Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

1. 1

   ["In the blender, puree 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", "", "", "1. 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(R). 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."]

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.