This Thai Sweet Chili Lime Sauce can be used as a dip or added to meals during the cooking process.
You are going to love the DIY Sweet Chili Sauce for the flavor depths and adjustments you can make so that you can prepare this chili sauce easily just the way you like it!
This recipe was first posted on the 10th April 2018 and was enhanced with better pictures later again.
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Ingredient Notes
To make this Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, you will need a handful of common south Asian ingredients.
If you have been cooking stir fries and Asian meals, then you should have some of these ingredients at home.
- Red Chili Pepper — You can pick fresh Thai bird's eye chilies and add about 2–5 Chilies. I used a combination of bird's eye chilies and other red chili varieties. I do use dried chili peppers too for my sauce. With the chilies, you can play around and try using a combination of chili varieties and fresh or dried chilies.
- Garlic — Fresh.
- Ginger — Fresh. Ginger and garlic go hand in hand in Asian cooking.
- Water
- Sugar — I tried this recipe, which was inspired by Pailin's Kitchen's sweet chili sauce, with white sugar and brown sugar and I, personally, prefer the brown sugar version. The brown sugar gives a deeper flavor to the sauce, but the brown sugar turns the sauce a bit darker. I recommend that you use brown sugar or palm sugar to add a fruity taste to your sauce.
- Rice Vinegar — Please use only rice vinegar because I think any other vinegar might be too overpowering for this sweet chili sauce. You want the sauce to be slightly tart sweet and more or less hot, but you do not want it to reek of vinegar. Besides vinegar, I like to add lime juice to add more flavor, which is also acidic, therefore using rice vinegar is the best idea for this sweet chili sauce so that all the flavors can co-exist in harmony.
- Fish Sauce — A secret ingredient for extra flavor. Not all fish sauce tastes the same, start with a good basic fish sauce brand.
- Cornstarch mixed with water — Optional. Aka a slurry. It helps thicken the sauce. If you skip that, your sauce will be runny. I have added more tips about the cornstarch a little further below.
- Lime Juice — Added at the end, it gives the sauce a fresh, zesty citrusy taste, which balances the other flavors.
Tips for the Optional Cornstarch
I don't like too much cornstarch and I enjoy a thinner sauce so that I can use the sauce in stir-fries; therefore, I add less cornstarch.
Eventually, you could add another tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce all the more if you want a jelly consistency.
Another option is to cook down the cause longer without adding any cornstarch, but it won't get the jelly consistency. Adding cornstarch to your sweet chili sauce is a decision you can take on your own.
Just make sure to mix a small quantity (you don't need much cornstarch) in warm water so that it dissolves before you add it to the hot sauce because otherwise, the cornstarch can create lumps in your sauce.
Process Overview
Step 1
Place the chili pepper with ginger, garlic, and water in a blending jar.
OR use a mortar and pestle to grind chili, ginger, and garlic and mix that paste then with water.
Blend everything together.
Step 2
Pour blended chili water into a sauce pan with brown sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce.
Bring to a boil so that the ingredients infuse the sauce.
Step 3
Prepare a slurry with the cornstarch and lukewarm water. Pour slurry into the sauce and combine.
Step 4
Wait for the sauce to cool and pour in the lime juice.
Bottle your sauce and store in a cool place.
📖 Recipe
Thai Sweet Chili Lime Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
To prep the Sauce
- 2-5 Red Chili Peppers I used Bird's eyes and another variety
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Inch Ginger Fresh fresh
- ⅔ Cup Water
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- ⅔ Cup Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce optional
The Slurry
- 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
- 1-2 Tablespoon Lukewarm Water
The Seasoning at the End
- ⅛ Cup Lime Juice
Instructions
- Discard the stem of the chilies and place into a mixer or mortar with pestle.2-5 Red Chili Peppers
- Add the garlic and ginger and if you blend it, add the water as well. If you want to use the mortar with pestle, then smash the ingredients first and then mix with the water. The consistency should be chunky, and you should have some chili pieces in it.3-4 Garlic Cloves, 1 Inch Ginger Fresh, ⅔ Cup Water
- Place a saucepan over the heat and pour in the chili water mixture with the brown sugar, rice vinegar, and fish sauce.1 Cup Brown Sugar, ⅔ Cup Rice Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
- Over a medium to high heat setting, mix the whole content well with a whisk and bring to a rolling boil. When you cook the sauce, keep your eyes and face away from it because the vinegar and chili are pungent.
- Mix the cornstarch with the lukewarm water into a slurry.1 Tablespoon Corn Starch, 1-2 Tablespoon Lukewarm Water
- Take the hot pan from the heat and mix the cornstarch mixture into the pan with the sauce.
- Let the sweet chili sauce cool, and then add the lime juice and mix well in.⅛ Cup Lime Juice
- Store the sauce in a clean, sterilized sauce bottle or jar.
- The sauce gains on flavor and character in the jar over time. I let it sit for a few days before I start using it. Always store in a cool and dry place such as the fridge for up to a few months without a problem.
Notes
- Red Thai bird's eye chilies are hot chilies. Use as little or as many as you like to add heat to your chili lime sauce.
- Use brown sugar to add depth, or palm sugar. Regular sugar will make the sauce more bright.
- Increase the amount of cornstarch by ½ or 1 tbs to make the sauce thicker, or keep out the cornstarch completely if you want a very thin stir-fry chili sauce.
Nutrition
Can the Thai sweet chili sauce turn bad?
Usually, the Thai sweet sauce is refrigerated and ingredients such as the vinegar and sugar make sure that the sauce doesn't turn bad.
Although, you have added water to the sauce, but the sauce is boiled to kill germs.
Just make sure to store the sweet chili sauce in a sterilized jar (as you would do with jam) and the sauce will be good for at least a few months if stored in a cool and dry place.
The quantity of the recipe is smaller, and when reduced during the cooking process, makes about 240 ml or 8 oz. Typically, your sweet chili sauce will get over before it can possibly turn bad.
Serving Ideas and Uses
Use this sauce as a dipping sauce with:
- Egg Rolls
- Spring Rolls
- Fried Chicken Wings
- Samosa
- French Fries & Chips (Yes, so good with a second sour cream-based dip at the side!)
- Fried seafood
- Dumplings/Pot Stickers/Momos
- Kebabs
This sauce can be added to stir fries as well, or add a tablespoon or two as a topping for your fried rice or chow mein noodles.
Another idea is to make sticky sweet chili wings with this sauce.
