It's great as a dip for spring rolls and Thai ribs, especially if you cut up Thai bird's eye chiles and add to the sauce. Chicken barbecued with a basting paste of black pepper, coriander root and garlic and served with this sauce (I've also done this with swordfish) is delicious.

"In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the liquid reduces slightly and thickens to a light syrup, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chili garlic sauce. Cool to room temperature.

"Transfer the cooled sauce to a tightly sealed jar and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

"Makes about 1 1/2 Cups."

As with Temple, McDermott's spelling is her own. If you are having trouble finding sweet chile sauce, then tuong ot toi sauce might be even more of a problem. From her glossary description, this is a Vietnamese sauce of chiles, vinegar, garlic and salt. I'd probably try sambal oelek instead (and up the fresh garlic), or she suggests sriracha sauce (she also suggests Tabasco, but that's ridiculous for knowledgeable CHs). If you do go with dried red chiles, try buzzing whole dried red chiles for a very short time in a spice grinder until coarse, then letting them soften in the cooling syrup. A Thai restauranteur told me to do this with cayennes for salads like yums and larbs and it makes the dried chiles look almost fresh once they've soaked a bit. Any of these versions will result in a hotter sauce than the commercial type.

Cheers,

"assembly" Virginia

From: Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking Nancie McDermott
Posted By: Assembly, Via: Chile Head Mailing List
Post Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000