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    Home > Recipes > Thai

    How To Make Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

    Published: Feb 3, 2016 · Modified: Apr 19, 2022 · by Jess Smith · Jump to Recipe · 19 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links.

    a spoonful of Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
    Thai Sweet Chili Sauce in a small white bowl
    sweet chili sauce in a small white bowl
    thai sweet chili sauce

    sweet chili sauce in a small white bowl

    Sweet, sticky, totally addictive Thai Chili Sauce for dipping grilled meats, spring rolls, dumplings, potstickers, fried wontons, crab rangoon and just about anything else you can dream up.

    I can never believe  how much they charge for this sauce in bottles at the store. It's incredibly cheap and easy to make at home.

    In testing recipes for this month of Thai food, we've gone through many batches of this amazing sauce. And every time a jar of it was sitting on the kitchen counter, inevitably someone walked into the room and told me how much they love it. As in, "Jess, I could drink that stuff."

    And I'm right there too.

    This dipping sauce is the definition of yum.  It's sweet and tart with bright flecks of chilis and garlic.

    Thai Sweet Chili Sauce on a wooden table

    To those who don't love Spicy Food

    If you don't love spice, this totally authentic Thai sauce is your new best friend.

    The batch you see photographed here was not even the tiniest bit spicy. I carefully sliced all the veins out of the jalapeños and took out all but a few seeds. Once the sauce is simmered with sugar, any spice has disappeared. I'd feed this sauce to anyone, including kids, without hesitation.

    If you are one of many people out there who don't love spicy food, we've got you covered all month long. While some Thai recipes are inherently spicy, we're going to give you tips and tricks all month so you can adapt many of our favorite recipes to fit any spice preference.
    peppers, sugar and garlic in a food processor

    And if you like a little heat, leave some of those seeds and veins in the mix. You'll still get the sweet, tart flavors, with a bit of heat at the end.

    Thai Sweet Chili Sauce in a small white bowl

    How To Use It

    Oh my, the list of ways you can use this sauce is endless. In Thailand, we love the classic combination of sticky rice and grilled pork or chicken on skewers (satay). Roll the rice in balls, dip it in the sauce. Now that is a meal.

    But we've got lots of other ideas for you. Serve the dipping sauce with:

    Fresh Summer Rolls  (show here dipped in Hoisin Peanut Sauce which is also amazing)

    Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce

    Baked Crab Rangoon

    Baked Crab Rangoon // Inquiring Chef

    Crispy Scallion Pancakes

    scallion pancakes

    Baked Spring Rolls (one of the most popular recipes on this site)

    Baked Spring Rolls // Inquiring Chef

    More of Our Favorite Thai Recipes

    • Thai Beef Salad (Nam Tok)
    • Easy Pad Thai
    • Thai Massaman Curry with Beef
    • Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)
    • Thai Green Curry with Chicken
    • Thai Pomelo Salad (Yam Som O)
    • Thai Red Curry with Chicken
    • Thai Minced Chicken Salad (Laab / Larb Gai)
    • Thai Noodle Mason Jars with Peanut Dressing
    • Thai Pomelo Salad (Yam Som O)
    • Thai-Style Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)

    Favorite Tools

    • 6-inch Global Knife
    • Cutting Board
    • Food Processor or Blender
    • All Clad Saucepan 
    • Whisk
    sweet chili sauce in a small white bowl
    Print Recipe
    4.47 from 13 votes

    Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

    Our recipe for the totally addictive sweet Thai Chili Sauce that is perfect for dipping grilled meats, spring rolls (fried or fresh), dumplings, potstickers, fried wontons, crab rangoon. You name it, we've probably dipped it in this sauce!
    Makes 2 cups
    Can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    Total Time20 mins
    Course: Sauce
    Cuisine: Thai
    Keyword: dipping sauce, DIY Thai, easy Thai recipe
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 116kcal
    Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
    Cost: $3.00

    Equipment

    • Food Processor or Blender
    • Saucepan

    Ingredients

    For Sauce:

    • 5 Red Jalapeno Peppers (see note about spice)
    • 5 cloves Garlic
    • 1 cup Sugar
    • 1 cup Rice Vinegar
    • ¾ cup Water
    • ½ teaspoon Salt

    For Thickener (optional):

    • 2 tablespoon Hot Water
    • 2 tablespoon Cornstarch

    Instructions

    • Slice peppers in half. Remove seeds and veins to your liking (see note below).
    • In the bowl of a food processor or blender combine peppers, garlic, sugar, vinegar, water and salt. Blend until only very small flecks of the peppers remain.
    • Transfer to a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. (Make sure you stir the sauce frequently as it cooks - it's prone to bubble over.)
    • To Thicken: Whisk together 2 tablespoon hot water and 2 tablespoon Cornstarch and add it to the sauce. Simmer for a couple minutes longer, until the sauce is thickened to your liking. (You can also skip the addition of the cornstarch and just simmer the sauce down until it reduces by about half which takes 15 to 20 minutes. I think the flavor is more "clean" this way, but it yields a more watery sauce. The cornstarch addition is definitely the fastest and easiest way to go.)

