Mystery Devil Pepper: Goats Weed or Black Cobra Pepper
These black cobra peppers (or goats weed) are spicy hot. Mom calls it Ot Hiem (Dangerous pepper), we call it the Devil pepper and others say it’s a thai chili variety. Though it looks like the typical thai chili from a distance, it’s possesses at least 3 times the potency. 
Story originally published in 2008. Update: We know the name of this crazy spicy pepper thanks to your comments and talking to the folks at our local nurseries! It’s called Goats weed pepper or Black Cobra Pepper. Here’s a link to this goats weed pepper description and another great one here.
Black cobra peppers or goats weed
It’s shorter and slightly fatter at the base then the thai chili and it’s most dangerous when it’s black (right before it starts to ripen to red). Defying gravity, the always shiny fruit grows upwards to the sky. The leaves of this devil pepper are short, round, dark green and full of small white hairs. When looking at the plant from a distance, the leaves look almost grayish around the edges because of the white hairs. It’s not even commonly found in Vietnamese stores. Only some Viet gardeners dare to nurture these evil specimens in their gardens and we’ve been able to occasionally find the plant at some random Viet grocery stores and sidewalk street vendors.
Spicy peppers
It’s true to its given common name because it is spicier than any jalapeño, habanero, Thai or any other chili we’ve had. It’s so spicy that our pepper loving fanatics have to take it slow when biting into these heathen chilies. We warned a certain individual (you know who you are) to wash his hands after handling the seeds of the devil pepper. He’s young vigorous man and thought he was impervious to any heat that chilies give off. Well, that was until he forgot to wash his hands thoroughly before he went to the bathroom. He was humbled to the fifth degree. End of story. The allure of these black cobra peppers is not just because of it’s intense heat, but because of its remarkable flavor. The distinct, fragrant smell is still something we can’t describe, other than identifying it as the “devil pepper smell”. But when it’s crushed into sauces and dips, it’s special flavor makes everyone wonder what the secret ingredient is.
How to Grow Black Cobra or Goats Weed Peppers
- They need good draining soil, preferably organic.
- Grow them in full sun. These chili peppers love full sun.
- Give them plenty of water, as they don’t want to dry out.
- Pinch back dead stems so new growth can form. This will allow the chili pepper plant to flower more, thus more spicy peppers to eat!
Vietnamese Chili Salt Dip
Ingredients
- 2 Thai Chili or any red chili pepper
- 3 Tablespoons sea salt
- sprinkle of paprika (optional)
Instructions
- Crush chilis in a bowl. Add sea salt and continue crushing until the juices are released into the salt. The more you crush, the more heat you add to the mixture, so beware! For a more smoky flavor sprinkle in some paprika. Let the chili juices dry out in the salt mixture for about 1 hour.
- Use as a dipping condiment for green mangoes or in any recipe to enhance it's salt and spicy flavors.
I too, got these from the 99Cents Only Store in Los Angeles.
They seem to have these a lot. Someone is growing these here? No grower name on the tag?
Anyway, gave it a try “Black Cobra” sounded interesting.
Yes, nice looking bush about 3ft, I grew it in a 5gal size black plastic pot.
Got about a full large sandwich baggie of dried pods.
Started some seeds this year, wow! Instant sprouting with green leaves already.
Mixed some in with Aji Amarillo flakes and dump it on everything.
No one has mentioned the name seems to refer to the way the pods stand up
on the plant like a Black Cobra ready to strike! Yeah, Look Out!!! ๐
I got this plant at 99, too. Last year we had no peppers, this year, a bunch! Iโm going to try it in some gameday recipes.ย
I have a friend that gave me these. They are very hot, he got them years ago as a plant from a farmers market in Sebastopol, Ca. He gives me dried ones for me to start for him every year now. They are called Diablo and are very popular with all the Mexicans here.
Hello!
These have been available from specialty growers in San Antonio for many years. The plants, when properly cared for, produce ***tons*** ย of remarkably hot chilies. In my region, they are called “Masquerade Peppers”, due to the shifting colors of the chilies as they mature.
Good to see others write and talk about them too!ย
Interestingly, I found this pepper at my local dollar store!! They sell small pots of herbs in the spring, and I was really intrigued by this one. I have TONS of peppers (all black right now), and it’s a little over 3′ tall. I have it in an Earthbox, thus why I think I got such an amazing result. My question – I realize this is an older post, but what other recipes besides the salt one above did you make with your black cobras? I’m assuming you could substitute these in any recipe that calls for Thai Chiles or Chile de Arbol (except perhaps cutting back on the amount given these are much spicier). Just interested to know if you found any other great uses! I plan to dehydrate some and make chili flakes, and I’m also going to try my hand at making pepper jelly!
Hi Rene, glad you found the plants! Yes, you can use this pepper in place of other chiles, but remember that it’s much more spicy than most so use it sparingly! If you absolutely can tolerate lots of spice/heat, then use it to what ever level you like!
Capsicum annuum ‘Goat’s weed’ (Goat Weed Pepper, แปt Nhung),
A special variety that can live for 20 or more years. The plant , up to 4 feet high, overwinters much better than other pepper plants. The pods grow erect on the plant, about 2 inches long. They ripen from green to black to a fluorescent red. Extremely hot! Its foliage is tight, and bears dark and mid olive green leaves with a pubescense-like silver fuzz on the stems and the under leaf. Its appearance is striking, particularly as the green, black and red fruits are present together all year round
Capisicum frutescens Ot Hhung is the latin name for your Argentinian Chili pepper traditionally called “goat’s weed” or “black cobra”.