Description

This easy-to-make Sweet Chili Sauce offers a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors that complements a variety of dishes. With simple ingredients like rice vinegar, cane sugar, garlic, and chili, this sauce is ideal as a dip, marinade, or glaze. It thickens beautifully thanks to cornstarch, and can be customized with sambal oelek or chili flakes to adjust the heat level.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Sweet Chili Sauce Ingredients

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons cane sugar (or granular sweetener like erythritol for sugar-free alternative)
1 tablespoon rice wine (or substitute with dry sherry)
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (adjust to taste) OR 1-2 teaspoons dried red chili flakes
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
1-2 drops natural red food coloring (optional)

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Instructions

Combine Ingredients: Place all ingredients except the cornstarch mixture in a small saucepan. This includes rice vinegar, water, cane sugar, rice wine, sambal oelek or chili flakes, garlic, ginger, and tamari or soy sauce.
Bring to Boil: Heat the saucepan on medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring regularly to dissolve the sugar completely and blend the flavors evenly.
Thicken Sauce: Once boiling, stir in the cornstarch mixture dissolved in water. Continue stirring constantly until the sauce thickens, which takes about one minute. This ensures a smooth and glossy consistency.
Cool and Store: Remove the saucepan from heat and allow the sauce to cool completely. Then pour it into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator. The sauce will keep fresh for up to a week.

Notes

You can adjust the heat level by varying the amount or type of chili used; dried chili flakes are hotter, so start with less if you prefer milder sauce.
For a gluten-free version, substitute soy sauce with tamari.
The sauce thickens more as it cools, so achieve a slightly thinner consistency when cooking.
Add natural red food coloring for a vibrant look, but it’s optional and doesn’t affect the flavor.
This recipe yields about 1 cup (8 servings of 2 tablespoons each).

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 tablespoons (about 30ml)
Calories: 60
Sugar: 14g
Sodium: 150mg
Fat: 0g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 16g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg