One of my favorite dipping sauces is a Thai-style sweet chili sauce (nam chim kai, น้ำจิ้มไก่). Its sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors pair very well with fried foods or any kind of protein (such as chicken, salmon, or tofu). I used to buy Mae Ploy (affiliate link) or Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce. However, over time, I felt store-bought versions lacked complexity. They tasted mainly of sugar with a dash of chili heat and some acidity.
In 2017, I developed a sweet chili sauce recipe that used honey instead of sugar. Because honey has rich malty notes, it made the chili sauce more flavorful. When I taught dumpling classes at Sacramento public libraries, I would make this sauce as a dipping sauce for our dumplings. Everyone loved the honey flavor.
Over the years, I have tried many more variations of the sauce. I wanted to update my recipe with a version that I like most nowadays. Of note, the price of honey has increased, so I modified the recipe to use less honey. To make up for the reduced amount of honey, I added the juice from 1 orange, which adds a lovely hint of citrus flavor to the sauce.
Once you start making your own sweet chili sauce, you’ll never go back to the store to buy another bottle!
COOKING NOTES FOR SWEET CHILI SAUCE
USING HONEY & OTHER SWEETENERS
I think this sauce tastes best with good quality honey. If local honey is available for you, use it! If you are vegan, feel free to substitute the honey with maple syrup or agave.
USING CORNSTARCH
To thicken the sauce, I added a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with a bit of water). If you do not have cornstarch, you can use arrowroot starch or tapioca starch instead. However, the texture of the sauce will be more viscous if you use those substitutes. You can try using slightly less arrowroot or tapioca starch (1 teaspoon instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons), and see if you like the texture before adding more.
CHILI FLAKES
Traditionally, Thai sweet chili sauce is made with Thai chilis (also known as bird’s eye chili). My recipe uses red pepper flakes/chili flakes that are of medium heat (see photo above). There are so many varieties of chili flakes on the market now, and you can use any variety of chili flakes of medium spice level. If you don’t want the sauce to be too spicy, use 1/2 teaspoon. For more spice, use 3/4 or 1 teaspoon of the chili flakes.
WAYS TO USE SWEET CHILI SAUCE
- Honey Chili Garlic Shrimp
- Dipping Sauce for Fried Shrimp Wontons, Curried Potato Fried Dumplings, Vegetarian Potstickers, or Rainbow Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Add additional flavor to my Egg Fried Rice or Pineapple Fried Rice
Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (75ml water) + 1 tablespoon, divided
- 1/3 cup (75ml) orange juice, if using fresh oranges, juice 1 medium-large orange
- 1/3 cup (112g) honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic, minced, or use 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili flakes, depending on desired spice level (see note 2)
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1/4 teaspoon table or sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Add 1/3 cup water, orange juice, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, chili flakes, and salt to a small saucepan.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water together, until you no longer see or feel any clumps of cornstarch.
- Heat the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the liquid to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to loosen any cornstarch that has sunken to the bottom of the bowl. Add the cornstarch slurry into the saucepan and stir to combine. Simmer the sauce on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Let the sweet chili sauce cool for 10 minutes before pouring into a glass jar. Once the sauce reaches room temperature, cover the jar with a tight lid. Refrigerate for up to a month. Use the sauce to make my honey chili garlic shrimp, or as a dipping or stir-fry sauce.
Notes
- Original Recipe: Ingredients: 1/2 cup (170g) honey, 1/2 cup (120ml) water + 1 tablespoon of water, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 clove garlic, minced or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch. The directions are the same as above.
- Chili Flakes: My recipe uses red pepper flakes/chili flakes that are of medium heat (see photo above). There are so many varieties of chili flakes on the market now, and you can use any variety of chili flakes of medium spice level. If you don’t want the sauce to be too spicy, use 1/2 teaspoon. For more spice, use 3/4 or 1 teaspoon of the chili flakes. I tend to use 1 teaspoon of chili flakes for more spice.
Nutrition
Editor Note: This recipe was originally published in 2017. It was updated in February 2025 with new photos and a modification to the original recipe.
D. Sly says
Hi Lisa. This looks like a must try! Could you clarify your lessons learned comment, please? Do you mean tapioca starch as a substitute for, not in addition to, the cornstarch, right? Looking for a way to make the recipe paleo. Thanks.
Lisa Lin says
Great question! You are correct, I meant using tapioca starch instead of cornstarch (not in addition to cornstarch). I will clarify that in my notes.
D. Sly says
Awesome. Thanks!
Annie says
Hi Lisa,
Can you suggest any alternative/substitute for Rice Vinegar?
Lisa Lin says
Hi Annie, I’ve used white wine vinegar before, and I thought the sauce tasted fine. You could probably use apple cider vinegar as well, but ACV tends to be a bit more intense, so you might taste the vinegar flavor a little more. I hope this helps!
