Even though I adore the man, getting Mr NQN to help with chores is often…well, it’s a chore in itself. Our conversation last night went like this:
Me: “Can you please take out the garbage?”
Mr NQN: “Maybe…”
Me: “Come on… I’m busy making chilli sauce and the garbage is overflowing”
Mr NQN: “Okay, but I’ve got lots to do tonight.”
Me: “Like what?”
Mr NQN: “I’ve got to take out the garbage, iron my shirt, brush my teeth, have a shower and go to bed.”
Me: “It’s 7pm. I think you can achieve that by bed time…”
Ever thought of making gifts to give to friends but not sure what to make? Perhaps they’re not a fan of baked goods. If they like spicy, then this home made Thai sweet chilli sauce will be their best friend. The sauce is very close to the bought variety but made fresh and with the glut of summer chillies that we seem to be having. And since you can buy chillies by the bagful for a steal, it’s a good way to use them up and preserve them (and I never seem to use them in a timely enough manner). You can adjust the heat to taste and it takes about twenty minutes from beginning to end. And I’m sure that Mr NQN could have added this in his roster of things to do that evening and still had time to spare 
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like making edible gifts for friends? And do you like receiving them?
Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Preparation time: 2-5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
- 1 cup white sugar*
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 Jalapeno chillies or you can do a mix of 1 Jalapeno and 2 Thai Birds Eye Chillies
- 1.5 tablespoons cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
1. Chop the garlic and wearing gloves, de-seed and chop the chillies depending on how hot you want the sauce (see note above). In a saucepan place the sugar, what, rice wine vinegar and chillies. Bring to a boil and place on a rapid simmer on medium to high heat for 10 minutes.
2. Knock the heat down to low so that there are only a few bubbles and stir the cornflour and water mix (the cornflour tends to settle if you mix it ahead of time) until it thickens. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then process in a food processor (use one where the lid has a vent and cover it with a teatowel). Decant into a sterilised* jar or bottle.
*To sterilise jars or bottles, place the jar or bottle and lid (make sure it’s oven-proof) on a tray in a 180C/350F oven for 10 minutes. Handle with care as they will be hot.
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61 Comments | Add your own
I love making and receiving edible gifts (and books!)
I always buy this sauce in jars – never thought about making my own. But now I can’t wait to try it.
What do you suppose its refrigerator life is?
Mmmhhh, fantastic! I am a big fan of that sauce.
Cheers,
Rosa
Homemade condiments are always better! Your sauce looks incredible, I love the brilliant color!
I am sure you and I are married to a similar guy!
Although Mr GG probably would have said “sure” then called a child and walked out of the room. …the garbage would not be emptied and I wouldn’t see him again to complain… coincidence, I think not :0
Anyway, my honey loves Sweet Chilli Sauce, and our chilli plants are overflowing with chillies, so this looks like the perfect recipe.
I will give it a whirl, I might add an extra chili or two if he doesn’t take out the garbage
This is so pretty and would make a wonderful gift. I have to take the garbage out in this house because it’s only visible to me. Apparently no one else can see it; they can step over it and go around it but not see it xx
Yummmm……I want to eat Thai tonight. Decided.I don’t like receiving edible gifts though…:-( I don’t know why.
Bookmarking this one right now… we have chillies galore in the garden. Lovely recipe, Lorraine. xo
I love receiving home cooked food as gifts and I love giving it. My current favorites to give are my chunky choc cookies, and home made cranberry and almond granola. People seem to love them. I’ll make this for my brother in law.
I actually received a bottle of homemade sweet Thai chili sauce at Christmas and thought I needed to look it up to see how to make it myself. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I love to make, give, and receive culinary gifts.
The recipe looks great and I’d love to try it! Can I know how long is the shelf life if I were to keep it in the fridge in a sterilized bottle?
Thank you for sharing!
I am all for edible gifts. Although I must say they are not always that popular to the receiver. I have had a recipe for sweet chilli sauce for more than a year and have not yet got to making it. I will have to get on with it
Great post!
Hi Marissa and KC! I think it would keep for ages, months even, especially if you use a clean spoon every time. It’s got a high sugar content in it which should help to prevent spoilage
I think taking out the garbage must be one of the most common sources of frustration in a marriage!:) In our last apartment the garbage room was a bit of a hike which made things worse, thankfully we bought in a complex with a garbage room/ shoot on each floor. When I’m busy cooking I often do it myself to save what my hubby calls the nagging
this recipe looks lovely Lorraine.
I adore receiving home made gifts from friends, and this would be no exception. I love a sweet chili sauce. I have made a few canned things from time to time, but I mostly hand out baked goods. Mr. NQN sounds like a handful.
