How to Make Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Author: 
Recipe type: Sauce, Condiment
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: about 1 cup
 
Ingredients
  • 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 red Jalapeño or Serrano peppers, deseeded (See note #1 below.)
  • ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup water
  • ½ tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch (See note #2 below.)
  • 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
  1. In the blender, purée together all the ingredients, except for the last two.
  2. 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.
  3. Combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and continue to simmer one more minute. The cornstarch will help the sauce to thicken slightly thereby causing nice suspension of the garlic-pepper bits; otherwise, you get a thin sauce with all the little pieces floating on the surface.
  4. Let cool completely before storing in a glass jar and refrigerate.
Notes
1. I keep the chili seeds in, but your mileage may vary, so adjust the heat accordingly. More seeds = more heat. Keep in mind, however, that the heat is the strongest the day you make the sauce and starts to dissipate gradually. This sauce keeps for a long time, and after a couple of weeks, you can’t even taste the pepper. 2. If you want to make a large batch of this sauce (more than half a gallon) — and you certainly should since this sauce lasts a long time — the best thickener to use is pre-gelatinized or “pre-gel” starch which is both acid- and heat-stable (corn or potato starch is not). It’s marketed under the brand name Clearjel®. Your chilli sauce will remain viscous and maintain the nice suspension for the entire duration of its shelf life when thickened with pre-gelatinized starch. Traditionally, Thai sweet chilli sauce is not thickened with starch; the syrupy consistency is achieved through cooking the sauce containing lots of sugar down until it’s thick enough to create a good suspension of the garlic-pepper bits. However, if you notice, bottled Thai sweet chilli sauce normally contained a starch thickener. You can go either way. I personally prefer the version that contains less sugar which is this one.
Recipe by SheSimmers at https://shesimmers.com/2009/02/how-to-make-thai-sweet-chili-dipping.html