A Proverbial Chilli

This is a bowl of finely chopped cili padi (bird's eye chili pepper) (green ones). The word cili padi literally means small chilli. Padi comes from the paddy in the rice field. So cili padi may be small in size but this little pepper packs a punch to the tastebuds. The cili padi is also known as 'mouse shit chili'. Cili padis are found generally in Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines and Indonesia. According to the Scoville scale of pungency, the cili padi is ranked at 50,000 to 100,000, which can be very hot to the tastebuds (especially for those not accustomed to spicy food).

There is a Malay proverb from the cili padi. When someone calls another person a cili padi, it means that other person may be small in stature but there is something bigger / greater within that person that you would not expect to find. People normally associate MBL (a small framed person) as a gentle and soft spoken person but really this girl used to have a fiery temper like the cili padi but alot less now. All that fiery temper can be a tad scary...:) The proverb also refers to a person who may be small in stature but capable of more than you would expect.

Load up on cili padis or chillies as they contain vitamin A and is a powerful antioxident which is good for your immune system.