How to make Sweet Chili Sauce at home? (Perfect Glaze for meatballs)

The ideal dipping sauce for everything it touches, Sweet Chili Sauce is a little bit sweet and a little bit spicy.

Sweet chili sauce, a favorite dipping sauce for coconut shrimp, is also a great glaze for meatballs, meatloaf, chicken wings, and even salmon. Make your sweet chili sauce, use it as a marinade, a barbecue sauce, or a dip, and watch it vanish.

The definition of sweet chili sauce

• Similar to bottled Thai sweet chili sauce, this is a hot and sour sauce.
• The flavor is mildly acidic, mildly spicy, and sweet.
• It is incredibly simple to create, using only three ingredients and less than five minutes on the burner.
• Use this sauce as a dipping sauce for shrimp, egg rolls, spring rolls, or virtually any other crunchy treat.
• Pour it on top of the broccoli and sesame stir fry. Enhance the flavor of sesame ramen noodles or top an Asian noodle salad.

Ingredients

SUGARY Apricot jam has a hint of citrus flavor and is sweet. Grape jelly or orange marmalade can also be reduced to make a wonderful, thick sauce. For a sauce that sticks, add some crushed pineapple or a little honey for even more sweetness!

SAVORY The sweet and spicy flavors are balanced out with the dijon mustard. It also tastes wonderful to add a little stone-ground mustard or freshly chopped garlic.

SPICY Play around with the hotness of your favorite pepper sauce, sriracha, or sambal oelek (garlic chili sauce or chili paste).

Another excellent red pepper sauce is gochujang. Nothing hot sauce? To change the amount of heat, add plenty of red pepper flakes. or include some minced garlic.

Variations

Depending on what you are serving it with, you can add any of the following, to taste:

• a tiny bit of white vinegar or rice vinegar for tang
• a few red chili flakes for added heat
• a few drops of soy sauce, fish sauce, or tamari for salt and umami

Make Sweet Chili Sauce at Home

Making your sweet chili sauce at home is incredibly easy and versatile.

1. In a small skillet or saucepan, combine all the ingredients (per the recipe below).
2. To meld the flavors, whisk and simmer.
3. Cool, then dish. Simple, right?

QUICK HINT: While making this dip on the burner, you may alternatively melt the ingredients in the microwave.

While some recipes call for cornstarch, I find that once the mixture cools, it thickens sufficiently without it. You can boil it for about a minute to further thicken it if you’d like.

Serving Sweet Chili Sauce

Before serving, let the dip cool so that it can thicken.

It goes well with chicken nuggets, appetizers, tofu, and stir-fried veggies, among other things. With seafood, your preferred Asian dish, or even fried wontons, this dip goes incredibly well.

Storing

For a few weeks, store homemade sweet chili sauce in the refrigerator in a jar or other covered container. Try freezing leftovers in ice cube trays, then use them to flavor dips, sauces, meat dishes, stir-fries, and other foods.

Sweet Chili Sauce

It is very simple and delicious to make your chili sauce.

Ingredients (Sweet Chili Sauce)

• ½ cup apricot jam or orange marmalade
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sambal or sriracha, more to taste

Instructions

1. In a small pan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients.
2. Stir until smooth and melted, then boil for approximately a minute.
3. Take the food off the heat and allow it to cool somewhat.

Notes

Replace the apricot jam with orange marmalade, apple jelly, or grape jelly.

For a few weeks, this sauce will keep in the refrigerator.

Nutrition information

Calories: 37 | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 31IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg