Types of Chili Sauce & Hot Sauces

Recipes will call for chili sauce, but this is something different depending on the cuisine.

Western/American Chili Sauce:

The term "chili sauce" typically refers to a type of condiment that has a sweet and tangy flavor, often used to complement dishes like hot dogs, burgers, and fries. It is a thicker sauce with a more pronounced tomato flavor, similar to a spiced ketchup, such as made by Heinz. This version of chili sauce usually does not contain any chilis. Heinz chili sauce is named for its flavor profile rather than its chili content. This naming convention is common in the food industry, where products are often labeled based on their flavor profile or traditional associations rather than their ingredient composition.

The sauce emerged in the late 19th century in New England as a way to preserve garden produce for winter, appearing in 1880s cookbooks. It was historically used to "jazz up" foods like roast beef, lamb chops, and cod cakes, rather than as a hot condiment.

Homemade Chili Sauce: Best for: Burgers, hot dogs, meatloaf, or as a base for shrimp cocktail sauce (similar to a spicier ketchup).
Ingredients: Chopped tomato, green bell pepper and onion mixture seasoned with sugar and vinegar, and spices such as cloves and cinnamon.

Hot Sauces that Originated in U.S

Tabasco Sauce (Original): Very thin, high-vinegar, and sharp heat from red tabasco peppers.
Ingredients: distilled vinegar, red pepper, salt.

Tabasco pepper sauce originated on Avery Island, Louisiana, in 1868. Founded by Edmund McIlhenny, a former banker who developed the recipe using pepper mash, salt, and vinegar, the sauce has been produced by the same family on the same salt dome location for over 150 years. Tabasco is best for Cajun food, soups, and pizza, adding a sharp kick.

Frank's RedHot: Cayenne-based, tangy, and mild—popular for buffalo wings.
Ingredients: Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt and Garlic Powder.

Frank's RedHot originated through a partnership between Jacob Frank of the Frank Tea and Spice Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, and pepper farmer Adam Estilette in Louisiana. The sauce was developed in 1918, inspired by Louisiana cayenne peppers, and first hit the market in 1920. It became famous as the original ingredient for Buffalo wings in 1964. Frank's is iconic for wings and buffalo-style dips.

Sriracha (Huy Fong) is a hick, sweet, and garlicky chili paste made from red jalapeños.
Ingredients: chili, sugar, salt, garlic, acetic acid, potassium sorbate and sodium metabisulfite as preservatives, xanthan gum.
Excels in noodles, fried rice, and as a burger condiment.

Mexican Chili Sauce (salsa = sauce) & Hot Sauces:

Mexicans use a significant amount of sauces and condiments, but there is a distinction between everyday home cooking and the condiments found on tables in restaurants. And in high-quality or traditional, home-style restaurants, chefs often make their own salsas daily. In this context, using a store-bought, vinegar-heavy hot sauce is seen as a way to "mask" the intended flavor of the dish, and it is considered a faux pas by some.

However, in daily, casual, or home situations, bottled sauces are very common. While fresh salsas (salsa roja, salsa verde, pico de gallo) are preferred, bottled sauces are not just for tourists; they are integrated into daily life in Mexico, primarily for snacks, convenience, and adding a specific type of heat. Common uses include as a table condiment for tacos, burritos, eggs, quesadillas, tortas, and grilled meats. Also mixed with sour cream or cream cheese for dips, or used directly to dip tortilla chips and fried snacks.

Typically made with red or green chilies, sometimes dried, and simmered in a vinegar base with tomatoes.

Commonly Used Bottled Sauces & Condiments:

Asian Chili Sauce & Hot Sauces:

Often a paste or sauce with a sweet, savory, and tangy profile, made from red chilies, garlic, ginger, sugar, and vinegar.

Asian chili sauce refers to a broad category of diverse spicy condiments from various Asian cuisines, most notably Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese, with common varieties including Sweet Chili Sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce, Sambal Oelek, and Sriracha (and homemade Sriracha-type sauce). These sauces are made from ingredients like chili peppers, garlic, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and are used as dips, marinades, or ingredients in stir-fries, noodles, and other dishes.

Asian chili garlic sauces offer a wide range of flavors, from pungent and fermented to crunchy and oil-based. Key types include chunky, garlic-heavy pastes like Huy Fong and Lee Kum Kee, savory and crunchy chili crisp*, fermented Sichuan Doubanjiang, and versatile Indonesian Sambal Oelek. These sauces are staples in stir-fries, marinades, and dipping sauces.
*Chili crisp is a type of hot sauce, originating from Chinese cuisine. Chili crisp is incredibly varied, but at its heart, its a mixture of chilis, oil, and aromatics, like crunchy garlic. It is used as a condiment. No two chili crisps are truly alike.

Thick/Paste-like Sauces: Examples include Thai sweet chili sauce, which is thick enough to coat a spoon, and Korean gochujang, which is very thick, savory, and sweet.

Chunky/Oil-Based: Chili pastes or oils (e.g., Lao Gan Ma) often feature a thick, oil-based, and chunky texture with fried garlic or fermented soybeans. Chili crisp is made with ground up dried chilis and various spices and aromatics toasted in oil and is used as a condiment. 

Thinner Sauces: Sriracha is generally thinner than paste (ingredients are blended together into a smooth sauce, and is not chunky), but still maintains a thicker consistency than many Western hot sauces.

Sriracha: Best for Asian dishes, dipping, and adding sweetness/garlic. Made from red jalapeños.
Ingredients: chili, sugar, salt, garlic, acetic acid, potassium sorbate and sodium metabisulfite as preservatives, xanthan gum.

Chili Garlic Sauce
Homemade Sriracha-type sauce

Key Types of Asian Chili Garlic Sauces

Common Culinary Uses