Mar . 13, 2024 11:57 Back to list

thai sweet chili sauce made easily at home

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce is a sweet, spicy accompaniment to Asian finger food and a riot in the mouth. This post is packed with tips and tricks to help you make this dipping sauce easily at home.

Thai Chilli Sauce is a must have in your pantry, especially if you love Asian food as much as me. Like most Asian dishes, it's made from the freshest ingredients and is a light, delicious sauce that's perfect for dipping everything - from spring rolls to French fries!

Even though it's easily available in stores and online, I prefer to make my Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce at home. I know that sounds like one extra thing to do - but hear me out. Making this Asian sauce at home is insanely easy. It requires minimal prep, most of the ingredients are pantry staples, and the cooking process is mostly hands free.

homemade vs store-bought

Apart from being really easy to make, here are some more reasons why I like to make this sauce at home

Tastes cleaner, better than store-bought. No sticky mouth or weird after-taste
You know exactly what’s going into the sauce - 9 ingredients. No chemicals, stabilizers, etc.
Super customisable. You can adjust the spice levels, sweetness, make it more less garlick-y - make it exactly as you like it!
You probably have all the ingredients already. The ingredient list is so simple that you might really not need a special trip to the grocery store.
You can make a large batch and store it in the fridge so you don't have to make fresh batch each time.

why use fresh red chillies

I would highly recommend using fresh Thai red chillies (the smaller variety) if you can find them. They deliver that flaming red color and leave behind that spicy tingle on the tongue, usually associated with Asian sweet chilli sauce. Thai red chillies are spicy though, so be careful.

Tip: If you’d like to reduce the heat, slit them open and remove the seeds because the seeds have the most heat in them. Mince the chillies or put them in the food processor. However, don’t make it a very fine paste. Keep it chunky for texture.

frequently asked questions

1. I can't find fresh red chillies, what can I use instead?

If you can’t find fresh red chillies, just use the good old dried red chillies. Soak the dried chillies in warm water to rehydrate them and then grind them up. When your sauce is ready, you should see tiny pieces of chilli and minced garlic floating around. These little bits are the life of the sauce.

2. How to thicken the sauce?

I use cornflour as a thickening agent in my sauce. The mixture may look watery at first, but after the cornflour slurry (equal parts cornflour and water) is added, it develops a thicker consistency. However, you can also use potato starch or tapioca starch if that’s what you have on hand.

3. How to store Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce?

My Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce lasts about 4 weeks when refrigerated. Make sure to store it in a clean and dry glass jar. If not stored correctly, the sauce might go bad really fast.

what to eat with thai sweet chilli sauce

This sauce is hot and sweet, making it a very versatile dipping sauce. You can serve it with finger foods or douse your crispy noodles in it. While it’s mainly used as a dipping sauce, I also use it in stir-fries to add that perfect sweet, salty, spicy flavour.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHIU CHOW CHILI SAUCE