Thai Sweet Chili Lime Sauce Recipe (2024)

This Thai Sweet Chili Lime Sauce can be used as a dip or added to meals during the cooking process.

You are going to love the DIY Sweet Chili Sauce for the flavor depths and adjustments you can make so that you can prepare this chili sauce easily just the way you like it!

This recipe was first posted on the 10th April 2018 and was enhanced with better pictures later again.

🌶️ Ingredients

To make this Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, you will need a handful of common south Asian ingredients.

If you have been cooking stir fries and Asian meals, then you should have some of these ingredients at home.

This is a quick overview, the US and metric measurements are located in the printable recipe card further below.

• Red Chili Pepper — *see below for details
• fresh Garlic
• fresh Ginger
• Water
• Sugar
• Rice Vinegar
• Fish Sauce
• Cornstarch mixed with Water
• Lime Juice

The Chilies

For a hot Chili sauce, you can pick fresh Thai bird's eye chilies and add about 2–5 Chilies.

I used a combination of bird's eye chilies and other red chili varieties. I do use dried chili peppers too for my sauce.

With the chilies, you can play around and try using a combination of chili varieties and fresh or dried chilies.

The Sugar

I tried this recipe, which by the way was inspired by Pailin's Kitchen's sweet chili sauce, with white sugar and brown sugar and I have to say I prefer the brown sugar version.

The brown sugar gives a deeper flavor to the sauce which goes so well with the chili, ginger, garlic, and even the lime juice!

However, the brown sugar turns the sauce a bit darker. I love it that way, too.

The red of the sweet chili sauce is not that bright but appears deeper. So I suggest you use brown sugar or palm sugar to add a fruity taste to your sauce.

The Vinegar

Please use only rice vinegar because I think any other vinegar might be too overpowering for this sweet chili sauce.

You want the sauce to be slightly tart sweet and more or less hot, but you do not want it to reek of vinegar.

Besides vinegar, I like to add lime juice to add more flavor, which is also acidic, therefore using rice vinegar is the best idea for this sweet chili sauce so that all the flavors can co-exist in harmony.

Cornstarch

The Cornstarch can be added or not. Its purpose is to thicken the sauce.

I don't like too much cornstarch and I enjoy a thinner sauce so that I can use the sauce in stir-fries; therefore, I add less cornstarch.

Eventually, you could add another tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce all the more if you want a jelly consistency.

Another option is to cook down the cause longer without adding any cornstarch, but it won't get the jelly consistency.

Adding cornstarch to your sweet chili sauce is a decision you can take on your own.

Just make sure to mix a small quantity (you don't need much cornstarch) in warm water so that it dissolved before you add it to the hot sauce because otherwise, the cornstarch can create lumps in your sauce.

Other Flavor Givers

Other ingredients such as the ginger, garlic, lime juice and fish sauce add a lovely flavor to the sauce.

You could skip the fish sauce, but I wouldn't suggest it. Fish sauce will turn your sweet chili sauce super special, it's like a secret ingredient!

• Blender OR Mortar or Pestle
• Non-Stick Saucepan
• Heat Resistent Silicon Spatula
• 8 oz (240 ml) Jar with Lid OR Sauce Bottle

🔪 How to make Sweet Chili Sauce?

Here is an overview. I also recommend watching the full video just below in the recipe card.

Step 1

Place the chili pepper with ginger, garlic, and water in a blending jar.

OR use a mortar and pestle to grind chili, ginger, and garlic and mix that paste then with water.

Blend everything together.

Step 2

Pour blended chili water into a sauce pan with brown sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce.

Bring to a boil so that the ingredients infuse the sauce.

Step 3

Prepare a slurry with the cornstarch and lukewarm water. Pour slurry into the sauce and combine.

Step 4

Wait for the sauce to cool and pour in the lime juice.

Bottle your sauce and store in a cool place.

📖 Recipe

❗️Can the Thai sweet chili sauce turn bad?

Usually, the Thai sweet sauce is refrigerated and ingredients such as the vinegar and sugar make sure that the sauce doesn't turn bad.

Although, you have added water to the sauce, but the sauce is boiled to kill germs.

Just make sure to store the sweet chili sauce in a sterilized jar (as you would do with jam) and the sauce will be good for at least a few months if stored in a cool and dry place.

The quantity of the recipe is smaller, and when reduced during the cooking process, makes about 240 ml or 8 oz. Typically, your sweet chili sauce will get over before it can possibly turn bad.

🥣 Serving Ideas and Uses

Use this sauce as a dipping sauce with:

• Egg Rolls
• Spring Rolls
• Fried Chicken Wings
• Samosa
• French Fries & Chips (Yes, so good with a second sour cream-based dip at the side!)
• Fried seafood
• Dumplings/Pot Stickers/Momos
• Kebabs

This sauce can be added to stir fries as well, or add a tablespoon or two as a topping for your fried rice or chow mein noodles.

Another idea is to make sticky sweet chili wings with this sauce.