The facing heaven pepper (Capsicum annuum var. conoides; Chinese name: 朝天椒; pinyin: cháo tiān jiāo, also known as 指天椒; pinyin: zhǐ tiān jiāo meaning skyward-pointing chili pepper), is a cone-shaped, medium-hot chili pepper

Chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

 with very thin skin, between 3 and 6 centimeters in length, and 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter at the base. Originally from Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 province in Southwest China

Southwest China

Southwest China is a region of the People's Republic of China defined by governmental bureaus that includes the municipality of Chongqing, the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Tibet Autonomous Region.-Provinces:-Municipalities:...

, it owes its name to the fact that it grows upside down. Because of its attractive appearance, the dried chili is often added to dishes whole (whereas Sichuan chilies are more likely to be broken up or crushed). When lightly fried in oil it turns radiant red and loses enough of its heat to allow for it to be eaten whole. Because of import restrictions
,
Facing Heaven chilies are difficult to find in the United States, but they are available in Chinese and specialty stores in Europe.