What is sweet Thai chili sauce made of?

Thai sweet chili sauce, or Nam Chim Kai, is made of fresh chilis, garlic, sugar, vinegar, water, salt, and thickening starch like tapioca, cornstarch, or flour.

What can you substitute for Thai sweet chili sauce?

You can use Sriracha, chili garlic sauce, or Sambal Oelek, but they are not as sweet and will not have the same flavors. You will get the spicy flavors but not the thick, sweet taste of Thai sweet dipping sauce.

Is there a difference between sweet Thai chili sauce and sweet chili sauce?

There are many Thai chili sauce recipes in Thai cuisine. The sweet chili sauce is the sauce (this recipe) used for dipping grilled chicken, egg rolls, spring rolls, and shrimp cakes.

Is Thai sweet red chili sauce hot?

The store-bought bottle of this sauce is only a little bit spicy. It has a very mild hot sauce taste with a mostly sweet flavor. You can add more chilis for the homemade version to make it spicier.

Homemade Thai Sweet Chili dipping Sauce

Name: Homemade Thai Sweet Chili dipping Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1-6 fresh Thai chilis; 5 cloves of garlic; 1/4 cup vinegar; 2/3 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 Tablespoon starch. Tapioca, corn, potato, or regular flour.; 1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons for making tapioca starch slurry

Description

This homemade Thai sweet chili dipping sauce, or Nam Jim Gai, is one of the easiest sauces to whip up for party appetizers. Its simple recipe calls for only seven ingredients, including water! Ready for dipping in 20 minutes!

Ingredients

Scale

1-6 fresh Thai chilis
5 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon starch. Tapioca, corn, potato, or regular flour.
1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons for making tapioca starch slurry

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Instructions

Add fresh chili and garlic to a spice grinder and blitz for a few seconds only. Leave some of the chunks intact for texture.
Make the tapioca slurry. Add 1 tablespoon of starch with 2 tablespoons of water, mix until dissolved, and set aside.
Add the remaining ingredients to a saucepan (not the slurry yet). Bring the sauce to a gentle boil on medium-high heat and stir often. It takes about 4-5 minutes.
Lower the temperature to medium heat and add the tapioca slurry. Stir in well and cook until the sauce thickens. It takes about 3-4 minutes. If it doesn't thicken enough for you, add a little extra cornstarch mixture and stir well. It will thicken as it sits too.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool. You now have yourself an authentic sweet chili sauce! Add thinly sliced carrots and cilantro to garnish for extra crunch and flavor. Enjoy your favorite appetizers!

Notes

If you can’t handle the heat but want more of the red color in the sauce, add sliced red bell peppers.
Adjust the number of chilis as needed for different spice levels. Add more or less Thai red chilies to make this spicy sauce work for you.
If you don’t have a spice grinder, use a mortar and pestle to crush the chilis and garlic until they are roughly pounded but not paste-like.
If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, chop the chili and garlic into small pieces.
You can use a food processor, too, by adding everything minus the tapioca slurry and blending only very quickly. Leaving the garlic and chilis somewhat in chunks.

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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15
Category: Sauces
Method: Stove top
Cuisine: Thai