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My easy homemade Garlic Chili Sauce recipe comes together in minutes for a vibrant sauce that tastes so much better than store-bought. Using easy ingredients, this is the perfect dip or glaze for your favorite Asian-inspired recipes!
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Chili Garlic Sauce
Garlic chili sauce might be one of my favorite sauces. It's the perfect sweet and spicy sauce for adding to ramen to make it more exciting, topping ground beef lettuce wraps, dipping dumplings in, or serving with egg rolls and noodle stir fry!
Store-bought sauce is often too sweet and expensive. Making your own Asian chili garlic sauce means you can adjust the flavors and ingredients to make the perfect sauce for your tastes. If you've tried my reader-favorite Chinese chicken, this is the same sauce, and you know it's irresistible!
The secret to this sauce is how customizable it is. While this base recipe is my favorite blend of flavors, you can simplify it down by making it with no more than the chilis, honey, onion, and ketchup, or make it more complex with additions like cashews, sesame seeds, and peppercorns.
Tools to Make Garlic Chili Sauce
- A small saucepan or skillet for cooking the sauce.
- A cutting board for dicing the chilis and onion.
- A set of kitchen gloves to keep your hands safe from chili spice.
- A whisk appropriate for your saucepan.
Ingredients in Garlic Chili Sauce
- Light oil: Any light oil such as walnut oil, peanut oil, or avocado oil will work great. You just don't want to use a super flavorful oil.
- Red onion: Red onion has a nice zest with just a hint of sweetness, perfect for this sauce.
- Garlic ginger paste: Garlic ginger paste is a pre-mixed paste of very finely ground garlic cloves and ginger root. If you can't find any, you can easily make your own by finely grating 1 part ginger to 2 parts garlic with a little oil.
- Red chili pepper: Use a fresh red chilis, not dried. If you can find one, use a thai chili.
- Green chili pepper: Same as above- use a fresh green pepper. Thai chiles will have the best flavor.
- Ketchup: Ketchup adds tomato, sweetness, and vinegar all in one! Alternatively, you can use tomato paste and rice vinegar.
- Honey: Adjust the amount of honey to your tastes, or swap it out for white sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
- Sweet chili sauce: If you don't have any, swap it out for a half tablespoon of hot sauce and honey.
- Soy sauce: Soy sauce adds umami and savory flavor that helps even out the sweet and spicy flavors.
- Cashews (optional): I like to add in cashew chips for a finisher, but you can leave them out for a nut free sauce!
- Green onions (optional): Used as a topping or mixed into the sauce raw.
Garlic Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ Tablespoon Walnut oil - or other light oil
- 1 small Red onion
- 2 teaspoons Garlic ginger paste
- 1 Red chili pepper
- 1 Green chili pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet chili sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
- Cashews - optional, topping
- Green onions - optional, topping
Instructions
- Dice the chilis and onion finely, removing the seeds if desired.1 small Red onion,1 Red chili pepper,1 Green chili pepper
- Add the diced onions, chilis, and garlic ginger paste to a saucepan with the oil. Gently stir-fry over medium-low heat until the onions are soft.½ Tablespoon Walnut oil,2 teaspoons Garlic ginger paste
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir well.3 Tablespoons Ketchup,1 teaspoon Honey,1 Tablespoon Sweet chili sauce,1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, then remove, let cool, and serve! Top with cashew chips and onions if desired.Cashews,Green onions
Notes
- You can do a lot of customizing with this sauce, as there's no one perfect way to make it. For example, you can add sesame seeds or chili flakes to adjust the texture and flavor.
- For a slight flavor twist, try using Szechuan peppercorns cracked into the sauce, or simmered in it and removed before serving.
- You can also use chili garlic paste and add in ginger.
- If you're making gluten-free chili garlic sauce, swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos and scale back the amount of honey.
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Isabel! I've been sharing my recipes online, in cookbooks, and in TV specials since 2012. The most important thing to me is Sunday supper with my family, and inspiring togetherness with my recipes!
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How to Make Garlic Chili Sauce: Detailed Instructions
Step 1: Dice the vegetables. Using gloves while handling the chilis, dice both the red onion and chilis into very small, minced pieces. Remove the seeds, or leave them in for a spicier sauce.
Step 2: Stir-fry. Add the diced onions, chilis, garlic ginger paste, and oil to a pan on medium-low heat, and stir-fry gently until the onions are soft but not too browned.
Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients. Add ketchup, honey, sweet chili sauce, and soy sauce to the pan, and mix well.
Step 4: Simmer. Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring well, then take it off the heat. Let cool slightly, and serve!
Tips for Making Chili Garlic Sauce
- You can do a lot of customizing with this sauce, as there's no one perfect way to make it. For example, you can add sesame seeds or chili flakes to adjust the texture and flavor.
- For a slight flavor twist, try using Szechuan peppercorns cracked into the sauce, or simmered in it and removed before serving.
- You can also use chili garlic paste and add in ginger.
- If you're making gluten-free chili garlic sauce, swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos and scale back the amount of honey.
Chili Garlic Sauce Storage
- Fridge: You can store homemade chili garlic sauce in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I recommend storing it in a glass bottle so the flavor doesn't leech into plastic.
- Freezer: Because this is a dairy-free sauce, you don't need to worry about the sauce splitting when it freezes. This makes it a perfect option for making ahead and freezing for later. I recommend freezing it in ice cube trays and popping the frozen cubes into a freezer safe bag.
- Thawing: Thaw frozen sauce in the fridge overnight or in a small saucepan over low heat.
FAQ
The difference can be a bit confusing, as "garlic chili sauce" and "chili sauce" are both versatile names that describe many kinds of sauce depending on the cuisine. Chili sauce, however, is typically a smooth sauce made from almost exclusively chilis and vinegar, while chili garlic sauce is a more complex sauce made from a mix of various ingredients.
Almost, but not quite. Soy sauce, which is included in this sauce, contains a very small amount of wheat gluten. To completely avoid it, use tamari, or make it soy-free by swapping them out for coconut aminos.
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