Sweet Chili Sauce, one of my flavor ingredients. I always have a bottle in my fridge.
Chinese bottled chili sauce is quite hot and spicy, with a touch of fruitiness, as it is made from fresh red chilies, salt, vinegar and apples or plums. The Thai version includes both hot and sweet and adds chilies, ginger, spices, garlic, sugar, and vinegar. There is also a thick Chinese sauce which is make exclusively from chilies and salt. This is usually sold in jars and is much hotter than the bottled sauce.
Sweet chili sauce is very popular as a dip in European Asian restaurant dished such as spring rolls, chicken wings, dumplings, prawn toast, etc. You can purchase it from any Asian stores and most supermarkets.
I used Thai sweet chili sauce for below recipe. I also use lemon and sugar to balance the spiciness from the sauce. Perfect for someone can't handle any spicy food. This recipe is very easy and super tasty. Just give it ago!
Sweet Chili Chicken
Serve 4
Ingredients
8 pieces of Chicken thighs
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
half lemon juice, keep it and slice it to 4 pieces
1 tbsp soy
1 cup Thai sweet chili sauce (my flavor brand is MAE PLOY)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 tbsp Oil
salt and pepper
Method
- Prepare the chicken, skin-on and deboned. Trim off the excess fat. Season both side with some salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a frying pan. Add chicken pieces to the pan, skin side down. Pan-fry the chicken until both surfaces become crispy or nicely browned. Remove extra oil from the fan if too much oil comes out of the chicken skin.
- Stir in the ginger, garlic, and onion. After a couple of minutes, pour in the sweet chili sauce, water, lemon juice and slices. Turn up the heat until boil, then lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked. If the sauce too thick, add a bit more water. Otherwise, add some cornflour water (1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch with 3 tbsp water, mix well) to thicken the sauce.
- Add soy for taste. You might not need to.
- Perfect with steamed rice or plain boiled noodle. Enjoy!
* Vegetarian option - you can use bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, boiled potatoes, tofu instead of meat etc. Why not create your own!