Chilli and Other Peppers

Pepper is a thoroughly confusing name. There are four plants, or groups of plants, involved. One (PIPER LONGUM and PIPER OFFICINARUM) bears small fruits called long pepper and need not concern us here (being used neither in Lao nor western cookery). The second, PIPER NIGRUM, is a vine-like plant which bears small round fruits which are what we know as peppercorns. Peppercorns can be either white, green or black, depending on their state of maturity and on the treatment which they have undergone. Phia Sing uses ground black peppercorns in most of his dishes.