Sweet Chilli Sauce is a sweet and spicy outburst of flavors. If you are looking for a finger-licking delicious sauce to accompany crispy Asian snacks then this chilli sauce recipe is worth bookmarking. It is vegan, gluten-free, and last in the fridge for a month.
Homemade dips and sauces are some of the items that you will always find in my kitchen.
I love making a variety of dipping sauces from scratch. it gives snacks and finger food a whole new tasty dimension.
One such favorite D-I-Y sauce recipe is this Sweet Chili Sauce.
About Sweet Chilli Sauce
This chilli sauce recipe is adapted from the Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce. Also, known as Nam Chim Kai.
I have used the best of locally available ingredients to make a vegan, and vegetarian version of the authentic sauce recipe.
My sweet chili sauce is the amalgamation of all tantalizing flavors – spicy, sweet, and garlicky. It has the hotness of red chilies, the sweetness of sugar, the flavor of garlic, and the sourness of vinegar.
It is a versatile sauce that we can’t have enough. You can marinate the chicken in it for Asian grill, add it to a vegetarian stir fry, or serve as a dipping sauce for Asian fried snacks and dumplings.
More Reasons To LOVE This Chilli Sauce
gluten free sauce
vegan and vegetarian
versatile and multi-purpose
easy to store for a month
meal-prep and freezer friendly
Ingredients Required
Red Chillies: The red chilies give the bright red color and spicy taste to the sauce. They are the key ingredient in this sauce recipe. You can use fresh red chilies, dry red chilies, or the chili flakes to make this sauce.
Garlic: The addition of garlic makes the sauce so delectable. Hence, do not restrict yourself to one or two cloves.
Sugar: To cut down the heat of red chilies and to give a sweet lingering taste, sugar is added in this sauce. You can use fine brown sugar, or powdered jaggery in place of white sugar.
White Vinegar: The vinegar gives the acidic or slightly tart taste to the sauce. The acidic taste balances the spicy and sweet flavor. The vinegar also acts as a preservative to increase the shelf life of the sauce.
Corn Starch: A starch or thickening agent gives the sauce perfect consistency.
Salt, Water
7 Ingredients + Blender & A Saucepan = Sweet Chilli Sauce
This sweet chili sauce is super simple to make at home.
All you have to do is throw all of the ingredients into a blender. Pulse. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add a thickening agent. Allow cooling. And voila the most luscious sauce is ready!
It is a gratifying process from the start to the delicious finish. And you can rest easy as well knowing exactly what goes into this sauce, versus some of the mystery, unhealthy ingredients on the labels of store-bought ones.
Serving Suggestions
Next time you are planning chicken cheese balls, fried cutlets, or spring rolls simply bring out the bottle of homemade sweet chili sauce.
Some more snacks that pair well with chilli sauce:
Crispy Fried Squids or Calamari
Dumplings or Potstickers
Tibetan Momo
Egg Roll/Fried Snacks
FAQ’s Related To Sweet Chilli Sauce
Which type of chilies should I use?
Fresh Red Chilies or the Dry Red Chilies work best for this sauce. Being in the Indian sub-continent, I have used the dry red chilies as they are easily available.
To cut down the heat of fresh red chilies discard the seeds and the vein. Use only the outer layer of the chilli.
Can I use rice vinegar?
The authentic Thai Chilli Sauce has rice vinegar. If you like the taste, and the aroma use rice vinegar in the same quantity as the white vinegar. Avoid using wine vinegar to make this sauce.
Can I skip using a thickening agent?
Yes, you can skip adding thickening agent. But then the consistency of the chilli sauce will not be luscious. It will be runny and thin.
How long can I store this sauce?
You can store it for 1 month in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Use a clean and dry spoon to sccop out the sauce. However, do not leave it at room temperature especially in hot and humid climates for more than 2 – 3 hours.
Watch Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe Video
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Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
- Blender
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 10 – 12 dry red chili (discard seeds)
- 1/4 Cup garlic cloves
- 1/2 Cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 Cup white vinegar
- 3 Cup water
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Once the water starts bubbling, turn off the heat. Add the dry red chilies. Soak them in hot water. Cover the pan with a lid. Dehydrate the dry chilies for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Next, transfer the soaked red chilies to a blender. Add garlic, salt, vinegar, sugar, and 1 cup of water. Blend the ingredients to a smooth sauce.
- Transfer the sauce to a pan. Place the pan over the stovetop. Turn on the heat. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer so that the flavors infuse together.
- Now mix corn starch with a tablespoon or so of water to make a slurry. Add corn starch slurry to the sauce and mix nicely to avoid any lump formation.
- The sauce will start thickening. Once the sauce thickens, turn off the heat. Let it cool down completely at room temperature.
- Transfer Sweet Chili Sauce to a container for storing.
- Serve sweet chilli sauce as a dipping sauce with any fried snack or dumplings.
Recipe Notes:
- You can use fresh red chilies, dry red chilies, or the chili flakes to make this sauce. To cut down the heat of fresh red chilies discard the seeds and the vein. Use only the outer layer of the chili.
- You can use fine brown sugar, or powdered jaggery in place of white sugar.
- The vinegar acts as a preservative to increase the shelf life of the sauce. Avoid using wine vinegar to make this sauce.
- You can skip adding a thickening agent. But then the consistency of the chili sauce will not be luscious. It will be runny and thin.
- You can store it for 1 month in the refrigerator in an airtight container. However, do not leave it at room temperature especially in hot and humid climates for more than 2 – 3 hours.
14 comments
Wonderful Sauce, Bookmarked
This is a must have for thai fried rice 🙂 Love the flavours.
Hot spicy and tempting.
hmmmmmmm one of my fav sauce:-)
http://eyeswantstosee.blogspot.com/
http://hindustanisakhisaheli.blogspot.com/
delicious and yummy sauce.
Awesome…must try!
wow! your photos are amazing. SO tempting.
It’s very tempting. ..
I’d really love to try this!!! Is it possible I can use Bird’s eye chilli peppers instead of dry ones? Thanks!
With Bird’s eye chili, I think it will be too hot. If you like it spicy then go ahead but then reduce the number of chilies in the recipe to half.
Wow! this is going to be so useful for all our weekend snacks 🙂
So happy that you like it!
Definitely trying over the weekend.
Great! Looking forward to your feedback.