Sweet Chili Sauce

Do you like sweet chili sauce? You can find it in the supermarket, but it won't be like this one, we give you two versions, with sugar and the lighter version. A delicious mix of spicy and sweet that perfectly combines with many dishes, even with white rice it's delicious! If you enjoy recipes for strong sauces, this sweet chili one will not leave you indifferent. On this website, we tell you the step by step.

When and where did the first chilies appear?

The chili is a type of pepper from the 'Capsicum' family, its origin is ancient, and as usually happens when the distance is so great it is difficult to determine with precision. It seems that archaeological evidence suggests that chilies or chilis appeared 6,000 years ago in the Tehuacan Valley area in Peru, later remains were found in Ceren, El Salvador of 4,000 years and in La Tigra, Venezuela 1,000 years ago.

In Mexico, the first chilies appeared between 1150 and 1200 BC. The domesticated version of the pepper has larger fruits than the wild ones.

Chilies are not only popular in Latin America, they are also consumed a lot in Asia. Chilies were introduced in South Asia in the 16th century by Spanish and Portuguese conquerors through trade routes. The musician and singer Puranda Dasa, born in 1484, said of peppers: "they were a comfort to the poor and a great enhancer of flavor".

How to make the recipe Sweet Chili Sauce

1. Rice vinegar can be found in many supermarkets, it is not difficult but you can substitute it with apple vinegar. Crush the garlic, combine with the vinegar, water, sugar, and soy sauce.
2. Prepare a saucepan over low heat and add the previous ingredients. Stir occasionally and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Incorporate the chillies or chopped chili into the previous mixture.
4. Combine the cornstarch with two tablespoons of water and mix, dilute in the sauce and stir.
5. Cook on low heat for 8 minutes. Then let it cool and store in glass jars, when the sauce cools it will thicken more and you will have sweet chili sauce but in a homemade version.

Notes and Tips

To create lighter version of the sauce, -to avoid adding sugar-,  You can use stevia powder sweetener that withstands cooking. It does not have the same texture as with sugar but the flavor is good and the calories are much lower, keep in mind that 100 grams of sugar provide 400 calories, as this recipe carries 150 grams it would be 600 calories just from the sugar.