Dried Chili Peppers Category

Dried Chili Peppers

Dried chilies = chili peppers = chiles = chilis = chillies = chile peppers = aji peppers (in South America and the Caribbean) are popular in Mexican cuisine, and they tend to have a richer, more complex flavor than their fresh counterparts. All chilies vary in heat as measured by the Scoville scale, which ranges from 0 for the mild bell pepper to 200,000 or so for the sweat-inducing habanero chili to 1,500,000 for the legendary Carolina Reaper. As a general rule, the smaller and redder the chili, the hotter.

You can tone down the heat of any dried chili by removing its seeds and veins, or by soaking it in water or vodka. Select dried peppers that have stems, and that are unbroken and not so brittle that they break when you bend them slightly. It's best to lightly toast dried chilis in a pan or 350°F oven until they become fragrant. If you plan to make a sauce with the chilis, soften them first by soaking them in water.

When working with peppers, wear rubber gloves or, in a pinch, coat your hands with vegetable oil. Wash your hands carefully afterwards.

Varieties:

ají panca chili - dried, aji panca chile

ají panca chili - dried

This reddish-brown dried chili is fruity, mild, and a little smoky.

ancho chili, pasilla rojo, pasilla chile, dried poblano, chile color

These mild, dried poblano peppers have a sweet, fruity flavor and are a staple in Mexican cuisine. They're brownish-black and wrinkled, and commonly used in adobos, moles, salsas, and various sauces.

California chili , California chile

California chili

These are dried Anaheim chiles, and very mild.

cascabel pepper - dried, bola chile, chile bola, rattle chile, cascabel chile

cascabel pepper - dried

These are nicknamed rattle chiles because the seeds rattle when you shake them. They're a rich brown color and moderately hot.

Catarina chili dried, Catarina pepper, chile cora, ladybug chile

Catarina chili dried

This medium-hot Mexican chili is used to make tamales, marinades, stews and soups. It's got a fruity flavor with just a hint of tobacco.

cayenne pepper dried, Ginnie pepper

cayenne pepper dried

These are very hot, bright red chilies. Recipes that call for cayenne pepper are likely referring to a ground powder that goes by the same name, or possibly to the fresh version of the pepper.

Chilcostle chili, chile chilcosle

Chilcostle chili

This hard-to-find and moderately hot Mexican chili is used in soups, stews, tamales, and mole sauces. It imparts a yellowish color to dishes.

chile de árbol dried, arbol chile, red chile, rat's tail chili

chile de árbol dried

Unlike many chilies, these remain bright red even after drying, so they're a favorite for making chili wreaths. They're very hot and somewhat acidic. Don't confuse the dried version with the fresh or powdered versions, which go by the same name.

Chilhuacle negro chile

Chilhuacle negro chile

This excellent Mexican chili is loaded with flavor but hard to find. It's used to make mole negro and bean dishes. It is moderately hot.

chipotle negro chile, red-black chipotle, mora, chipotle mora, black chipotle

chipotle negro chile

These are darker, milder versions of the chipotle chile.

chipotle pepper , chile seco, jalapeno pepper dried, smoked jalapeno pepper

chipotle pepper

These dried and smoked jalapeño peppers lend a wonderful, complex flavor to sauces. They're usually rehydrated and canned in adobo sauce, but you can also buy them dried in cellophane bags. They are medium hot.

Costeño Amarillo, bandeño, chile costeño, Costeno amarillo

Costeño Amarillo

This yellow Mexican chili is used to make soups, stews, and mole sauces. It's fruity and moderately hot and somewhat hard to find.

guajillo chili , dried mirasol chile, chile Guajillo

One of the more popular Mexican chilies, the guajillo (or dried mirasol chili) has a fruity flavor and medium heat (Scoville heat scale of 2,500 to 5,000 SHU). It's smooth, shiny, and reddish-brown, and it has a tough skin, so it needs to be soaked longer than other chiles. These are commonly used for marinades and adobos.

habanero - dried, habañero chili, habañero pepper

habanero - dried

Don't confuse dried habaneros with the fresh version, which goes by the same name. These extremely hot chiles are wrinkled and orange.

Japanese chili, chile japones

These small red chilis are hot, and similar to the chile de arbol. Before using them, soak them in warm water for a few minutes.

Kashmiri red chili dried

Kashmiri red chili dried

This mild Kashmiri chili is used in Indian cooking to add flavor and color.

mora chili

This is a smoked and dried red jalapeno pepper. It's very hot.

morita pepper, morita chili, chile morita

Like the larger mora chili, this is a smoked and dried red jalapeno. It's very hot.

mulato chili , mulato pepper, mulatto chile, chile mulato

This very popular chili looks like the ancho, but it's darker and sweeter. It's fairly mild and has an earthy flavor.

New Mexico red chili, chiles de ristra, New Mexican chile

New Mexico red chili

These chilies have an earthy flavor and resemble the California chili, except they're hotter and more flavorful. They are moderately hot.

Onza roja chili

Onza roja chili

These are used in sauces and soups. They're hot.

pasilla chili, chile negro, pasilla negro, pasilla pepper, chile mixe

This is the dried version of the chilaca chili. It's mild, long, black, and wrinkled, and a standard ingredient in mole sauces. Ancho chilies are sometimes mislabeled as pasillas.

pequin pepper dried, piquin pepper, chile congo, chile de monte, chile pequín

pequin pepper dried

These small red peppers are very hot.

piri piri pepper dried, bird's-eye chili, pili pili, peri peri pepper

piri piri pepper dried

These are insanely hot tiny peppers.

puya chili dried, pulla chile, puya pepper

puya chili dried

This is similar to the guajillo chile, only smaller and more potent. It has a fruity flavor that's good in salsas and stews. They are fairly hot.

tepin dried, bird’s eye, chiltecpin, chiltepin, chiltpin, Indian pepper, tepín

These look a bit like large dried cranberries. They're also sold fresh. They are very hot.

urfa biber

This is a dried ground chili pepper used in Turkey on meat dishes. It is medium spicy and has a smoky flavor.