Sweet Chili Sauce, Sweet and Hot
Sweet chili sauce has four ingredients: red chilli, sugar, vinegar and garlic, boiled together and thickened with cornflour at the end. The base ratio is one cup of sugar to half a cup of vinegar, with the chilli set to the heat you want.
- Prep
- 8 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Calories
- 55
This sauce sells in every supermarket at a steep markup, and all its ingredients are already common. Its advantage is that it goes with almost everything: crispy chicken, spring rolls, prawns, even cheese.
Method
-
1
Boil
Put the sugar, vinegar, water and salt in a small pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely and it comes to the boil.
⏱ 4 min -
2
Chilli and garlic
Add the garlic, chillies and flakes, lower the heat and let it simmer gently for eight minutes so the flavour concentrates.
⏱ 8 min -
3
The cornflour
Dissolve the cornflour thoroughly in two spoons of cold water and pour it into the bubbling sauce while stirring. It thickens in under a minute.
⏱ 2 min -
4
Cool
Take it off the heat — it thickens further as it cools, so don't wait for it to look thick in the pan.
-
5
Store
Once completely cool, transfer to a sterilised glass jar. It keeps a month in the fridge.
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Tips that actually matter
- The cornflour has to be dissolved in cold water first. Added dry, it forms lumps.
- The seeds are the source of the heat — leave them out if you want it more sweet than hot.
- Rice vinegar is milder and closer to the original; white vinegar works but is sharper.
- If it's too thick once cooled, stir in a spoon of hot water.
People also ask
Why is my sauce runny?
Not enough cornflour, or it didn't come back to the boil. Return it to the heat and add half a spoon more cornflour dissolved in cold water.
How long does it keep?
A month in a sealed jar in the fridge. The sugar and vinegar act as preservatives.
What do I serve it with?
Crispy chicken, spring rolls, fried prawns and chips. It also goes into fried rice.
Cook mode
Sweet Chili Sauce, Sweet and Hot
-
1
Boil
Put the sugar, vinegar, water and salt in a small pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely and it comes to the boil.
-
2
Chilli and garlic
Add the garlic, chillies and flakes, lower the heat and let it simmer gently for eight minutes so the flavour concentrates.
-
3
The cornflour
Dissolve the cornflour thoroughly in two spoons of cold water and pour it into the bubbling sauce while stirring. It thickens in under a minute.
-
4
Cool
Take it off the heat — it thickens further as it cools, so don't wait for it to look thick in the pan.
-
5
Store
Once completely cool, transfer to a sterilised glass jar. It keeps a month in the fridge.
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