Facing Heaven

The facing heaven pepper (朝天椒; pinyin: cháo tiān jiāo, also known as 指天椒; pinyin: zhǐ tiān jiāo meaning pointing to heaven chili), 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 Sichuan province in Southwest China, it owes its name to the fact that it grows upside down. 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. 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.

Scoville Rating: ???