Sweet chilli chicken wraps are on the menu tonight! Might give this a go.
Fantastic! There I was complaining on Celia’s blog about the glut of chillies I had managed to grow this year – in two days I have gotten a marvellous sriracha recipe on another blog and now the lovely sweet one from you! I can see a sauce-making session coming on
! I love receiving food gifts above all, especially if they are savoury, but have been rather amiss in making enough stuff to give away too much myself! Improvement needed 
!
I LOVE making edible gifts for my friends, TRUE!
I pick the recipe to try and compliment their personality too!
A gift given from the heart is always appreciated too!
This recipe substituting Xylitol you have now “inspired” me to do!
Oh, that sounds SO easy! Thanks Lorraine! And Mr NQN, take the rubbish out!
Oooo! I’d love to make this- I really like sweet chilli, but having homemade would trump store bought. I wonder if it’d work with stevia instead of sugar?
Also, if you steralise the jar does that mean it’ll last for a long time? I need a lesson in jarring/canning haha.
Love making and receiving edible gifts! Mum has made this before but since we don’t go through much of it and it is so ridiculously cheap to buy, we just grab a bottle from the local Asian grocer
Hahha Mr NQN sure sounds like Mr Bao he says that to me all the time…whenever I ask him to do something it’s ‘Maybe’ ARGH so damn annoying!
I love giving friends and family edible gifts, but not sure what to make them sometimes cuz like what you said not everyone likes baked goodies hehe ~
I love Thai Sweet Chilli sauce! Had no idea it was so easy to make! Have booked marked this and want to make this soon
Thanks as always Lorraine!!!
Wow thanks Lorraine, this is brilliant! I’ve never even thought about making my own before, but it looks so simple. Definitely bookmarking this
I do love myself a nice sweet chilli sauce! Have never made on myself but looks like now is the time to try. Thanks for sharing, Lorraine!
Nothing better than giving gifts of food – don’t mind receiving them either
Just run out of Sweet Chili Sauce, must remember to make some more!
I love making edible gifts for friends, usually jams, chutneys, biscuits and cakes. Sadly no one ever gives me homemade goodies, perhaps they think I have enough of my own.
The chilli jam I made last year was unbelievable. I must admit I was scared to use it thinking it would blow my head off, but daughter tried it first and just loved the fact it was so unbelievably hot!! I used chillis from my garden.
The more I make homemade produce, the more confident I have become and nothing beats a jar of something with your own name on it and you know exactly what has gone into it.
Will certainly give your recipe a whirl Lorraine as I have just planted another Inferno chilli plant.
This sauce looks delish! I rarely receive homemade food as a gift.
Love Thai chilli sauce, this looks great. I love receiving edible gifts from my friends
I really feel for ya Lorraine…But don’t despair because you’re not alone, men who don’t like doing chores are everywhere, all the blokes in my life would live in squalor if not for the interventions of a hygienic female, holy heck getting them to clean up after themselves is about as painful as pulling teeth without anaesthetic. The differences between the male and female mind when it comes to cleaning is that women think ‘it has to be done, sooner rather than later’ whereas the guys think ‘I’m going to wait until the bacteria in my living quarters multiplies to the point where I have a room sized science experiment, marvel at the phenomenon, maybe call some mates over to show it off, get nagged by the missus, maybe consider tidying up, complain about being nagged(for god’s sake), leave the mess to fester a tad longer, endure some more nagging, argue, debate, whinge, scream, sulk and THEN tidy the hell up. And us women are supposedly more difficult?
By the way, thanks for sharing your recipe xx
I kid you not, only 2 hours ago, I ‘Googled’ to search for a recipe for Thai sweet chilli sauce(as I’m trying to remove as much processed food from my family’s diet as possible) and lo and behold I log on to my email to find you are in some way psychic! It’s not the first time this has happened either, I discovered home-made mustard just before your post and had spent a week consuming mexican wedding cookies when you posted a recipe for them too. Amazing coincidences, or else you really have your finger on the pulse!!
My bf must be a rare breed as he doesn’t even allow my to do dishes most of the time, and always take out the garbage without asking.
I had not thought of making my own chili sauce and I have all the ingredients needed. Even a few empty jar! Btw doesn’t the sauce lose its thickness for a while? I had the impression corn flour doesn’t hold it that long…..
Hi Kelly! Well that’s very fortunate! I just checked the sauce which was made a few weeks ago (I think three weeks) and it is still the same consistency. So it has definitely held!
I love sweet Thai chili sauce and this looks so simple and so very tasty! Nice!
Morning Lorraine!
Hope you are well and are having a good day!
Now I know in England their cornflour is the same as our cornstarch.
Is it the same with Australia?
You make a slurry and it is a thickening agent.
