Chili Sauce

Chili Sauce Ingredients

Simple ingredients combine in this flavorful garlic chili sauce. The perfect amount of tangy, sweet, and spicy makes this perfect for dipping! For the full list of ingredients and their measurements, refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Water: Serves as the base of the sauce, adding volume without altering the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Rice wine vinegar: Adds a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to the chili sauce, bringing a richer flavor than white vinegar alone could. It provides acidity, which balances the sweetness of the sugars and enhances the overall taste of the sauce.
• Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness to the sauce, balancing out the acidity and heat of other ingredients.
• Brown sugar: Brings a subtle caramel-like flavor and sweetness.
• Ketchup: Adds sweetness and tanginess, and helps to enhance the color and texture of the sauce.
• Crushed red pepper flakes: Adds a subtle heat and spiciness. It can be easily adjusted to your preference. If you are adverse to spice I would suggest using one teaspoon, but if you like things spicy use the full two teaspoons.
• Garlic cloves: Fresh garlic adds a savory garlic flavor that is so delicious. I definitely recommend fresh garlic and not garlic salt.
• Ginger minced: Read more on using ginger in recipes below.
• Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce without affecting the texture or flavor.

How to Make Chili Sauce

Here is a brief overview of how this homemade chili sauce comes together. For the full recipe including all measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

1. Combine all ingredients. Stir together all of the sauce ingredients in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Simmer and enjoy! Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Enjoy right away or store for later.

Cooking With Ginger

I love the fresh flavor ginger adds to recipe, including this chili garlic sauce. When a recipe calls for minced ginger, you have two options:

• Peel and grate a piece of fresh ginger: Fresh ginger root can be kept in your freezer and grated while it is frozen. This is the most cost-effective option for adding ginger to your sauce.
• Buy pre-grated ginger: This option comes in a tube and is kept in your refrigerator. This is the option I usually go with because it’s so convenient to pull out, measure what you need, and keep the rest in the refrigerator for the next time you need it.

Using Chili Sauce

• Ingredient for Stir Fries: This would be a great replacement for the garlic chili paste that I call for in so many of my stir fry recipes, like my Chicken Stir Fry. That can be really difficult to find, but this is so easy to make with ingredients that are easy to keep on hand. The flavor won’t be exactly the same, but it will work well.
• Topping for Lettuce Wraps: This sauce would also be a great topping for my Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Just drizzle a little over them before serving.
• Coating for Chicken Wings: While wings might traditionally be tossed in Buffalo Sauce, this chili sauce recipe would be an amazing sauce for wings!