If you love Chinese or Indo-Chinese cuisine, some kind of chili sauce is a must in your pantry. I made some of my own, but I must warn you, it is one spicy, firecracker sauce! It has the burning, lingering heat of dried red chilies combined with the smoky goodness of garlic.
You can use this sauce in stir fries, add it to any kind of Indo-Chinese gravy-like dishes, use it to marinate meat or the best use – lightly toss cooked noodles in a little oil, soy sauce and a touch of chili-garlic sauce. It doesn’t get better.
It is extremely spicy, I almost called it a firecracker sauce. But I did not want you to confuse it with a sauce made with firecracker peppers, but you get the point, don’t you?
Preparation can start a day in advance by soaking the chilies in water to plump them up. But if you are hard-pressed for time, just cook the chilies in a little water and they should be plump and ready in five minutes.
Do not, and I repeat, do not attempt to make this if you have infants or kids around or just plain spice-sissies (you know who they are!). The chilies simmering on the stove will burn your eyes and open your sinuses, and at the same time, make your mouth water.
HOMEMADE SPICY RED CHILI & GARLIC SAUCE
You will need:
- Dried red chilies – 1 cup, around 75 gm
- Water – 3/4 cup, approximately
- Garlic – 1 large head, crushed and roughly chopped
- Oil – 1/4 cup
- Vinegar – 1/4 cup
- Salt – 1 tbsp
- Sugar – 1 tbsp
How to:
- De-seed the red chilies as best as you can. Just break each chili in half and the seeds should all just fall away. A few stray seeds are okay.
- Take the chilies in a pan and add water. The water should just cover the chilies. Heat it on the stove for 4-5 minutes, the chilies will lighten in color and become plump. Add garlic right towards the end and cook for a minute more. The water will be mostly absorbed by now.
- Coarsely grind the chilies and garlic in a food processor or blender.
- Heat oil in the pan and return the chili–garlic mixture to the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook till you see the sauce come together and the oil separating at the sides.
- Cool the sauce in pan, transfer to a clean, dry jar and refrigerate. The flavors will develop and mature over a few days.
Notes:
- Remember to use this sauce sparingly in a dish, you can always add more.
- All said and done, you could somewhat tame this hot sauce if you want to. Just add a can of tomato sauce or a cup of brown sugar while simmering the sauce. You MUST cook it till you see the oil separating at the sides, only then will it be fit for any kind of long-term storage.
- Grind the chilies and garlic well if you like a smoother texture.
Do you love chili sauce? Ever thought of making it at home? Do try this then. But don’t come crying if your eyes and tongue burn. I’ve warned you!
Stay tuned for recipes using this fiery chili and garlic sauce!
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If I use fresh red Thai Chilies instead of dries, should I cut the amount in half? 😊
The flavor of this sauce when fresh red chilies are substituted for dried chilies will be different. Dried chilies can actually be hotter than fresh!
If I had only fresh chilies, I would use the same quantity and adjust the amount of sauce used in a recipe as per taste. Hope this helps.
Hi
I am from India, great to see your blog
This recipe is awesome , will try it with Paneer
I am going to follow your blog, THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPES.
Thank you. Appreciate it!
This looks just fantastic! Can’t wait to make a batch for myself!
Thank you, Sarah!
I think I would love this…but I also know that we do have a few spice-sissie kiddos in our family 🙂 maybe we’ll have to wait for a later day to make this recipe.
I know what you mean. Maybe a small batch, just for you 😉
Love love love the chilli garlic sauce.. reminds me of the sauce we get back home. Looks spicy and delicious . I am definitely making this soon. . 🙂
Thank you, Arpita. Do try it!
Beautiful! I love the pictures!!!
Thank you, Serena!
i totally digg this sauce. I am huge fan of chines.. and this one totally works for me
Glad to hear that, Namrata!
I find it very close to harissa! This sounds delishhhhh… I will eliminate vinegar (as I’m allergic) and go ahead 🙂
Oh, I am sorry to hear that. What other acidic ingredient do you usually use in place of vinegar?
I already have smoke emitting ears with all those spices 😉 Sauce looks amazing !!!
Haha! It is spicy!!
This sauce has been on my to-do list for so long!! Thanks for the recipe and the reminder Anjana, looks amazing & I can imagine dunking just about everything in it 😀
Glad to have reminded you! I’d love to see your version as well. This one is really hot!
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
Anjana, I have always loved your clicks. But this is very rustic. The use of simple props is just amazing. A very good recipe indeed and so easy :).
Thank you, Sonal. That is so kind of you 🙂
The photos were a little experiment with dark background photography. Glad you liked it.
And I am sure you will enjoy this fiery hot sauce!
Ohh yes 🙂
🙂
Uuuuu I love it spicy!
🙂
That looks wonderful! I’m thinking a Christmas present for my dad, who really likes spicy food. Do you think it would keep that long, or should I stock up on dried chilies now and make it in December? Do you think I could water bath can it for long storage?
Thank you, Sarah. It would be wonderful for gifting.
You can make the sauce and can it now, thereby letting the flavors develop even more. The sauce will be even spicier the longer it sits. I have no experience in canning, but if it is something you are comfortable with, I would suggest you give it a try.
Otherwise, you can stock up on dried red chilies now and make the sauce around the holidays. It is a really quick recipe and can be easily scaled up.
Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
ooh la la
Oh yes!
Hotttt 🙂
It sure is!
I has been doing this since last year. Its perfect! 😁
Thank you for this recipe.
Can green chili be used instead of dry red chili?