Easy Sweet Chili Sauce

Looking for an easy, 7-ingredient sauce to spice up your dishes?

I have exactly what you need! This sweet and spicy chili sauce is perfect for dipping but also great to drizzle on top of anything. Egg rolls, spring rolls, potato fries, steamed veggies, rice, noodles, and more! Let's make chili sauce!

WHAT IS SWEET CHILI SAUCE

This sweet chili sauce is inspired by a Vietnamese condiment called Tương ớt. It's basically the Vietnamese ketchup as it can be found on pretty much every table. This condiment is quite spicy, sweet, and just a little bit sour. Compared to sriracha, it is much sweeter and less garlicky.

This chili sauce can also be found in many other Asian countries like Thailand, the Philippines, or Indonesia, although each version is slightly different.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET CHILI SAUCE

Making this sauce is super easy! Place the chopped chilis, garlic, water, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.

To balance with the spiciness, we will use two types of chilis: goat horn peppers and bird's eye chilis (also called Thai chili). The first one will make the base as it's not too spicy and will give the sauce a bright red color. The second one which is much spicier gives the sauce most of its heat.

I went with 5 Thai chilies, and I found the sauce to be already quite spicy. If you want it spicier, add more. If you want a milder chili sauce, I would recommend using only 2 or 3. The great thing about making your own chili sauce is that you can tweak the spiciness to your liking!

Next, to have a very smooth sauce, you want to strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.

Tip: Do not discard the chili pulp and save it to use in stir-fries, marinades, or even pasta sauces to add spiciness!

Once this is done, transfer the strained juice to a saucepan and let simmer for about 10 minutes to get rid of the raw chili flavor. Finally, to thicken the sauce put it back on the stove, add cornstarch, and whisk until it thickens. Done!

I recommend transferring the sauce to a squeeze bottle as it will make it easier to use. It's the perfect spicy sauce to drizzle on roasted veggies, rice, noodles, or to use as a dip for egg rolls, potatoes, or basically anything that needs some extra spiciness! Personally I love it on top of pizza!

If you are looking for more spicy condiments, check out this Homemade Buffalo Sauce or my Favorite Chili Paste!

Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!

Easy Sweet Chili Sauce

Author: Thomas

Super easy, 7-ingredient, and naturally sweetened chili sauce that is perfect to spice up your dishes! Sweet, garlicky, and super spicy!

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 0.75 cup

Calories 52 kcal

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 10 goat horn chili peppers
• ▢ 10 Thai chilies also called bird's eye chili
• ▢ 4 cloves of garlic
• ▢ 6 tablespoon maple syrup
• ▢ 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon oil
• ▢ 1 and ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup water
• ▢ 1 medium tomato
• ▢ ½ cup water
• ▢ 2 teaspoon cornstarch diluted in 1 tablespoon water add more for a thicker sauce

Instructions

 

• Using gloves, cut-off the stems of the chili peppers (both kinds) and remove the seeds. Transfer to a blender. Add the garlic, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, oil, salt, and water. Add the tomato as well. Blend on high speed for 10-20 seconds, or until smooth.
• Strain the juice through a fine sieve to remove the chili seeds and skins. Note: You can discard the pulp or use in stir-fries or marinades to add spiciness.
• Transfer the strained juice to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer uncovered for 7-10 minutes, or until it has slightly thickened and doesn't smell like raw peppers anymore. It will also get a slightly deeper red color.
• Stir in the diluted cornstarch, and whisk until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and transfer to a clean jar. You can also let it cool completely and then transfer to a squeeze bottle.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Use this sweet chili sauce as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, potato fries, steamed veggies, or drizzle on rice, noodles, spring rolls, pizza, and more!

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 tablespoonCalories: 52 kcalCarbohydrates: 9.9 gProtein: 0.4 gFat: 1.4 gFiber: 0.4 gSugar: 8.1 g

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