Asian Chili Garlic Sauce (Ultimate Homemade Condiment)

Name: Asian Chili Garlic Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 15 cloves garlic (peeled and minced (or about 1.5 heads of garlic)); 8 ounces chili peppers; 1/3 cup vinegar (distilled white (must have an acidity level of 5%)); 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste); 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (or sugar substitute of choice - add to taste)

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Unlock the secret to spicy stir fries with our quick and easy Asian Chili Garlic Sauce recipe. This Huy Fong copycat garlic chili paste is flavorful and the ultimate condiment to add to all your favorite recipes. Try adding a little bit of this homemade hot and spicy sauce to fried rice, soups, stir fries, dumpling or even part of a marinade.

2 jars of thick Asian Chili garlic sauce with a scoop on a wooden spoon.

Spicy and Flavorful

Confession time: We fully embrace our passion for all things spicy! Are you a chili head too? If we are not slathering garlic chili oil dipping sauce over pan-fried pot stickers, we are dropping in a few fresh chili peppers in our fish stir fry. However, it's not just about the spiciness for us – we crave robust flavors that are generously infused with LOTS of GARLIC.

This homemade hot pepper paste is called as Là Jiāo Jiàng (辣椒酱) in Chinese. It’s thick and packs a punch of fire and flavor that can hold its own when heated up in the wok or tossed in noodles. Whether you like just a little pop of heat or a blast of fiery flavors, this Asian garlic sauce will not disappoint. With just 4 simple pantry ingredients and 20 minutes you can be enjoying a little dash in your Spicy Pork and Bamboo Stir Fry.

Jump to:

Spicy and Flavorful
Better Than Huy Fong!
Ingredients
Equipment and Ventilation
Step By Step
How to Choose the Best Chili Peppers
Recipe Tips: Best Chili Paste with Garlic
How to make this Asian Sauce More Flavorful?
Healthy Choice
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
More Ways to Serve
Asian Chili Garlic Sauce

Better Than Huy Fong!

Do you have a bottle of Sriracha sauce in your house? It’s the one with the picture of the chicken on the front. This thinner hot sauce is great for making a little spicy mayo sauce for our baked sushi or drizzled over sweet potato fries. However, did you know that Huy Fong also makes a chunky chili garlic sauce?

We love their sauce but are not huge fans of the “hidden ingredients”. It all starts out ok with chili peppers, salt, garlic, and distilled vinegar but then there are all these preservatives like potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfate. In addition, there are thickeners like xanthan gum. Why would I want to put these items that I can hardly pronounce in my food?

You can make your own copycat Asian chili garlic sauce cheaper, fresher and without any weird fake ingredients or fillers right at home.

Let’s dive in and we will show you how.

Ingredients

Chili peppers (also referred to as chile peppers or chillies) are spicy capsicum fruits. Yes, chilis belong to the fruit family and not the vegetable family. We used Fresno chili peppers because they are a milder pepper. When they are ripe, they are bright red with a little fruity and somewhat smoky flavor. In addition, Fresno peppers have approximately the same Scoville Heat Index (2500 – 10,000) as a jalapeño.

Sometimes, we like to do a mix of fresh chilies like adding Thai chili, serrano or even a few mild sweet bell peppers to tame the heat. Mixing up the chilis adds a unique flavor profile to this spicy sauce. Unless you are a glutton for punishment, we would not use ghost peppers or plain Thai chili peppers unless you like pure fire. (smiling)

In addition, you can also use dried chili peppers. You will have to soak them in hot water for about a ½ hour to soften before pureeing.

Distilled White Vinegar – Provides 2 very important functions. First it gives a pop of brightness to this Asian chili garlic sauce. Secondly, it acts as a natural preservative. As a bonus addition, white vinegar is also a budget friendly option.

Did you know that every vinegar has a different acidity and pH level? To preserve foods, it is suggested that you use vinegar with at least a 5% acidity level. It is not suggested that you use rice vinegar for this recipe as many brands only have a 4% acidity level.

Garlic – but of course- right? We used approximately 1.5 heads of fresh garlic. If you are wondering, there are approximately 10 to 12 cloves of garlic in a head of garlic.

Kosher Salt and Sugar – These pantry ingredients help balance the flavors. You can use a sugar substitute if needed for dietary issues.

Equipment and Ventilation

If you have a food processor or blender, you can have this recipe for chili garlic sauce done in a flash! We also recommend wearing kitchen or disposable gloves when handling chili peppers just like we do when we make our prik nam pla sauce. Some individuals are very sensitive, and it can cause irritation to the skin. In addition, if you get some of that capsicum oil under your fingers nails and then wipe your eyes or anywhere where the sun does shine - you will know about it. Best to be safe rather than sorry.

Before you begin, open the windows. You can thank us later but get some ventilation and air flowing through your home. Chopping and cooking hot chili peppers will certainly open your sinuses.

Step By Step

Removing the skin from garlic and chopping Fresno Chili Peppers.

