peppers known today.
Despite its small size, this chili packs a punch, registering 40,000-100,000 SHU, making it five to 40 times hotter than a jalapeño. It has a bright, smoky flavor combined with a kick of heat and is often crushed into salsas and marinades.
Unfortunately, chiltepín chilis are not easily found for purchase in China, but you can use a substitute: chile piquín (皮金辣椒 Píjīn Làjiāo).
With an earthy flavor and a slower heat buildup, dry chile piquín, which also comes from Mexico, is available on Taobao. Although it’s not as hot as its small counterpart (with a heat level of 30,000-60,000 SHU), piquín serves as a decent alternative for chiltepín.
Jalapeño – 哈拉佩尼奥 (Hālāpèiníào)
The one and only, commonly known as 墨西哥辣椒 (Mòxīgē làjiāo). The jalapeño originates from the Xalapa region in the Mexican state of Veracruz and gained fame after arriving in Texas and the rest of the US during the 20th century.
Jalapeños are fairly mild, with a SHU of 2,500-10,000. You can easily find them pickled (腌墨西哥辣椒 yān mòxīgē làjiāo) in Beijing, and fresh jalapeños can be found at some import markets in the Sanyuanli area or on Taobao.
When roasted and dried after becoming red and ripe, the jalapeño transforms into chipotle (奇波特辣椒 Qíbōtè làjiāo), which is available canned (奇波特辣椒罐头 qíbōtè làjiāo guàntóu) with onions in a thick sauce.
Erjingtiao – 二荆条辣椒 (Èrjīngtiáo Làjiāo)
A staple in Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, this chili derives its name from the ancient 二荆 (Èrjīng) chili-producing region located between Chengdu and Chongqing. Typically used in its dried form and with a SHU of 30,000-50,000, erjingtiao can be found in everything from the base of Sichuan hot pot to 豆瓣酱 (dòubànjiàng).
It shares its culinary prominence with the Facing Heaven chili (朝天辣椒 Cháotiān làjiāo), along with...
Millet Chili – 小米辣椒 (Xiǎomǐ Làjiāo)
The "little rice" chili is also prominent in Yunnan and Guizhou cuisines, offering a fruity and slightly earthy flavor with an SHU of 50,000
Familiarize yourself with some chili pepper terminology before you attend this year's Hot & Spicy Fest.
