Sweet Thai Chili Sauce… even the thoughts of it makes my mouth water. It’s the epitome of sweet and sour and spicy all in one fail swoop. I’ve used it again and again in many recipes here, like my Veggie Lo Mein & Spicy Grilled Shrimp Tacos – but I’ve always used the store bought kind from a bottle. Then one day as I was making lo mein I was out. Like not even an empty bottle in the fridge. Sigh.
So that’s when I thought “It can’t be that hard… it’s just sugar and spices – I can make my own.” So I did. I looked around to see what kind of recipes I could find and they were all too complicated and full of tons of crap that I didn’t have in my pantry. In typical Gina fashion, I just tinkered around a bit and finally came up with my own that’s just as good as any bottled brand (and maybe even better!)
SWEET THAI CHILI SAUCE RECIPE
Before we start, today’s confession is that I am kind of addicted to all things spicy. I can throw this sweet Thai chili sauce in or on almost anything.
Add it to recipes…. check.
Use it as a dipping sauce… check.
Eat it with a spoon…. well only if you have a high pain tolerance because it can get pretty spicy.
Other than eating it on and with almost anything, you should also know that you can control the spiciness by adding less pepper or more pepper – depending on your taste. I like it spicy, so we’re going to go with the medium-high heat version.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I use a microplane to grate it)
- 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, pour the sugar into the pan, then pour the water in. DO NOT STIR. Turn on high heat. Once the water just begins to boil, set your timer for two minutes.
- In a separate dish (I use a measuring cup), mix together the vinegar, garlic, pepper and corn starch. Combine well.
- When there are 10 seconds left on the sugar/water, pour in the vinegar mix and whisk together. Once the mixture has gone from opaque to translucent, pull off the heat and pour into a jar to let cool.
- Do NOT put a lid on it until it’s cooled. Refrigerate once cool.
- ENJOY!
going to try it, thankyou
I hope you like it as much as we do Dolores, good luck 🙂