    Notes

    The spice in jalapeños can vary, but almost all of the spice is in the seeds and veins, so you can remove those to limit the heat. If you want a kid-friendly sauce with no spice at all, remove all the seeds and veins. You can even use red bell peppers to make the sauce (zero spice). This is a great way to go if you want to make a portion of the sauce without spice and some with. Add red pepper flakes to taste to the portion of the spice you want to be spicy.
    Feel free to halve this recipe or double (or triple!) it. It keeps for 3-4 weeks in the fridge, but never lasts that long at our house.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 37mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 83IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

    *This post contains affiliate links*

    And with that, these two ladies are off to take a bath. And maybe pull down a curtain or two on the way...
    M and C Feb Morning

     

    Related

    « How to Make Thai Fried Rice
    Salmon with Sweet Chili Lime Butter and Roasted Broccoli »

    About Jess

    Hi! I'm Jess. I am the recipe creator and photographer behind the 900+ recipes you’ll find on Inquiring Chef. As a mom to three young kids and professional cook, my mission is to make every moment in the kitchen and around the table count. If you’re looking for easy, flavorful, family-approved recipes, you’ve come to the right place! Learn more about me here.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Norma O.Riess

      February 03, 2016 at 12:46 pm

      Can I use fresh Thai chili peppers instead of the jalapeño peppers? If I do, how many Thai peppers should I use?

      Reply
      • Jess

        February 03, 2016 at 7:52 pm

        Hi Norma - yes yes! You can certainly use Thai chili peppers. In Thailand we always made this sauce with fresh Thai chili peppers. The number you use will very much depend on your level of spice preference, and they do tend to be quite a bit spicier than red jalapeños. However, if you're okay with a bit of heat, I'd start with the same number of chili peppers as listed in the recipe (no matter what type you're using), but remove the seeds and veins. Let us know how it turns out!

        Reply
    2. Norma O.Riess

      February 03, 2016 at 8:15 pm

      Thank you. I can easily find the Thai chili peppers, bird's eye chilis in Asian markets here in Maryland. I usually buy quite a few and freeze them. Works well with any kind of chili pepper too.

      Reply
      • Jess

        February 04, 2016 at 9:26 pm

        That's great Norma - we have to really look to find birds eye chilis here in Kansas City. Just a word of caution that, as you probably know, those can be super spicy - so do be cautious on how many you use in this sauce! Enjoy!

        Reply
    3. Norma O.Riess

      February 04, 2016 at 11:43 pm

      Hi. Try ordering Thai fresh produce and other things from import food.com. They seem to have everything, including great Thai recipes.

      Reply
      • Jess

        February 05, 2016 at 1:15 pm

        Thanks for the tip, Norma - I'll check it out!

        Reply
    4. James

      March 03, 2017 at 9:41 pm

      Followed the recipe and it doesn't seem red. Seems more clear or opaque with dots if Thai chilies. Did we miss something ?

      Reply
      • Jess

        March 08, 2017 at 8:47 pm

        James - I'm sure you didn't miss anything. Peppers are all a little different and some will release a bit more red hue into the sauce than others. I've definitely made batches of this sauce that came out with less of a red tint, though usually red jalapeños do turn the sauce that nice red. The red color is pleasant but it shouldn't affect the taste. Hope that helps!

        Reply
    5. elle

      October 28, 2017 at 5:16 am

      5 stars
      thanks for this recipe! your babies are adorable!

      Reply
      • Jess

        November 02, 2017 at 1:27 pm

        Thanks Elle - you're so sweet to say so!

        Reply
    6. Riya Panday

      December 27, 2017 at 12:15 am

      5 stars
      So easy! At the moment we have two big chilis but they’re popping up every day. I’ll definitely be making this soon!

      Reply
    7. Joan Auerbach

      January 18, 2018 at 8:11 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is so easy and inexpensive to make! The hardest part was finding RED (ripe) Jalapenos. I found them at the farmers market. Suggestion: use LESS sugar - a whole cup is too much. You might also consider wearing disposable gloves like I do.

      Reply
      • Jess

        January 29, 2018 at 12:27 pm

        Thanks so much for your note Joan. It is a little tricky to find red jalapeños, but I'm jealous that you were able to find them at your farmer's market! GREAT tip to use disposable gloves. Some of those peppers can be super spicy.

        Reply
    8. Joyce Miguel

      October 09, 2018 at 7:19 pm

      Can this be used with a sugar substitute? I haven’t made it yet.

      Reply
    9. Signe Vistisen

      May 08, 2020 at 4:31 pm

      This sauce is excellent. We are going to use a bit less sugar next time. Also we added more cornstarch as it didn t thicken to our liking (we actually doubled the amount!). Thanks for this one! Read More 4 Stars because of minor adjustments needed, here s how I made it 5 STAR: 1-Cut the sugar down (almost in half) 2-Double the Cornstarch (mix it with a little cold water before adding to avoid clumping) 3-I used hot chili oil instead of a fresh pepper, 4-I was out of fresh ginger, used ginger powder instead. Enjoying this dip paired with veggie spring rolls even as I type the review; very delicious! Thanks! Read More

      Reply
    10. Sabrina

      December 20, 2020 at 7:37 am

      Can this be made with green jalapeños?

      Reply
      • Jess Smith

        December 20, 2020 at 8:52 am

        Yes! It will look different but taste basically the same.

        Reply
    11. Garry Taylor

      May 17, 2021 at 8:03 am

      5 stars
      Hey, I wondered if I batch made this, would hot bath be the right way forward for preserving?
      many thanks

      Reply
      • Jess Smith

        May 25, 2021 at 3:14 pm

        Hi Garry - I've never tried it but it has a sufficient amount of sugar that my guess would be a hot water bath (of course, following all necessary food safety measures) would be the way to go!

        Reply

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