Sweet Chili Sauce

Our garden has exploded with Thai chilies and Serrano peppers. Hmmm.... sweet chili sauce??? Doing some research online, it looks like most recipes use corn starch as a thickener. I achieved a similar thickness using a little more sugar.

• 3 garlic cloves or more (I think I used 7? but some were really small), peeled and chopped if you'd like but doesn't have to be because it'll be pureed
• 2 Serrano peppers with or without seeds depending on how brave you are; this time I choose with seeds but we'll "seed" if I survive (ohhhhh can't resist the pun)
• 1/2 cup (and more) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a blender, puree all ingredients. Pour into a small frying pan on medium high heat. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer. Cook until volume reduces by about 50%; took me about 20 minutes but I wasn't really keeping track. I added a little more sugar too so it would be a little thicker with reduction. Let cool completely before pouring into a glass jar. Store in the refrigerator. Enjoy with spring rolls, fried rice, or a stir fry. It can also be used as a marinade or grilled with chicken or fish! Once I find another glass container, I'll try making one with red Thai chillies!!! Note, the heat will dissipate over time.

NOTE: I racked my brain multiple times over trying to figure out the proper way to spell chili or is it chile and what about the plural form???? Here is what Miriam-Webster has to say:

1

a : a hot pepper of any of a group of cultivars (Capsicum annuum annuum group longum) noted for their pungency —called also chili pepper

b: usually chilli plural chillies also chil·lis chiefly British : a pepper whether hot or sweet

2

a : a thick sauce of meat and chilies

b : chili con carne

Variants of CHILI

chili also chile or chil·li

Origin of CHILI

Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chīlli

First Known Use: 1604