Piri piri is the African bird's eye chilli, a small, very hot Capsicum frutescens, and the name of the Portuguese and Mozambican sauce and marinade of chilli, garlic, lemon and oil made from it.
What it is¶
Piri piri (also peri peri or pili pili) is a name used for both a chilli and a sauce. The chilli is the African bird's eye, a small Capsicum frutescens (the species of the Tabasco pepper), about 1–3 cm long, borne upright, ripening to bright red, and very hot, usually quoted at 50,000–175,000 SHU. The sauce is the Portuguese and southern African blend of those chillies with garlic, citrus, oil and often vinegar, used as a marinade and table sauce, above all for grilled chicken.
The name is commonly explained as Swahili or another Bantu language for "pepper pepper", but the etymology is not certain. The spelling peri peri is standard in South Africa and in the UK through restaurant chains; piri piri is the usual Portuguese form.
Origins and history¶
Chillies arrived in Africa from the Americas in the sixteenth century, and Portuguese traders and colonists played a large part in spreading them along the coasts of Angola and Mozambique. C. frutescens thrived and became naturalised, growing wild or semi-wild across much of eastern and southern Africa. In Mozambique and Angola, Portuguese settlers combined these chillies with Portuguese ingredients (garlic, olive oil, lemon, bay) to create the marinade that became piri piri.
It travelled back to Portugal, where frango piri-piri (grilled chicken with piri piri) is now a national dish, especially associated with the Algarve town of Guia. Through the Mozambican and Portuguese diaspora, and later South African chicken restaurants, it became popular in Britain from the 1990s.
Flavour and aroma¶
The chilli tastes mostly of sharp, clean heat, with a light fruitiness and a citrus edge; it lacks the tropical perfume of C. chinense chillies such as habanero. The sauce is hot, tangy, garlicky and bright with lemon, and its character depends on the maker: some add paprika or roasted red pepper for body, others whisky or brandy, herbs or onion.
In the kitchen¶
- Frango piri-piri: chicken spatchcocked, marinated in piri piri sauce and grilled over charcoal, basted with more sauce.
- Prawns: Mozambican camarão piri-piri, large prawns grilled with garlic, lemon and chilli butter.
- Piri piri oil: dried chillies steeped in olive oil (with garlic and sometimes whisky), a table condiment in Portugal. See making chilli oil.
- Beyond chicken: over grilled fish, sardines, potatoes, roast vegetables and in mayonnaise.
💡 A basic piri piri marinade
Blend 6–10 red bird's eye chillies (or 1–2 tsp dried piri piri flakes), 4 cloves garlic, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 2 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 bay leaf (crumbled), 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp salt and 100 ml olive oil. Marinate chicken for at least 2 hours or overnight, then grill or roast at 200°C (gas 6) for about 40–50 minutes for a spatchcocked bird. Keep some unused sauce back for serving; do not reuse the marinade raw.
Buying and storing¶
Fresh piri piri chillies keep for one to two weeks in the fridge and freeze well. Dried whole chillies and flakes keep for a year airtight. Homemade piri piri sauce keeps for about a week in the fridge; chilli oil for several weeks, strained. Commercial sauces vary widely in heat.
Substitutes¶
- Red Thai bird's eye chillies: very close.
- Tabasco peppers (also C. frutescens).
- Cayenne or chilli flakes with a squeeze of lemon, for sauce.
- For a milder sauce, use red serranos or jalapeños.
Pairs well with¶
Garlic, lemon, olive oil, bay leaf, oregano, paprika, vinegar, chicken, prawns, sardines, potatoes and coriander.
Growing your own¶
C. frutescens plants are bushy, 50–120 cm tall, with small upright pods. Sow indoors in February–March at 22–27°C; germination may be slower than C. annuum. Grow in pots in a greenhouse or conservatory in the UK. Plants are prolific, and perennial if kept frost-free over winter. See growing chillies and overwintering chillies.