China is now the world’s largest grower and consumer of chillies, with the majority coming from Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou provinces where the climate is fairly mild and wet. Chinese chillies tend to have very thin crispy skins and a bright red colour, but they aren’t particularly hot compared to those from India or the Caribbean. These chillies undergo a process of being dried then crushed into flakes and coated in oil in order to preserve their extraordinary colour.