Dad's Chinese Chili Sauce, Perfected Over 61 Years
Why this recipe
Most chinese chili sauce recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 83.9K views, 2.5K likes on YouTube.
Have you ever held a strange jar of chili sauce in your hand, trying to figure out if it's spicy enough for you... or if it's too spicy? Or a fresh bottle of hot sauce? It's hard to know what they actually taste like simply by reading the descriptions and looking at the packaging. And once you buy it, you have to commit to the whole amount!
That's why we like to make our own chili sauce from scratch. Since we know exactly what goes in it, we can control the heat, the brightness, and the flavor. It's perfectly customizable to the taste you want!
This chili sauce can serve as a condiment to your favorite rice and noodle dishes, like Yangzhou Fried Rice, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Beef Chow Fun. It's great as a dipping sauce for snacks like Egg Rolls and Potstickers. You can also use this in any recipes that call for chili sauce, such as Mapo Tofu.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare garlic & chili peppers
Smash, peel, and mince the garlic (4 clove). Set the minced garlic aside.
Trim the stems off the chili peppers (6 oz). Cut them open lengthwise, then chop into thin strips. Turn the strips sideways and dice into small pieces.
Do the same for the Chao Tian Jiao peppers: trim, and dice.
Set the diced chili peppers aside in a separate bowl. Don't mix them in with the garlic yet, since we'll be adding them to the wok at different stages.
Fry garlic & peppers
Turn the stove up to the highest heat, and heat up the wok until it's hot, not quite smoking. Once the wok is hot, turn the heat down to medium or low. Add the oil (3 tbsp), and let it warm up to 250° F (121° C), which is not very hot!
You don't want the oil to burn the ingredients, but rather lightly fry them. The ingredients should not take on much color as they cook. If your oil gets too hot, lower the heat and add some room temperature oil to cool it back down.
Add the minced garlic and continuously stir. The heat and the oil will start bringing out the garlic flavor, and you'll start to smell the aroma very quickly.
Once the garlic is fragrant, add the diced chili peppers. Turn the heat down more if the oil is still rather hot, or keep it at medium if it's not too hot.
The chili peppers should bubble and sizzle calmly. No explosions! Keep stirring and mixing, letting the oil heat up and cook the ingredients through. The oil should start absorbing the red color from the chili peppers.
Cook on medium for about a minute, then turn the heat to low. Cook on low for two minutes.
Season sauce
Add vinegar (1 tsp) to enhance the flavor and help the chili sauce last longer.
Also add sugar (1 tsp), salt (1 tsp), and ground bean sauce (1 tbsp). Mix well to incorporate the seasonings, and cook for an additional 40-50 seconds.
Add sesame oil (1 tsp), mix it in, and turn the heat off.
This sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a year. When you use it, remember to scoop into the sauce using a clean, dry spoon. Be sure to toss it at any sign of mold, unfamiliar discoloration, or rancid odors.
Enjoy!
Pairs well with
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We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
