Get ready to spice things up with the exciting world of chillies! From huge piles of fiery-red chillies in local markets to the Spicy King Competition in China, discover fascinating stories for all chilli lovers.

You can see red chillies in the local market, lying in huge fiery-red piles. They do not cost much, but every chef knows that you do not have to add much chilli to turn a tasty dish into a red-hot mouthful. The reason chillies are so cheap is that they are grown on our doorstep in Mainland China, and at over 28 million tons per year, China is the world’s largest exporter of fresh chilies. Most of these are sent to South Korea, Japan, and Mexico.

The province of Hunan in southern China is famous for its spicy food. Recently, an event to celebrate chilli called the Spicy King Competition took place in Ningxiang, a city with a population of just under 1.4 million.

People were invited to sit in a bath filled with chilli peppers. They were also asked to eat as many chillies as they could in 60 seconds. The organisers may have been disappointed – though probably not surprised – that only 12 people agreed to take part. However, the crowd that gathered around the chilli-bathing contestants was huge. Furthermore, photographs of the event were published around the world in newspapers and popular websites.

The competition winner was a man called Ju. He was able to eat 15 chillies in 60 seconds – all while sitting in his chilli bath. There were no reports about how he felt the next day. Fifteen chillies may seem a small number when compared to other famous chilli eaters in China. Recently a man in Lijiang in Yunan province ate 47 chillies in two minutes. His prize was a chilli made of gold.

There is also Li Yong-zhi, a 48-year-old male from Henan province who eats about 2.5 kilos of chilli every day. He also uses chilli in his mouthwash after brushing his teeth. He saves money by growing eight different kinds of chilli in his garden.

We would certainly not encourage any of our readers to copy Li Yong-zhi or try to break the Hunan or Yunan record. Far from it. It’s probably more fun to eat no chilli at all while watching the contestants in the Spicy King Competition.

Question:

Take a look at the competition in this video:

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