kung pao CHILI pepper SEEDS, (Capsicum annuum) Asian Vegetable

Kung Pao chile peppers are best suited for both raw or cooked applications such as sautéing, roasting, or baking. When utilized fresh, the peppers can be sliced into salads, minced into sauces, or chopped and tossed into soups, stews, chilis, and casseroles.

Kung Pao chile peppers are also popularly incorporated into Asian dishes such as stir-fries, curries, or noodles. In addition to fresh use, Kung Pao chile peppers are frequently dried and ground into powder or flakes. The dried powder can be stored for extended periods of time and acts as a flavoring agent for main dishes, roasted meats, sautéed vegetables, or for any dish where more heat is desired.

The chile powder can also be used as a dry rub for meats. Kung Pao chile peppers pair well with meats such as poultry, beef, pork, and fish, shrimp, scallops, broccoli, green onions, collard greens, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, rice, sesame seeds, and peanuts. The peppers will keep up to one week when stored whole and unwashed in a plastic or paper bag in the refrigerator.

Kung Pao chile peppers are elongated and slender, averaging 10 to 15 centimeters in length, and have a straight to curved, conical shape tapering to a pointed tip. The skin is waxy, glossy, smooth, and rippled, ripening from pale green to bright red when mature. Underneath the surface, the flesh is thin, pale red, and crisp, encasing a central cavity filled with membranes and a few flat and round, cream-colored seeds. Kung Pao chile peppers have a savory, earthy, and smoky flavor with a mild to moderate heat.
Green Thumb Tip!
Sow seeds indoors ¼" deep. Peppers germinate best in warm soil, so gentle bottom heat may be helpful until seedlings emerge. Wait to transplant outdoors until soil is warm.
Growing Peppers:
Peppers, like tomatoes, grow in well-drained fertile soil. Almost all peppers have the same requirements for successful growth. Plant them in good, well-drained, fertile soil – and make sure they get lots of sunlight and a good inch of water per week. In many ways, they mimic the same requirements needed for growing great tomatoes.
At Planting Time: We plant all of our peppers with a good shovel full of compost in the planting hole, and then give them a good dose of compost tea every few weeks for the first 6 weeks of growth. We also mulch around each of our pepper plants with a good 1 to 2″ thick layer of compost.

Peppers often like to take their sweet time germinating. They can be up in a week, and some will take almost a month. Even with paper towel germination testing, they can take long. I am not sure why, but it is a normal occurrence. So plan and make sure you start them early enough! Also, remember they like heat to germinate so make sure you have a heating mat or something to keep the soil warm. Placing them up on top of the fridge often works too since it is normally warmer up there.

Peppers do very well grown in pots.