The classic Thai spicy sweet-and-sour sauce, glossy, syrupy, and flecked with red chili and garlic, as served with fried foods, rolls, grilled chicken, or fritters.
Ingredients
- 80 g fresh mild to medium-hot red chilies
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
- 170 g granulated white sugar
- 120 ml rice vinegar
- 130 ml water
- 15 ml Thai fish sauce
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 12 g cornstarch
Method
- Prepare the aromatics: remove only the stems from the chilies, keep the seeds for traditional heat, then chop them coarsely. Peel the garlic. Blend or pound the chilies with the garlic until you have a still-slightly-coarse purée, with small visible flecks rather than a perfectly smooth paste.
- Put the sugar, rice vinegar, water, fish sauce, and salt in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely: the liquid should become clear, with no grains at the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chili and garlic purée. Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium-low heat. The sauce should form small, regular bubbles, not boil vigorously. Cook until the garlic loses its raw smell, the chili flecks become tender, and the liquid begins to develop a syrupy gloss.
- In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with a little cold liquid taken from the ingredients until perfectly smooth. Stir just before using, as the starch quickly settles to the bottom.
- Pour the dissolved cornstarch into the saucepan in a thin stream while whisking gently. Maintain a calm simmer: the sauce should gradually thicken, become glossy, and coat the spoon in a supple layer. If it boils too hard, lower the heat to prevent a sticky or cloudy texture.
- Test the texture: run a finger across the back of a coated spoon; the track should remain visible for a few seconds before slowly closing. The sauce will thicken further as it cools, so stop cooking when it seems slightly more fluid than the desired final texture.
- Taste off the heat. The flavor should be distinctly sweet, bright with acidity, subtly salty in the background, and spicy without masking the garlic. If the acidity dominates, extend the simmer very briefly; if the sauce tastes flat, add a small pinch of fine salt.
- Pour immediately into a clean jar. Let it cool slightly uncovered until the steam stops, then close and refrigerate. Serve cold or at room temperature: the sauce should be orange-red, glossy, coating, with pieces of chili and garlic suspended in it.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 202 kcal
- Protein
- 1.27 g
- Carbohydrate
- 47.61 g
- Fat
- 0.13 g
- Fibre
- 0.77 g
- Calcium
- 5.36 mg
- Iron
- 0.32 mg
- Magnesium
- 7 mg
