When I made eggrolls the other day we had a Thai sweet chili dipping sauce to go with it. This sauce was from the Asian market and was very flavorful, like spicy sweet and sour sauce. As we ate the eggrolls the sauce quickly depleated. Not wanting to make a special trip to the Asian market just for the Sweet Chili sauce, I decided to use my witchcraft and just make a batch to use with the last of our eggrolls. Seriously, it took 10 minutes total. And that includes how long it took to assemble my ingredients. Talk about quick! I made the sauce much like I do my sweet & sour, sugar and vinegar, thickened with a bit of cornstarch. To make it more like the Thai sweet chili sauce we had enjoyed I added finely grated carrot, garlic and of course chili paste. I was absolutely thrilled when the clear sauce took on the orange hue that the bottled one had. The carrot adds sweetness, earthiness as well as coloring to the sauce. Sambal chili paste added the heat as well as more orange color. The great thing about making your own chili sauce is that you can adjust the heat. I made mine a bit spicy and it was perfect. I can also see using this for my sweet & sour stir fries. Yum!
Sweet Chili sauce
makes about 12 servings
1 cup sugar
3/4 c white vinegar
1/2 c water
1-2 T chili paste
3 cloves garlic crushed but left whole
1 carrot fine grated
1 T corn starch
pinch of salt
In a small sauce pan combine the vinegar, water, sugar, garlic and carrot. Bring to a boil and cook at high boil for 3 minutes.
Make a cornstarch slurry of cornstarch and equal amounts water and slowly add to syrup then add the chili paste and a pinch of salt and boil for 3 minutes longer.
Taste and add more chili paste if needed. Remove garlic before serving.
Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 75.3
Total Fat 0.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 149.8 mg
Potassium 36.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 19.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.4 g
Sugars 18.0 g
Protein 0.0 g
How do you think this would be with half of the sugar? I can't do that much. I make my own sauces all the time and mostly they involve fish sauce, soy sauce, chili/garlic paste and sesame oil.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making this! I can't wait to make it too! I've been looking for a good recipe for sweet chili sauce - it looks exactly .. wait, it looks BETTER than the store bought stuff!!
ReplyDeleteMmmm. I bet that is good, Andrea! Love the color and the bit of sweetness.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea, your version of this sauce sounds tangy and flavourful! Can't wait to make the sauce at home now! Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteHomemade sauces are worth an attempt because one can alter the amount of a particular ingredient according to his/her taste!
http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.com
I love that bottled sauce, so I think you are an absolute genius for making your own!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would wait to have eggrolls. I'd just dip a spoon in there and have at it. :) Hey... I wonder what these things would taste like as a candy... And how would you get them to harden? A bit of corn syrup?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so good. And so pretty, very nice pic. I am eyeing the spring rolls underneath as well. I have never eaten a spring roll. Weird I know but I have this weird things touching thing. Silly. lol
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! Never thought i could have my own chili sauce! this recipe is uncovering so many possibilities!
ReplyDeleteI should do this. Look at the money, I would save. You are a clever witch.
ReplyDeleteI really need to start making my own sauces! Yours looks so good, and is pretty easy!
ReplyDeleteThat's am amazing sweet chilli sauce, Andrea. I will try to make it myself. Great recipe!!
ReplyDeletehttp://spoon-and-chopsticks.blogspot.com/
I can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteWow, looks great. I would have never thought to make this.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you made your own!!! I will have to try this for sure!
ReplyDeleteYOu should be able to purchase a bottle of Sweet Chili Sauce at the grocery store in the Asian Section. If you take an equal portion of that and equal portion of Apricot Preserves you'll have an amazing sauce to dip egg rolls or summer rolls in. It's out of this world.
ReplyDeleteI've never made the homemade sweet chili sauce though. I'll have to try your recipe.
What a great idea! I LOVE this sauce.
ReplyDelete