Recipe - Speedy Sweet Chilli Sauce...

I love this condiment (almost as much as mayonnaise) and I always have. I never really gave any thought to it being vegan, until now, and thank goodness it is!

I think it goes well with so many dishes and I'm so pleased I've finally got round to making my own.

I suspect many of you will have made this already - but for those who haven't, I'd really recommend it, because it's so quick and simple to create, yet tastes and looks incredibly impressive. It would make a perfect gift for someone and I think is something I shall include in my Xmas hamper this year.

Enjoy!

Chantal xx

[Makes approx 340g / 350ml - recipe can easily be multiplied for batch cooking]

Collect a: Small pan and wooden spatula, food blender, small cup and teaspoon, sterilised glass bottle/s with cap/s, funnel, dry tea towel.

Gather

4 large red chillis - chopped (remove seeds from 3 of them & retain seeds from 1 or more if you like it really spicy)
3 cloves of garlic - roughly chopped
125ml  /  1/2 cup clear rice vinegar
125ml  /  1/2 cup cold filtered water
125ml  /  1/2 cup caster sugar
4 tsp corn flour - mixed with a little cold water to form a creamy consistency
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (I use pink himilayan rock salt & used just two tiny wooden scoop measures)

Create

1.  Put your glass bottle in the oven and turn on to 140C (or fill the already cleaned bottle with boiling water from the kettle).

2.  Literally add all of the ingredients to your food blender and whiz until the pieces of chilli are very small.

3.  Transfer the sauce to the pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally.

heat gently in a pan and stir until thickens and just bubbling

4.  As the sauce heats up it will start to thicken. Once it starts to bubble, remove from the heat.

5.  Very carefully using a tea towel either remove your bottle/s from the oven or pour out the boiling water and fill with the sauce using the funnel (this may be safer with two people - as if your funnel creates a seal with the bottle the boiling sauce can splash back up and burn you!)

6.  Seal the bottle with the cap immediately and leave to cool - or, leave unsealed and use on the noodle salad mentioned below (patience never was one of my strong points!) and refrigerate once cooled.

the finished sauce in a very glamorous old ketchup bottle!

Enjoy!

Obviously the food to serve with this tangy sauce is veg tempura (a vegan classic!) which you can easily make from a variety of veg dipped in a thin batter of cornflour & sparkling water and then deep fried.

This veg tempura is my fave starter at Typedong restaurant in Exeter - they do lots of vegan food!

 The day I made this sauce I added it to a warm noodle salad with shredded vegetables:

poured over this warm rice noodle salad with shredded veg & toasted cashews

A couple of days later I used copious amounts of the sauce to go with my nemesis: avocado - made into the rather crispy little panko-covered goujons. Loved the sauce, ate half the avocado - so it was progress at least!

'enjoying' some crispy avocado goujons with my sweet chilli sauce!