Sweet Chilli Sauce

I have had a lot of people ask about my homemade sweet chilli sauce recipe so I thought I would write a quick post about it here. We love this sauce and it is so simple to make in just a matter of minutes, definitely worth making yourself.

As you can see in the photograph, it's a beautiful colour and has an amazing taste, a mixture of hot and sweet, a real treat for the senses. The whole recipe from start to finish only takes about 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2-3 red chilli peppers
• 200ml water
• 200ml apple cider vinegar
• 200g sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 2 level tablespoons cornflour

I usually de-seed my chilli peppers first and save the seeds for use later, then Put all the ingredients except the cornflour into either a food processor or use a hand blender on it until finely chopped and blended. We usually use 2 large chilli peppers and 2 large garlic cloves but this is all down to personal taste, If using smaller ones I sometimes add 3.

Next put it into a saucepan along with some of the chilli seeds, remember a lot of the heat comes from the seeds so add an amount you would be comfortable with, I usually add about half the seeds back in. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes.

While this is simmering put the 2 level tablespoons of cornflour into a cup and mix with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Remove the pan from the heat temporarily and whisk in your cornflour mixture. This will help to thicken the sauce slightly and allow the chilli pieces to float in suspension throughout your sauce.

Return to the heat and simmer for a further few minutes, whisking continuously to help the cornflour to thicken.

All that's left to do is add to a sterilized bottle or jar and leave to cool... the sauce thickens more as it cools a bit like jam does.

This sauce can be used as a dipping sauce or on anything you choose, we love it so much I even add it to my salads and baked potatoes. It will keep for quite a while, although it's usually eaten quite quickly here. Everything seems to taste so much better if it's homemade... Do be careful though to wash your hands after preparing chilli peppers and try not to touch any sensitive parts like your eyes.

Why not have a go yourself and enjoy...