Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (2024)

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Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (3)

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ByKatie BerryPublished: Updated:

You know those little bottles of chili garlic sauce at your favorite Thai or Vietnamese restaurant? I wanted to have it on other foods besides my favorite pho, so I worked up this homemade chili garlic sauce recipe.

I buy fresh Thai chilies at the City Market and noticed that the late summer ones are infinitely hotter. At the start of the season, I add a little more vinegar for some added kick but later crops sometimes need a pinch more sugar to offset the heat.

Tips when Making Chili Garlic Sauce

Hey, I know most of us don’t expect safety advice when making a condiment. But some of these I learned the hard way. I’m just trying to spare you.

  • Wear gloves. The dried peppers in this recipe contain oils that burn and they don’t wash off easily. I learned my lesson on this!
  • Or butter your hands well. The oils in butter will form a barrier on your skin to protect it, and you’ll be able to rinse all the mess away more easily.
  • Consider eye protection. Despite my glasses, the fumes from the peppers sometimes get so strong I end up in tears.

Now, don’t let all those pointers scare you off. Homemade chili garlic sauce is so worth it!

Serving Ideas

When using your homemade chili garlic sauce, your imagination is the limit.

  • Dollop it on scrambled eggs.
  • Stir some into homemade cottage cheese.
  • Add a little to steamed cauliflower.
  • Swap it for hot sauce in your favorite recipes.
  • Add a few drops to homemade pimento cheese.
  • Brush it on top of meatloaf or hamburgers.
  • Add it to stir-fries or soups.
  • Baste meatballs with it before baking.

Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (4)

Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce

Fiery chili peppers combine with garlic, vinegar, and salt to make this flavorful condiment found at every Thai or Vietnamese restaurant.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 cup

Calories: 86kcal

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: freezes well, sauce, spicy

Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients

US Customary or Metric

Ingredients

  • 15 dried whole chili peppers OR 1½ cups fresh Thai chilies stems removed
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar optional
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon fish sauce optional (to taste)

Instructions

Rehydrate Dried Peppers

  • Put the dried chilies in a heat-proof bowl and add boiling water, covering them by 1 inch.

  • Place a small plate on top of the peppers to keep them submerged in the water. Soak the peppers in water for 30 minutes.

  • Drain in a colander, pressing gently with the back of a wooden spoon to squeeze out water. Let the peppers drain an additional 5 minutes and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Make Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce

  • Add peppers, garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar to the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely chopped.

  • Add salt, sugar, and fish sauce. Pulse a few times until well-combined.

  • Add additional vinegar until it reaches the desired consistency.

  • Transfer to an air-tight container. Stays good in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer for 6 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 4.2g | Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2573mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 1985IU | Vitamin C: 4.2mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Did you try this?Let me know how it was!

Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (5)

Katie Berry

Cleaning Expert, Author

Katie Berry's cleaning advice has been featured by MarthaStewart.com, HGTV Magazine, and RealSimple and more. She is a Cleaning Editorial Review Board member at The Spruce, and the author of "30 Days to a Clean and Organized House". She founded HousewifeHowTos.com in 2011 and has helped millions of people by sharing her practical and effective cleaning methods.

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  1. We love this kind of chili sauce. I haven’t made any by scratch. But, I had to laugh at the apparent hazards. Thanks for the heads-up. We’ll get out our HazMat suits. LOL. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

    1. LOL. It’s not quite that dangerous, Sally, but you know how it is: if I didn’t put warnings in there someone would leave me a message next week saying they’d rubbed their nose while making my chili garlic sauce and now they don’t have one. Or something like that. 😉

    2. I’m laughing so hard at these comments. “…now they don’t have one” bahaha! Just waiting on my hazmat suits to arrive so I can make this recipe 😛

  2. What is the shelf life?

    Reply

    1. As it says in the recipe, “store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 6 months.”

  3. This recipe doesn’t say how much fish sauce.

    Reply

    1. Since it’s an optional ingredient, I typically don’t add an amount. I’ve updated it to indicate 1/2 to 1 teaspoon — to taste.

  4. Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (6)
    I love the Vietnamese chili garlic sauce but with this recipe as a base one can play with different chili’s and find all kinds of hidden gems. I’m enjoying that. Thank you.

    Reply

    1. So glad you’re enjoying it!

  5. This was perfect in homemade ramen. I subbed coconut sugar for the sugar and did use the fish sauce. I used Japanese chili’s.

    Reply

    1. I’m so glad you liked it, Lindsay!

  6. Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (7)
    I think you commented on the wrong recipe. 🤔

    I have been looking for a recipe just like this! I too like that it can essentially be used as a base. I’m making it, as is, right now, but very much looking fwd to the possibilities this summer! 👍 Next to figure out how to safely can! ty!!

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome. Enjoy!

