Thai sweet chili sauce may not be one of the condiments you reach for, but that could change quickly.
It’s really versatile and goes well with everything from fish to French fries.
Trust me.
The Accidental Locavore’s husband, Frank, first fell in love with it at the Oakhurst Diner in Millerton and promptly ordered a couple of bottles. One evening we were desperately scraping the last bits out of the bottle.
There had to be a recipe online.
There was, and now Thai sweet chili sauce is always in our fridge.
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe:
Quick and easy, this makes about a cup.
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 red Jalapeño or Serrano chiles, stemmed and seeded
- ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
In a blender, purée the garlic, chiles, vinegar, sugar, salt and water.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the mixture thickens up a bit and the garlic-pepper bits begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
In a small bowl or cup, mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and continue to simmer until the sauce starts to thicken slightly (and causes a nice suspension of the garlic-pepper bits). Let cool completely before storing in a glass jar. Serve and enjoy!
My verdict:
Another thing we’ll never buy again!
It’s probably better made with a blender, but if all you have is a food processor, that will work too.
This version was a little hotter than the bottled one (we did save a bit for comparison), but it really mellows after a couple of days in the fridge.
If you’re worried about the heat, finely chop all the chiles, throw a little bit in the blender and add more until it gets to your desired heat level. A lot will depend on the chiles you have (and if all you have are green ones, that’s fine, it might just look a little weird).
Store the chili sauce in the refrigerator and let us know in the comments what your favorite use for it is.
