BEST Sweet Chili Sauce
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This homemade sweet chili sauce recipe is guaranteed to become a favorite staple in your home! This Thai sweet chili sauce is versatile, quick and easy to make, is free of additives, and tastes WAY better than the store-bought stuff!
Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce
As with most everything, nothing beats homemade and Sweet Chili Sauce is no exception. Not only is it super quick and easy to make, it’s cheaper, is made without additives or preservatives, you know exactly where the ingredients come from, it’s fully customizable, AND it tastes better than the bottled stuff. That’s a win-win! This homemade sweet chili sauce recipe is sure to become your go-to from now on!
What is Sweet Chili Sauce?
Sometimes also referred to as Thai Sweet Chili Sauce or Asian Sweet Chili Sauce, it’s a simultaneously sweet, savory, tangy and spicy sauce incorporating red chilies, garlic, ginger, sugar and vinegar.
You can find bottled sweet chili sauce in most grocery stores but if you’re like me once you open the bottle it ends up sitting in the fridge forever and forgotten about until it’s time to toss it. One of the several advantages of making you’re own (besides no junk ingredients, fresher, tastier) is that you can regulate how much you make. This recipe makes about 1 cup which is usually enough for whatever you have in mind and if you need more you can simply double it. As quick and easy as it is to make there’s simply NO excuse to buy it!
One of the ingredients used in sweet chili sauce is pickled red chili. I’ve found that between using a chili paste like sambal oelek and adding some vinegar that same flavor is fully replicated. Most grocery stores carry sambal oelek but if you cannot find it you can use dried red chili flakes. Chili flakes are considerably spicier than sambal oelek so be sure to cut back on them unless you like it really hot.
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce Ingredients
Sweet chili sauce often has all the “high notes” of sugar and white vinegar without the “low notes” of umami for balance. While this sauce does have garlic (a umami ingredient), we’re also going to add a splash of tamari (or soy sauce), which is a fermented product simply oozing umami. It adds depth and makes the overall flavor more interesting. If you’re gluten-free be sure to use tamari.
If you’re using a chili sauce like sambal oelek that will give your sauce a nice red color. Without it your sauce will not be as red. Is there another way to give it that aesthetically attractive red color? Yes, if you want a little red color boost you can use food coloring but if you’re going to I strongly recommend using natural red coloring (usually made from beet or paprika extract). You can find natural food coloring here.
Sugar Free Sweet Chili Sauce
You can easily make sugar free Thai sweet chili sauce by swapping out the sugar for a powdered/granulated sweetener of your choice, such as Swerve or erythritol.
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place all of the ingredients except for the cornstarch mixture in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring regularly. Once the sugar is dissolved stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring continually.
Continue stirring for about a minute until the sauce is thickened.
Let the sauce cool completely then pour into an airtight jar and store it in the fridge.
How to Store It
You can store the sauce in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for two to three months. The sauce will congeal if you freeze it. But if you gently heat it up (on the stovetop or in the microwave) and stir it, its texture will return to normal.
Enjoy!
How to Use Sweet Chili Sauce
Here are a few things you can enjoy with your homemade sauce – either as a dip, marinade or added to it:
- Wontons, Steamed dumplings, and potstickers
- Spring rolls and egg rolls
- Chicken wings and chicken tenders
- Grilled, baked or fried chicken or salmon
- Grilled or battered shrimp or fried calamari
- Steamed or grilled vegetables
- Meatballs
- Fried or baked tofu nuggets
- Chicken/meat/seafood kabobs
- Mozzarella sticks
- Stir fries, fried rice and noodles
- Mixed with cream cheese and served with crackers
Be sure to try these other delicious homemade sauces!
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Srircha Mayo
- Plum Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Black Bean Sauce
- Cherry Barbecue Sauce
- Kecap Manis
- Big Mac Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
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BEST Sweet Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons cane sugar
- sugar free alternative: use granular sweetener of choice (e.g. erythritol)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine (can substitute dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (use more or less according to taste)
- OR 1-2 teaspoons dried red chili flakes (these are very hot, start with less and add more if desired)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce (use tamari for gluten free)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water (the sauce will thicken more once cooled)
- 1-2 drops natural red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients except for the cornstarch mixture in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring regularly. Once the sugar is dissolved stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring continually until thickened, about 1 minute. Let the sauce cool completely, pour into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator. Will keep for up to a week. Makes about 1 cup.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 17, 2019
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Can you can this recipe? I’d love to be able to make extra and have ready to go from my pantry
Hi Jennifer, I can definitely understand that! This hasn’t been tested for canning and I don’t know if the pH level is sufficient to render it safe for canning. It also isn’t recommended to can anything with cornstarch.
