Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (Nam Jim Gai or Nam Chim Kai)
Thai sweet chili sauce makes a superb condiment for many Thai dishes and is excellent with chicken and fish as well as seafood. It is also wonderful as a marinade for grilling or as a dip for finger foods. Try it with grilled fish, classic Thai fish cakes, Thai crab cakes, chicken wings, Thai vegetarian egg rolls, Thai spring rolls, in stir-fries and noodle dishes.
Here are two different takes on Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce. One is cooked; the other is not.
Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Author: Leela, http://shesimmers.com/
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 red Jalapeño or Serrano peppers, deseeded (See note #1 below.)
¼ cup vinegar
½ cup sugar
¾ cup water
½ tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch (See note #2 below.)
2 tablespoons water
In the blender, purée together all the ingredients, except for the last two.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the mixture thickens up a bit and the garlic-pepper bits begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
Combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and continue to simmer one more minute. The cornstarch will help the sauce to thicken slightly thereby causing nice suspension of the garlic-pepper bits; otherwise, you get a thin sauce with all the little pieces floating on the surface.
Let cool completely before storing in a glass jar and refrigerate.
Notes
I keep the chili seeds in, but your mileage may vary, so adjust the heat accordingly. More seeds = more heat. Keep in mind, however, that the heat is the strongest the day you make the sauce and starts to dissipate gradually. This sauce keeps for a long time, and after a couple of weeks, you can’t even taste the pepper.
2. If you want to make a large batch of this sauce (more than half a gallon) — and you certainly should since this sauce lasts a long time — the best thickener to use is pre-gelatinized or “pre-gel” starch which is both acid- and heat-stable (corn or potato starch is not). It’s marketed under the brand name Clearjel®. Your chilli sauce will remain viscous and maintain the nice suspension for the entire duration of its shelf life when thickened with pre-gelatinized starch. Traditionally, Thai sweet chilli sauce is not thickened with starch; the syrupy consistency is achieved through cooking the sauce containing lots of sugar down until it’s thick enough to create a good suspension of the garlic-pepper bits. However, if you notice, bottled Thai sweet chilli sauce normally contained a starch thickener. You can go either way. I personally prefer the version that contains less sugar which is this one.
The sauce keeps for a month, refrigerated.
Makes about 1 cup
Thai-Style Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce Recipe
from J. KENJI LÓPEZ-ALT, http://www.seriouseats.com/
A classic sweet, spicy, and savory accompaniment for grilled meats. This recipe was paired with Thai-Style Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang) on the Serious Eats web site.
10 to 12 red Thai bird chilies, finely minced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced (about 4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
1/2 cup palm or light brown sugar
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a small sealable container. Shake well, set aside, and allow sugar to dissolve, shaking every 10 minutes or so. When sugar is fully dissolved, store in refrigerator until ready to use. Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
