Easy Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
A good sauce can make or break a meal whether it's used for dipping, marinating, or stir frying. Asian food offers many delicious, flavorful sauces that you can enjoy in a restaurant or at home. Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe for sweet chili sauce and says, "I love this sauce because it's garlicky, sweet, and spicy and the thick texture makes it perfect for dipping. It's my favorite to sauce to serve with egg rolls, but also great for many other dishes like dumplings, spring rolls, or even grilled meats. I always prefer making homemade sauces instead of buying the jarred versions; they taste so much fresher and are quick and easy. The other nice thing about making your own sauces is you can control the ingredients. For those on a low-sugar diet, you can easily reduce the amount or substitute it for another sweetener that is lower on the glycemic index."
Gather the ingredients for this sweet chili sauce recipe
To make this recipe, you'll need some fresh garlic and ginger root. Then, you'll need some rice vinegar, water, cane sugar, sambal oelek, red chili flakes, soy sauce, and cornstarch. "You can substitute the cornstarch with arrowroot powder ... and you also can substitute monk fruit granules or coconut sugar for the white cane sugar," Hahn explains.
Heat the ingredients
In this step, we want to not only dissolve the sugar, but also give the flavors an opportunity to fully blend. Grab a small pot, and toss in the crushed garlic, grated ginger, rice vinegar, ⅓ cup water, sugar, sambal oelek, red chili flakes, and soy sauce. Bring the heat to medium, and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Thicken the sauce
Make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water, and whisking to remove any lumps. Add the mixture to the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 10 minutes until it is nice and thick. "Be patient with this step. It might not seem like it's doing anything at first, but it will thicken up after 10 minutes or so, and it'll be worth the wait," Hahn comments. Once it has thickened, remove it from the heat to cool.
Enjoy with shrimp cocktail, fish, or grilled meats. The sauce will last for up to 3 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge.
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1-inch ginger root, grated
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup, plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- In a small pot, combine the garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, ⅓ cup water, sugar, sambal oelek, red chili flakes, and soy sauce. Bring heat to medium, and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water. Whisk to remove any lumps, then add this mixture to the pot on the stove.
- Reduce heat to low and cook the sauce for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Once thickened, remove from the heat to cool. Store in a glass jar, or serve right away.
| Calories per Serving | 62 |
| Total Fat | 0.1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 14.7 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.3 g |
| Total Sugars | 11.9 g |
| Sodium | 102.5 mg |
| Protein | 0.4 g |
