This Sweet Chili Sauce recipe is truly the perfect sweet, sour, and spicy dipping sauce. It’s easy to assemble and perfect for serving with egg rolls, Lumpia, chicken and so many other foods.
I love Thai Sweet Chili Sauce for dipping all kinds of things, but none of the store-bought varieties I’ve tried were quite right on their own. Until recently, I’ve been buying three different bottled varieties and mixing them together to get the taste I wanted.
That was when I realized that I could make my own Sweet Chili Sauce for the same amount of effort and less money. I looked at numerous recipes and they are all so different. I tried a few, made some adjustments and came up with this delicious Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe.
I am so very happy to tell you that this recipe is PERFECT. I wouldn’t change a single thing about this sauce.
After we had this with dinner last night, both of my older boys were grinning like crazy and they informed me it was even better than store-bought sweet chili sauce.
The boys have asked me to make lumpia (Filipino Egg Rolls) again, just so we can use this Lumpia Sauce with it. I agree, this sweet chili sauce is definitely better than anything I’ve bought from a store.
It’s even better than many restaurant chili sauces I’ve tasted. This sauce is fantastic!
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
If you enjoy Asian food, chances are good you’ve come across sweet chili sauce before. Called “nam chim kai” in Thailand, this sauce is sweet, tangy, garlicky and spicy with a thick texture that makes it perfect for dipping.
I’m a garlic lover so my recipe includes plenty of crushed garlic. Instead of chopping or mincing the garlic, I leave the crushed glove in whole so the sauce soaks up the wonderful garlic flavor without being overpowered by it. This allows the chili flavor to really shine through.
Thai Sweet Chili sauce is delicious with Baked Spring Rolls, Vietnamese Summer Rolls and crispy Chinese egg rolls. We also love to dip Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites into this perfect sauce. Pop a toothpick in each chicken bite and serve on a platter with a bowl full of Sweet Chili Sauce for a great party snack or appetizer.
As I mentioned before, this recipe also makes a perfect Lumpia Sauce.
Chili Sauce Ingredients
A flavorful chili paste creates the base for this easy chili sauce recipe. I use Sambal Oelek when I make chili sauce. Be sure to get a chili paste that doesn’t have additional sweeteners or garlic added as this will affect the flavor of the finished sauce.
Simple table sugar and white vinegar combine to bring the sweet and sour taste to the sauce. The whole garlic clove is boiled with the sugar, vinegar, chili paste and water to impart lots of garlic flavor before being discarded.
All of these ingredients are pretty standard in most chili sauce recipes I’ve found. The secret to next level chili sauce is the addition of a very finely grated carrot.
I use a microplane grater to get the carrot into teeny tiny shreds so as not to disrupt the smooth thick texture of the sauce. The carrot adds a lovely color to the sauce along with a little extra flavor. This sauce definitely doesn’t taste carrot-y and most people will never know you snuck a vegetable into their dipping sauce!
Finally, the thick and smooth texture is achieved by adding cornstarch or arrowroot powder into the boiling sauce.
Now that I’ve found this sauce recipe my days of mixing together three different grocery store dipping sauces are over. Once you’ve made your own Sweet Chili Sauce, I bet you’ll never go back to store-bought!
Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
- Combine all ingredients, except the cornstarch, in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow it to boil on high heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this is boiling, whisk or stir together the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water.
- After 3 minutes, slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the boiling mixture on the stove. Stir to combine and reduce heat to a low boil. Allow it to boil, stirring frequently, for 2 more minutes.
- Taste and add more chili paste if desired. Remove and discard the garlic. Serve warm or allow to cool and refrigerate until needed. Sauce can be served hot or cold. Enjoy!
