Jump to recipeSauce · Chile Sauce

Sweet Chili Sauce

A sweet-tart vinegar base, finely cut red chiles, and a restrained starch slurry make a glossy sauce that stays easy to pour.

Bright red chile pieces sit in a translucent glossy sweet chili sauce in a small glass bowl.

This Thai-style condiment balances red chile heat with sugar and rice vinegar. A small amount of slurry gives it sheen while keeping the sauce loose enough to pour.

Keep the aromatics fine

Finely chopped chiles and minced garlic soften directly in the sweet-sour base, so every spoonful carries their flavor without needing a blender. Keeping the pieces small also helps them move through the sauce as it pours.

Use only a little starch

Cornstarch needs to be dispersed in cold water before it reaches the hot pan. Streaming the remixed slurry into a gentle simmer prevents lumps and lets the syrup turn translucent and glossy.

Finely chopped red chiles and garlic simmer in clear syrup in a small saucepan. — Finely chopped red chiles and garlic simmer in the sweet rice-vinegar base.

Let cooling finish the texture

The hot sauce should flow more freely than the finished one because the starch continues to set as the pan cools. If it clings too heavily when warm, reserved water loosens it without adding more vinegar or sweetness.

Use it as a bright condiment

Its gentle heat and sweet-sour finish work beside fresh rolls, grilled vegetables, or a simple rice bowl. The chiles settle as the sauce stands, so stir before spooning it onto the table.

A thin glossy ribbon of translucent sauce with softened red chile flecks runs from a spoon. — A thin ribbon of translucent red syrup clings lightly to the softened chile pieces.

Sweet Chili Sauce

1.25 cups sauce

33 minutes total

Ingredients

• 2 oz red Thai chiles, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp cold water, for the slurry
• 2 tbsp room-temperature water, reserved for thinning

Method

Prepare the tools and aromatics
Set out a small saucepan, whisk, small bowl, and clean jar, then stem and finely chop the red Thai chiles and mince the garlic cloves.
Look for: The chile pieces are small and even, and the garlic is finely minced without turning to paste.
Dissolve the sweet-sour base
Combine the water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in the saucepan; stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the liquid reaches a gentle simmer.
Look for: The liquid looks clear, with no sugar crystals on the bottom of the pan.
Soften the chiles and garlic
Stir the chopped chiles and minced garlic into the simmering base; cook gently for 4 minutes, until the chiles look glossy and the sharp raw garlic aroma softens.
Look for: The chile pieces stay bright red and the garlic smells fragrant rather than raw.
Whisk the starch slurry
Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water in the small bowl until smooth, then stir again just before adding because the starch settles quickly.
Look for: No dry starch or dense lumps remain at the bottom of the bowl.
Thicken to a light gloss
Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer and stir in the slurry in a thin stream; cook and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until the syrup turns glossy and lightly coats a spoon.
Look for: The syrup becomes bright and translucent around the chile pieces without looking cloudy or gelled.
Stop at a pourable consistency
Lift the spoon and watch the sauce fall in a steady, thin ribbon; remove the pan from heat as soon as it lightly coats, since prolonged boiling can make the starch set too firmly.
Look for: The hot sauce flows freely and leaves only a light sheen on the spoon.
Cool so the sauce can set
Leave the pan uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, then judge the texture when the sauce is warm; it thickens as the starch cools.
Look for: The surface is no longer steaming and the cooled syrup clings lightly to the chile pieces.
Adjust and transfer
If the cooled sauce clings heavily instead of pouring, stir in the reserved room-temperature water a teaspoon at a time until it flows, then transfer it to the clean jar.
Look for: The finished sauce pours in a narrow stream and keeps a glossy coating on the chiles.