Love this recipe and have made it several times. As a private chef, I have had a customer ask me for it, too! It is so much better than any I have purchased. Thanks for sharing it!
Thank you so much, Suzanne, I appreciate the feedback and am thrilled that it’s been a hit!
I tried this out and then threw out my store bought. No comparison.
I’m glad to hear it, Bryan, thank you! :)
I’m a trained chef and volunteer teach a cooking class to high school students. Today we made fried rice and pork wontons. I wanted to find a good recipe for the sweet chili dipping sauce and boy, oh boy was this great!!! We made 4 batches of it. Other than substituting some dry sherry for the rice wine, I kept everything the same. I just use one teaspoon of the sambas oelek and that still packs a punch. This was just great and I can’t thank you enough for sharing it! I do print up the recipes we make for the students to take home, but I made sure to put your name on it to give you the credit. I look forward to trying out more of your recipes. For anyone wondering, look no further. This is THE one you’re looking for! Excellent!
Thank you so much for the compliment, Paulette, I really appreciate the feedback and am thrilled that you and your class enjoyed the sauce!
I’ve tried a lot of different recipes and this one is excellent with my crab mozzarella sticks, great with baked chicken drumsticks and will try with other foods. Made exactly as recipe says, will make a little hotter next time. Wife it the real cook, but ‘I’m a man and can cook if I have to’. Thanks!
Fantastic, Ed, thanks so much! :)
Whipped this up when I discovered I was out of my store bought sauce for the coconut shrimp I was baking. It was a hit with the family. I will be making this again and again and maybe I won’t be buying sweet chili sauce again.
Fantastic, Dena, thank you! :)
Used to pay $12 a bottle for sweet chili sauce when i could find it. Now will never have to buy it again. This recipe is easy and delish!
Fantastic, Lorraine, thanks so much!
Loved this! Had almost all the ingredients on hand just skipped the chili paste and rice whine, but it tasted delicious either way. Bookmarking and will definitely make again!
Thanks so much for the feedback, Stacy, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This sauce is awesome!! I will always have this on hand. I added extra red pepper flakes and sambal oelek because I love spicy. I didn’t have any rice wine or dry sherry, so I added a little white wine with a splash of white vinegar. It turned out great! Thank you for this recipe!
Fantastic, Michelle, thanks so much!
Hi, can white wine vinegar be used instead of rice vinegar. I also don’t have rice wine either. I would hate to buy all these extra ingredients if it doesn’t work out, like the last recipe I tried
You can definitely experiment using what you have on hand, just understand that the outcome will taste different than it’s supposed to. That may not necessarily be a bad thing, just know that by altering the ingredients you are altering the end flavor result.
This sauce is amazing thank you so much for the recipe. I made crab rangoons and Pork potstickers from scratch and this sauce was great with both.
Fantastic, Ruby, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Oh my goodness! Absolutely love this recipe! Easy to make & delicious! Never will be buying store-bought sauce again.
Thanks so much, Bethany! :)
I improvised with honey and thai chille but the taste is there! I added way too much chille but the taste balance is very good in this recipe. I plan to use my (too spicy for me) sauce to win over my Korean mother in law with a baked chicken recipe using this sauce. Ty for the recipe I love the flavor balance! If only I could get the heat right for my taste buds lol
Thanks, Mark, I appreciate the feedback! Good luck to you and I wish you the best of success with your mother in law! :)
I was craving the discontinued Thai chili sauce from Red Robin to put on so me chicken tenders and found this recipe. It was so quick and easy to make! I had everything I needed on hand and it was delicious! I originally was going to eat just the chicken tenders and after tasting the sauce had to make some white rice to drizzle that delicious sauce on. Thank you so much!
Thank you, Rosa, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Do you happen to know what the equivalent to cane sugar is to white sugar?
Hi Elena, it’s exactly the same.
This sauce is delicious 😋
Needed a recipe. Not a life story
Well you’re in luck then, Bill, because I don’t provide my life story AND you get a FREE recipe ;)
Lord have MERCY! BEST answer EVER! 🤣
There’s a button that you can click to jump to recipe. 🤣🤣🤣
Must be your first time looking up a recipe online
It’s their first time online, period, probably wrestling the web browser on a flip phone.