Annie says
Thanks Lisa!
Jamie J says
My son requested sweet chili sauce and I found your recipe. Made this for chicken wings and it is delicious! Thank you!
Lisa Lin says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
Timothy Hanser says
we used apple cider vinegar and a splash of soy sauce. we drizzled it over Hawaiian pizza. yummy!
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for trying the recipe, Timothy!
Leah Passler says
I just whipped up a (half batch) of this super easy and delicious sauce using local Manitoba honey. I was putting off buying chili sauce because of the sugar, and then I saw your recipe! Thanks very much.
I only made a half batch, because your note says to keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. I don’t think there’ll be a problem going through it!
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for making it, Leah!
Leona Desjardins says
Hi there.
I am wondering if I could replace the shrimp for scallops in the Sweet Chilli Shrimp recipe. Thank you
Lisa Lin says
Yes!
Janet spence says
Love the sound of this sauce, can I use it as a marinate for chicken,or do I need to add anything else,trying to make my own marinate as my husband is diabetic.
Thanks
Janet
Melanie Owens says
I kept seeing sweeet chili sauce in recipes. Although I like a lot of Asian food, I don’t think I had ever had it.
I found this recipe, by accident, shortly before making a recipe that called for it. It was excellent, definitely a keeper! I’ll be trying more of your recipes. Thanks so much!
Christine says
Hi Lisa!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I would like to substitute the red pepper flakes with fresh chopped red Jalapeno peppers. How much fresh chopped red Jalapeno pepper should I add?
Lisa Lin says
Hi Christine. I’m not 100% sure, as I’ve not tried it before. But I think I’d start with half a jalapeno pepper and see where that goes spice-wise. I am not sure what your spice tolerance is either.
Christine says
Thanks so much for your reply, Lisa! I was going for very mild 🙂 I’ll have to give half a jalapeno a try!
Kendall says
This is the most delicious sauce and so easy to make! We always make it when we make her dumplings and her scallion pancakes as a dipping sauce. We also make extra and keep in our fridge so we always have some on hand 🙂 The best!
Lisa Lin says
Thank you, Kendall!!
Mona says
Delicious 😋 My husband asks for this sauce often. It’s great on everything! Thanks for sharing.
Lisa Lin says
Awesome! Thanks, Mona!!
Karen says
Does it have a strong honey taste? My son isn’t a honey fan but we love sweet chilli sauce and I would love a healthier version
LD says
Thanks for sharing, It is very good. I made the sauce with 3 cloves of garlic and 1 full TBSP red pepper because I already know I like that. Your recipe is fantastic!
Lisa Lin says
Thank you!!
Cynthia says
I was reading how to cook jasmine rice on your blog and came across the link for your sweet chili shrimp recipe and that landed me here. So naturally, I just had to cook jasmine rice and your sweet chili shrimp for dinner tonight. The sauce and it couldn’t be more simple and it also makes the perfect amount. I was a bit wary about using my precious, local honey but in the end it was worth it. It gave the sauce a wonderful flavor. I added a few dashes of soy sauce to make it a little more savory. Thank you for all the great recipes!
Lisa Lin says
Thank you, Cynthia!!
Shelagh says
Thanks great, clear explainations esp Pomegranate molasses! ❤️
RMK says
Thank you for this recipe, it´s delicious!! Is it possible to replace honey with maple syrup or agave? Want to use it in a dish for a vegan friend 🙂
Lisa Lin says
Yes. Actually, I think I like using agave more than maple syrup for this, but feel free to use maple syrup!
RMK says
Thank you lovely!!
Sara Wilson says
I substituted ginger for garlic and used the lesser portion of red pepper flakes, came out with sweet up front with spicy on the back end, delish.
Becky says
Shouldn’t sauce thicken with the cornstarch? Mine is thin, runny
Jill says
Hi there! I’ve made this recipe before and it was lovely. I made it again today and my sauce is very … gloopy? Jelly like. Not thin, thick and very stuck together. Any ideas what I did wrong?
Thanks!
Lisa Lin says
Hi Jill, it could be the cornstarch thickening the sauce a little too much. You can halve the cornstarch and see if that helps. Also, you don’t need to throw away what you just made! Just thin it out with some water.
Susan H. says
Thank you for this great recipe! I am typically not a fan of sweet chili sauce thinking of the red stuff in a jar however I needed some for a chicken recipe and found your recipe and was able to whip it up quickly. The sauce is delightful and nothing like the red stuff in a jar! I will be making this sauce on a regular basis!!
Lisa Lin says
Susan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the chili sauce! Thanks for trying this recipe!!
Poly Track says
How wonderful! I love sweet chili sauce and I’ve never thought of making it at home.