I first made this sweet chilli sauce on my ski season. It was about an hour before service and I’d run out of the batch we’d made at the start of the season – as had the chalet next door. There was no time to pop to the shops and nothing to borrow from next door. The only option – come up with something else, fast. Enter this super simple sweet chilli sauce recipe. Tweaked since my ski season, I’ve changed this up a little bit to my taste.
No need to buy sweet chilli sauce again!
Buying sweet chilli sauce from the shop is fine. But I always get a little put off by all the preservatives and other bits and pieces they add. In it’s purest form, sweet chilli sauce is really just a sugar syrup with a couple of extra ingredients added for the flavour. With this super simple recipe, I honestly think there will never be a need to buy it from the shops again. As a bonus, it should last about a month in a cool, dark cupboard.
This super simple sauce can be knocked up in about twenty minutes – but make sure you allow enough time to cool! It’ll probably take anywhere from an hour to two hours to come down to just above room temperature. Of course that’s just my rough estimate – larger batches may take longer.
I’m sure you’ve all had sweet chilli sauce before. This is a great accompaniment to loads of different dishes. I like it with breaded chicken goujons or as a sauce in a chicken pitta or sandwich! Basically, I like it with chicken..!
If you’re a spice fiend, try increasing the number of chillis you use or try using a different type of chilli altogether. Birds eye chillis will make this super punchy!
- 250g Caster sugar
- 275ml Water
- 1-2 Medium heat red chillis
- 2 Average sized garlic cloves
- 1 Small knob of ginger
- 3tbsp Rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar will do)
- 1tsp Salt
- Peel, de-seed and finely chop all the fresh ingredients
- Alternatively, peel and de-seed then quickly blitz them in a blender until they reach a finely chopped consistency
- Add the sugar and water to the pan (the weights and measures are a guide - this is roughly equivalent to 1:1 sugar:water by volume, to make a simple sugar syrup)
- On a high heat, ensure the sugar is dissolved in the water
- Throw all the finely chopped and other ingredients into the pan
- Bring to the boil
- Reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble gently for around ten minutes, or until the mixture starts to coat the back of a spoon
- Pour into a preserving jar and allow to cool
- As the sauce cools, it will thicken
- It's a bit of an art form getting the consistency right. If at first it comes out too thin don't worry - just pop it back in the pan and put it on the heat for a few minutes until it thickens up a little further.