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Sauce recipe

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

Sweet, sharp and properly chilli-flecked, rather than the bottled stuff that is mostly syrup.

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
The ratio
  • 4 partsWater
  • 3 partsSugar
  • 2 partsRice vinegar
  • To tasteRed chilli
What you need
  • 200ml water
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 120ml rice vinegar
  • 6 long red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
Makes
About 400ml
Ready in
20
Keeps
1 month in the fridge
How to make it
  1. Put the water, sugar, rice vinegar, salt and fish sauce in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Add the chopped chilli and garlic. Simmer gently for 8 minutes so they soften and release their heat.
  3. Stir the cornflour slurry again, then pour it in while whisking.
  4. Simmer for 1–2 minutes more until it thickens and turns glossy. It should still look a little loose.
  5. Take off the heat and cool completely — it will thicken to a proper pouring consistency.
  6. Bottle and refrigerate.
About this sauce

Homemade sweet chilli sauce is a revelation if you have only had the supermarket version. It is sharper, less cloying, and you can see actual chilli suspended through it.

It thickens dramatically as it cools, so take it off the heat while it still looks too thin. A sauce that coats the spoon in the pan will set like jam in the jar.

What to put it on

Spring rolls, fried chicken, grilled prawns, fish cakes, roast cauliflower, and stirred into mayonnaise for a fast dipping sauce.