They can be green, yellow, orange, red or black. There are more than 200 known varieties and they differ greatly in size, colour and level of hotness. There is an official heat scale for chillies known as The Scoville scale, developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. A sweet pepper scores 0 on the scale, Jalapeño and chipotle chillies score anything between 2,500 to 10,000 and habañero and Scotch bonnet score 80,000 to 300,000 plus!

Salt and pepper chicken

Ingredients

60g/2¼oz cornflour

1 tbsp fine salt

1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder

1 tbsp ground black pepper , plus an extra1 tsp

200ml/7fl oz vegetable oil , plus 1 tbsp

4 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs , cut into bite-sized strips

3 spring onions , thinly sliced

1 red finger chilli , thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the cornflour, salt, five-spice and tablespoon of pepper together and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan to 180C on a cooking thermometer, or until a teaspoon of cornflour sizzles when dropped in. (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
3. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture, working in batches. Carefully add it to the oil and cook for 2–3 minutes on one side, until golden brown and cooked though. Turn and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper.
4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a clean pan over a medium heat. Add the spring onions, chilli, garlic and remaining teaspoon of pepper with a pinch of salt. Fry for 1–2 minutes, then add the cooked chicken. Toss and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, until the chicken is coated in the onions, garlic and chilli.