*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
For YEARS, I was obsessed with a chili garlic sauce that was served at my fave Chinese restaurant. I had no problem just polishing off a plate of plain rice as long as there was plenty of this sauce on the table. It was that good. You could make a bowl of friggin' confetti into a worthy meal with this sauce on hand.
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
I tried just about every Huy Fong chili sauce available at my local Asian market, and faithfully, super-carefully recreated their sriracha recipe AND sambal oelek recipe. Then I branched out to chili crisp and nam prik pao, but was STILL trying to find the sauce from the restaurant I liked so much. I figured I had better figure out how to make this stuff once and for all!
This Szechuan-style chili garlic sauce recipe is a secret weapon every kitchen table needs - uncomplicated, punchy, and endlessly versatile. After lots of tweaks and experimentation, I figured out that just a tiny bit of white pepper, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, and a cinnamon stick were all the sauce needed to be severely legendary, and something I wanted to practically drink by the glass.
You can achieve that restaurant-quality taste in under 20 minutes, using just a handful of pantry staples. This recipe is a one-pot wonder that delivers on both speed and flavor. If you've been on the hunt for a chili garlic sauce recipe that nails it on the first try - fast, flavorful, and foolproof - then you've hit the gosh darned jackpot, babe.
Jump to:
🥰Why you'll adore this Chili Garlic Sauce
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan sauce recipes, this Szechuan chili sauce is made without any shrimp paste, fish sauce, oyster sauce or other animal products. It also happens to be one of the gluten-free vegan recipes that ANYONE will be delighted to be served, provided they don't hate spice.
🌶️ Perfectly Balanced Heat. The blend of red bird's eye chilies and Szechuan peppercorns create a harmonious, nuanced heat with just the right amount of kick without overwhelming your palate. Think of this less as a hot sauce and more as a chunky Chinese chili oil.
🕒 Quick and Easy. Ready in under 20 minutes from start to finish!
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide. Like all of the vegan recipes I share, this garlic chili sauce has been meticulously tested and approved by a frankly quite massive team of recipe testers from all around the world.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🌶️ Ingredients for chili garlic sauce
Red Bird's Eye Chilies (Thai Chilies)
I did a lot of experimentation with different kinds of chilies and loved the results using Thai red chili peppers for this recipe. I use them regularly to bring heat to dishes such as Vietnamese salad rolls, Indonesian sambal goreng kentang, urap sayur salad, and vegan sisig. Of course, you can use red jalapeños or fresno chilies in their place if you want a milder sauce. But I mean, do you? Do you really??
Szechuan Peppercorns (Chinese Peppercorns)
Szechuan (also spelled Sichuan) peppercorns offer a unique citrusy and a sorta fun numbing sensation for your tongue and mouth rather than intense heat. Any good Asian grocery store will have it, or you can definitely order 'em up on Amazon. They complement the spiciness of the chilies and provide a distinctive flavor profile. Substitute with black peppercorns if there's no way you can find the OG stuff.
White Pepper
A milder alternative to black pepper, white pepper comes from the same plant but is processed differently, giving it a subtler, smokier flavor. I use it in a lot of vegan Indonesian recipes like bihun goreng, nasi kunyit, and other Southeast Asian dishes like my tom yum paste, and vegan Khao Pad (Thai fried rice). It steps up the overall spiciness of the sauce without overpowering the other ingredients. If unavailable, use a pinch of black pepper as a substitute.
Sugar
A small amount of sweetener is important to balance the acidity in this recipe. I have made it with regular ol' brown sugar, but I prefer using coconut sugar or palm sugar. Palm sugar is an awesome sweetener to have on hand for Southeast Asian desserts such as ondeh ondeh, turon, and kuih dadar.
Star Anise
A star-shaped spice with a licorice-like flavor, star anise adds complexity and depth to the sauce. I use it in making homemade madras curry powder and kecap manis, which you can learn how to make in my mie goreng recipe. I'm also sometimes use it when brewing vegan Thai tea.
If you can't get star anise (Asian food stores and specialty stores will have 'em for sure), you can replace it in this recipe with ⅛ teaspoon of anise seeds (the little tiny ones you might use in making picarones, - the sweet potato donuts from Peru).
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Thai Chili Garlic Sauce:
You can make a raw chili garlic sauce with a fruitier, sweeter flavor than this recipe. It is called nam jim jaew. The downside is that it doesn't have nearly the shelf life that this recipe has.
Indonesian Chili Garlic Sauce:
Add a tablespoon of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) to complement the spiciness with a hint of sweetness and depth, and brew the sauce with a few Indonesian bay leaves. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make chili garlic sauce
Nail this iconic Chinese chili sauce on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Prep the Chilies and Aromatics:
Remove the stems from the Thai chilies. Place them in a food processor or blender with minced garlic, Szechuan peppercorns, white pepper, rice vinegar, salt, and palm sugar (or brown sugar). Pulse until a coarse paste forms.