  7. Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (8)
    Holy crap…I made this with birds eye chilli’s and it’s mad hot 🙂

    Reply

    1. Fresh is going to be hotter, especially since the oils in peppers vary by region and how long they’ve been off the plant. Hope you liked it! 🙂

  8. Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (9)
    Can this recipe be processed & canned in 1\2 pint jars? Sounds like an excellent recipe to make. Thank you

    Reply

    1. I’m not a canning expert, so I don’t feel comfortable recommending it. If you’d like to store it long term, it freezes well.

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Love Spicy Food? Try My Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is chili garlic sauce made of? ›

It combines those red jalapeno peppers and garlic with sugar, salt, a little vinegar, and a slurry of cornstarch to create the right texture. You'll need a blender, a strainer, and a clean mason jar to preserve your spicy creation. Blend the peppers with the seasonings until it forms a chunky sauce.

Why is huy fong chili garlic sauce hard to find? ›

The California company blamed the popular condiment's production problems on the red jalapeño chile peppers that deliver the hot sauce's tangy sweet heat. They aren't red enough, according to Huy Fong Foods.

How long does homemade chili garlic sauce last? ›

Chili-garlic sauce will last 1-2 months or longer in the refrigerator in a sealed container. The vinegar acts as a preservative, which will let it keep longer. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months. It freezes nicely.

What's the difference between Sriracha sauce and chili garlic sauce? ›

THE BOTTOM LINE: Sriracha is a totally smooth counterpart to the chunkier chili-garlic sauce, with all the same ingredients but with added sweetness from sugar. Chili-garlic sauce is nearly identical to sambal oelek, except that it contains garlic and sambal oelek does not.

What can I use in place of chili garlic sauce? ›

Chili Garlic Sauce Substitute
  • Sriracha Sauce.
  • Sambal Oelek.
  • Red Pepper Flakes + Minced Garlic.
  • Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce.
  • Harissa.
  • Gochujang.
  • Hot Sauce + Minced Garlic.
  • Cayenne Pepper + Garlic Powder.
Jan 23, 2024

What is the difference between chili garlic paste and chili garlic sauce? ›

Chili Garlic Paste

This paste is typically made from the same key ingredients as the sauce – chili peppers and garlic – but in a more concentrated form. As a substitute for chili garlic sauce, it delivers a potent punch of heat and flavor, making it ideal for dishes that need a bold, spicy kick.

How to preserve homemade chili sauce? ›

Does homemade hot sauce need to be refrigerated? Still, even opened bottles of hot sauce can keep in the refrigerator for up to three years. Bottles that remain sealed can last even longer. However, the hot sauce flavors will change over time and lose their potency.

Is sweet chili sauce the same as chili garlic sauce? ›

Yes, chili garlic sauce can be used as a substitute for sweet chili sauce, but keep in mind that it has a stronger garlic flavor and is spicier than sweet chili sauce. To make it more similar to sweet chili sauce, you can add some sugar to the chili garlic sauce.

Does homemade chili sauce need to be refrigerated? ›

Prolong fresh flavor

The USDA's FoodKeeper app says that while hot sauce will maintain peak freshness for up to six months when stored at room temperature, it will last longer if stored in the fridge. Brigman echoes these guidelines, saying that refrigerated hot sauce typically lasts one to two years once opened.

Is Frank's hot sauce similar to sriracha? ›

Louisiana-style hot sauces, like Frank's Red Hot or Tabasco, are much thinner (runnier) than sriracha. They also tend to be quite vinegary and spicy, without any sweetness. These differences make it not the best substitute for sriracha.

What hot sauce is better than sriracha? ›

If you like things spicier than sriracha, peri-peri sauce is a good way to add some heat. Made with African peri-peri peppers (also known as piri-piri and African bird's eye chile pepper), which rank much higher on the Scoville scale than red jalapeno peppers, it packs a spicy punch.

What is sambal oelek made of? ›

Sambal Oelek is a spicy Indonesian chili paste made with hot red peppers. It's typically made with hot red chile peppers, salt and vinegar. Some variations can contain onion, lemon, sugar, etc.

Is chili garlic sauce the same as sweet chili sauce? ›

Yes, chili garlic sauce can be used as a substitute for sweet chili sauce, but keep in mind that it has a stronger garlic flavor and is spicier than sweet chili sauce. To make it more similar to sweet chili sauce, you can add some sugar to the chili garlic sauce.

What is chili sauce made of? ›

Ingredients. Ingredients typically include puréed or chopped chili peppers, vinegar, sugar and salt, that are cooked, which thickens the mixture. Additional ingredients may include, water, garlic, other foodstuffs, corn syrup, spices and seasonings.

Is Frank's a chili sauce? ›

Frank's RedHot Sweet Chili Hot Sauce is a pulpy and zesty sauce made with fresh chilies. This fusion sauce is a slightly sweet, full-bodied alternative to traditional hot sauces. Try it as a marinade for your favorite protein or over cream cheese for a tasty dip.

Is chili garlic healthy? ›

Chilli oil with garlic can not only boost heart health benefits but also improve overall well-being. Garlic is known to be able to lower blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol on the rise (heart disease risk factors).

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