Remove the skins from the garlic cloves.
Cut the stem off the Fresno pepper or chili peppers of choice. We kept the seeds. However, you can choose to remove some of the seeds to make this Asian chili garlic sauce milder.
Roughly chop the chili peppers.

Pureeing garlic chili sauce in a blender and transferred into a pan.

Place the garlic and chilis into the food processor along with the white vinegar, salt and sugar and puree.
Pour the pureed garlic and chili sauce into a pan and simmer slowly over low heat for about 15 minutes. The mixture will start out pale and then turn a bright “jungle red color” when ready. In addition, most of the liquid will be gone. Check out our video below in the recipe card to see it in action.

Cooking down the Asian sauce into a hot chili paste.

If you want your spicy sauce to be a little less chunky, you can put half of it in the blender to process a little longer. On the other hand, if you like your sauce to be a little thinner, you can add a few teaspoons of water to thin it out.
We like to keep our Asian chili garlic sauce a little thicker as we generally use it in stir fry recipes or in recipes like our chili lime noodles.

How to Choose the Best Chili Peppers

Chili peppers can be ready found at grocery stores, farmers markets and wet markets. Readily available in the summer through the early fall.
Choose the freshest peppers. Fresno peppers will start out green. However, as they ripen, they will turn red.
You can even pick chili peppers when they are not all the way ripe, but they will not be as hot or fruity. They should be firm without any soft spots and be free from any mold or discoloration.
Sometimes as chili peppers ripen or age, they start to show corking or these tan stripes on their skin. Don’t worry! They are still edible. These lines are showing because the pepper had to stretch its skin quickly to accommodate for the rapid growth. Yep, think stretch marks from pregnancy – kind of the same concept. We find that those with these corking marks are a bit hotter than the ones without them.

Chile garlic sauce in jars with a wooden spoon scooping out a teaspoon.

Recipe Tips: Best Chili Paste with Garlic

Please remember to wear gloves and ventilate your home when cooking chili peppers.
Slowly simmer the Asian garlic chili sauce over low heat. You will know when it is done cooking because the sauce will thicken. In addition, the paste will turn from a darker pale red to a vibrant jungle red color.
If you prefer your sauce to be a little thinner, you can puree half and add a few teaspoons of water to the sauce.
Thoroughly soak and cleanse the components of the food processor or blender, knives and cutting boards that have come into contact with the chili peppers. You don’t want your morning cherry smoothie tasting like a head of garlic!

How to make this Asian Sauce More Flavorful?

The 4 basic items of chilis, vinegar, salt and sugar are just the foundations to this spicy Asian sauce. Try adding these ingredient suggestions to make a more flavorful Asian hot sauce. We recommend that you add these optional ingredients in the food processor along with the basics and then cook them together. You will have to adjust the amounts to your preferred taste profile.

Shallots
Fresh ginger
Soy sauce (tamari sauce)
Fish sauce
Sesame oil
Dried Fermented black beans (rinsed well)
Ground white pepper
Ground Sichuan peppercorns
5 spice powder
Coriander root

Asian chili garlic sauced in glass jars.

Healthy Choice

Good News! In a scientific review by Yamani et al, regular consumption of chili peppers has shown to lower risks from cardiovascular and cancer related deaths. The secret lies in the capsicum. Researchers have found that chili peppers act like a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

Capsaicin is an oil like compound that sends a message to your brain of a burning pain. It’s a feel-good kind of burn when you are enjoying your meals.

As you may already know, chilis are noted as a hot food in Traditional Chinese Medicine due to warming effects that they have on the body. You may have experienced that warming sensation, beads of sweat on your forehead or even a red flushing of your face after eating chili peppers. This is just your body’s response to the message from your brain that capsaicin has entered your system.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

How to store homemade chili garlic sauce?

Please store chili garlic sauce in a clean and airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. You can also freeze your paste for up to 3 months. We prefer to use a glass jar with a lid because it does not stain the plastic container and it is not porous.

If you decide to freeze, try this little trick. We put a little dab in each of the sections of an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. Then, we place it in a freezer safe bag. This way you can take one cube out at a time for a special recipe.

How to make garlic chili sauce less spicy?

1. Remove some or all the seeds and the inner white membrane of the chili pepper. This is where most of the capsaicin compound lies.
2. Try adding milder chili peppers or even sweet bell peppers. Mix it up with a couple hot peppers and the rest all mild ones.
3. Add a bit more sugar to balance the flavors.
4. The addition of shallots and spices like cardamom and 5 spice powder can also be used to make the sauce more aromatic without adding the heat.

More Ways to Serve

There are so many ways to enjoy this delicious spicy condiment.

Add a little teaspoon to your marinated meats and vegetables in preparation for the grill.
Make a dipping sauce for dumplings or air fried spring rolls with the garlic chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil and a little dash of black vinegar.
Add a dollop to you favorite noodles, soups or even as a starter for a hot pot broth.

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