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie
I have stopped buying sweet chilli sauce regularly but every now and again have a hankering for it – wonder if this would do the trick in a limited quantity.
And if Mr NQN is anything like a certain man in my life then I am sure he could make a simple recipe like this into something very complicated and difficult with lots of sighs
Hi Charlie! Thank you! I’m having a great day thanks- I hope you are too? Yup you’re right, cornflour is the same as cornstarch! Thank you and the same to you
I’ve never thought of making sweet chilli sauce from scratch!
This is just what I needed Lorraine. I have a chili plant laden with chilis and have thought to myself quite a few times that I should make sweet chili sauce! I didn’t realise it was so easy too.
Love the gorgeous color of this sauce. A perfect gift! xoxo Mum
Ooh, I love the idea of making this but toning down the sugar a little! Must admit I find the store-bought kind a little sickly
Perfect recipe for me! Thanks!
What a great idea to use up chillis. I love making gifts for friends, not sure if they like receiving them!
Perfect!
I am such a huge sucker for sweet chill sauce… I use it as dipping sauce, on side, in marinade….
I am so making your recipe!
This is my FAVOURITE thing to do. Have never thought of sweet chilli sauce though, how sweet
Heidi xo
Thanks for the great recipe Lorraine, just what I need with my chilli plants pumping at the moment.
I love getting homemade gifts, and giving them to others- it helps keep the stash of jams and chutneys in my pantry to a minimum
Oh wow! I love sweet chilli sauce, and never thought of it as something that you could make at home. Yours is so pretty!
I love making edible gifts for friends – chocolates, labne balls in olive oil – anything cute and small!
xox Sarah
Great blog Lorraine! Lovely photos too. I don’t make edible gifts as I don’t spend too much time in the kitchen, but I love receiving them
i LOVE getting edible presents–they’re the best kind! this is so quick and simple, i had no idea.
We are ‘this close’ to having a major glut of chillis and are preparing to dry them so they keep … this is a great idea though, some will definitely be earmarked for chilli sauce now
Love the idea of making this from scratch … and have a wee collection of chillies that need a good home. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a great article! My husband thinks it is my job to take out the rubbish too, which, truly, sucks! While he is flicking through television channels watching me wash dishes, put goods away and clean the kitchen, I think, ‘why can’t you obligingly do it, just for once without me being sick?’ At least last Monday when it was time to make the third round of fig jam I complained about ‘tennis elbow’ and he gratefully finely chopped 2kg figs (so our partners sometimes have their benefits). P.S. He chopped it quicker and finer than I ever do! I am tempted to put the whole lot of figs in the food processor but worry it will puree them too much to make good jam. Anyway, I – that is, we – love giving home made gifts away, from melanzane to jam or simply fresh produce or plant cuttings. Your sweet chilli jam seems ideal and a perfect partnering of sweet and hot. I will make it and try to keep it sweet – not hot x
I mostly give edible gifts or a homemade present
My son loves this stuff! Loves it! He can eat it on anything and usually does. I would definitely make this for him for a gift.
Oh awesome recipe. But the person I can think of to make this as a gift I would have to put 20 chilis ha ha.
I love giving home-make goods, although I would never give this as we can never have enough of it at home. My husband even put sweet chilli sauce on the black bean vegetarian lassagne I made yesterday. I got mad with him (and a little offended!), but he insisted it tasted even better with the chilli sauce. I guess I should be grateful that he didn’t put mayonnaise…(the Dutch seem to put mayonnaise on everything!). Can’t wait to try this, Lorraine.
Lorraine! I love you, you know in the friends love way! I’ve been looking for this sauce for a long time. I tried a few, but it didn’t work. And by looking at your list of ingredients I think I know why. I am trying this tomorrow. I do love to receive edible gifts and give it as well. And it fits perfectly my “consumable gifts only” policy.
Lots of chillies in my garden at the moment so will be giving this one a go, Lorraine!
I think that edible gifts are the best gift for friends, specially if it’s home made, and made by our hands, and of course, if I receive one of them, I will be to grateful.
HI I am right now making this chili sauce – but i have a question….to late for this batch, I know, but anyway, I have white wine vinegar, and rice wine vinegar – but what is white rice wine vinegar? I am hoping it’s meant to be the rice wine vinegar, since I used it figuring it was an asian sauce, so asian vinegar would be best!
So, please, could you clarify? thank you!!
i do loving giving homemade gifts and also receiving some knowing someone has put in the time and effort to create them
I love this and we are making it. I did struggle to follow the recipe. Not knowing when to put the garlic in…. please help! Thank you. (I love your blog and my bestfriend and myself often oohh and ahhh over you magnificent recipes.)
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