Step Two
Heat the Oil:
In a small saucepan, heat the cooking oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes until it reaches approximately 350°F (175°C).
Step Three
Sizzle in the Flavor Bombs:
Carefully add the chili garlic paste to the hot oil. Toss in star anise and a cinnamon stick. Reduce heat to low and stir-fry for five minutes, letting the flavors of the chilies and garlic infuse the oil. Cook until the garlic bits turn very lightly golden.
Step Four
Remove and Jar Up:
Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick from the saucepan. Allow your homemade garlic chili sauce to cool to room temperature. Transfer the cooled sauce to a clean, airtight container. Refrigerate to preserve freshness, lasting up to 6 weeks.
💡Serving Ideas
By golly, the number of dishes this chili sauce works with is staggering.
It's a fantastic versatile sauce for rice dishes like tom yum fried rice, nasi minyak, Indonesian coconut rice, and vegan kimchi fried rice.
Of course, noodle dishes cry out at night, begging to be drizzled with this stupid-silly-yummy sauce! I am all about having it on the table when I serve Thai noodles such as pad woon sen, vegan drunken noodles, and vegan pad see ew. Burmese Khao Suey, Indonesian bami goreng, Malaysian mee rebus, and Vietnamese soy sauce noodles go great with it too.
Want to hook up your vegan fried chicken? Mix some of this sauce into vegan kewpie mayo and drizzle it onto your vegan drumsticks or vegan buffalo wings with that legendary goodness.
👉Top tips
- Choose the Right Chilies For YOU: Opt for fresh and vibrant red bird's eye chilies for the best flavor and heat level. To make a less spicy sauce, rather than decreasing the amount of chilies, swap them out for a milder variety like red jalapeño peppers, or Fresno chilies.
- Control the Oil Temperature: Start the chili paste in hot oil, then lower the heat as soon as you have started cooking it. This ensures the ingredients cook evenly without burning the garlic, which is KEY to the sauce's vibrant color and flavor.
- Store Properly for Freshness: Transfer the cooled sauce to a clean, airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. Always use a clean, dry spoon to get sauce out of the jar, so as not to introduce bacteria.
- Spice Protection: If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves when handling peppers to avoid irritation and accidental contact with your eyes or face.
- Make Sure You Can Breathe! When cooking the chili sauce, keep the fan on over your stove, or make the sauce with the windows open.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Chili garlic sauce can vary in spiciness depending on the type and amount of chilies used. Off the bat, this recipe is on the more spicy, but tolerable side.
Comparing it to other sauces: It's much spicier than the New Mexico chili sauce you might use on vegan tostadas and vegan burrito bowls, but wayyyyy less spicy than shatta sauce, which is kinda pure fire. I would say it's on par with the spice level of Zhoug, but not as tangy and garlicky. Adjust the quantity of chilies to suit your heat preference.
Nope! I'm not at all going for that in this recipe. But if that's your thing, follow my sambal oelek recipe and add the optional garlic. This particular recipe is a copycat recipe of an Asian chili garlic sauce that a lot of Chinese restaurants in the USA make.
I like THIS recipe, which is more like a chunky chili oil than the popular Huy Fong sauce, but (shhhh) don't tell anyone I said so! Huy Fong's sauce is based on Indonesian sambal, whereas this sauce is commonly served with Chinese food.
Yes, you can adjust the sweetness by varying the amount of palm sugar (or alternatives) used. Start with less and add more according to your taste.
Properly stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, chili garlic sauce can last up to 6 weeks. Always check for any signs of spoilage before using.
Most Chinese-style chili garlic sauce on the market is vegan, but if you are not making your own, check the ingredients. Some manufacturers use fish paste, fish sauce, belacan or other animal-based ingredients. And to that, I say: "That Sucks." Which is why I wrote this recipe for ya!
✌️What to drizzle chili garlic sauce on:
Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 60 grams red bird's eye chilies
- ⅓ cup garlic minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ⅓ cup canola oil vegetable oil, olive oil, or sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the fresh chilies and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the minced garlic cloves, Szechuan peppercorns, white pepper, rice vinegar or lime juice, salt, and palm sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar. Process until the mixture forms a coarse paste.
- Heat the canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until it reaches approximately 350°F (175°C).
- Carefully add the chili-garlic paste to the hot oil. Stir in the star anise and cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to low and stir fry the mixture for five minutes, allowing the flavors to temper and for the bits of garlic to become lightly golden.
- Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick. Optionally, add a teaspoon of sesame seeds while the oil is still hot.
- Let the sauce cool to room temperature, then transfer it to a clean, airtight container. Store this homemade chili-garlic sauce recipe in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 6 weeks.
Notes
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Terri says
Love this! Can use on so much too
Carol Levine says
That recipe is incredible. The color of home made chilli garlic sauce alone makes me run for a glass of cold water!!!