Six Ingredient Sweet Chili Sauce

I am a condiments girl. For me, a meal is just not complete without a variety of dressings to dip or drizzle with whatever I am eating. You should see inside my refrigerator. It’s mostly just sauces.

This sticky, sweet and spicy sauce was created to drizzle over my Tamarind Chicken Lettuce Wraps. It has just the right amount of kick to balance out the cool, crisp fresh vegetables. I ended up loving it so much and have been eating it nonstop. It’s delicious over salads, tossed with noodles or as a dip for crudité!

The best part of making this sauce is how easy it is! I did NOT go to the grocery store to procure a single ingredient for this recipe. These are pantry staples for me. If they are not pantry staples for you, they can be found at practically any grocery store.

Here’s what you need:

How to make sweet chili sauce:

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, toss everything, except for the cornstarch into a medium sauce pan and give it a good whisk. Bring the sauce up to a simmer and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. The flavors will marry together and the sauce will reduce just a bit.

Thicken the sauce.

Make a ‘slurry’ with the cornstarch by mixing it with a couple tablespoons of water. Stir it until it is completely smooth. Pour the slurry to the simmering sauce. Whisk vigorously as you are pouring it in to prevent the cornstarch from clumping up. You will almost instantly begin to feel resistance in the sauce and it will become glossy and viscous.

Keep the sauce simmering for about an additional 5 minutes as it reduces and continues to thicken up. Finally, remove it from the heat, allow it to cool, then pour it into a lidded container to refrigerate until you are ready to use. It may still appear a little loose right out of the pan, but as it cools it will thicken up.

Keep unused sauce refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Other recipes to try:

• Pineapple, Tamarind Curry Ketchup
• Grilled Peach and Hatch Chili Salsa
• Awesome Peanut Sauce