This homemade chili garlic sauce recipe is just like the famed Huy Fong brand, giving you authentically garlicky and spicy results that are rich and well balanced. Use it to create your own favorite Asian recipes! {Vegan, Gluten-Free}
If you are a fan of sriracha, you most likely have the iconic bottle with the rooster on it in your fridge. The brand that makes it is called Huy Fong, though it isn’t their only claim to fame. I love their chili garlic sauce, too. It has a special texture and flavor that adds a bright pep and zest to your Asian dishes.
It’s so easy to make your own chili garlic sauce that tastes just like the stuff you can buy at the store. All you need is a jar and my special recipe for recreating it.
Ingredients for chili garlic sauce
What type of peppers to use
My secret for getting the authentic flavor of Huy Fong is to use red jalapeno peppers. That’s what Huy Fong uses, and they bring out that bright red, hot, peppery hue, and the right level of spiciness. Red jalapeno peppers are quite special and might be hard to find. You are likely to see them at Mexican grocery stores year round. You might be able to find them in regular grocery stores when they’re in season: March to April and late July to August.
If you can’t find them though, you can use other types of chili peppers.
One of the best alternatives is red fresno pepper, which produces a very similar result.
We’ve made versions with many other different peppers and shared them with friends, and we were surprised to find that everyone had their own favorite version. The result won’t taste the same as the Huy Fong brand, but it will still be absolutely delicious.
NOTE: If you plan to use super spicy peppers (bird’s eye chili, serrano, etc.), it’s important to blend them with less spicy peppers so your sauce won’t be too hot.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Red jalapeno peppers
- Garlic
- Salt
- Sugar
- White distilled vinegar
- Water
- Cornstarch
How to make chili garlic sauce
Making chili garlic sauce is super easy. I like to think of it as an Asian salsa. It combines those red jalapeno peppers and garlic with sugar, salt, a little vinegar, and a slurry of cornstarch to create the right texture.
You’ll need a blender, a strainer, and a clean mason jar to preserve your spicy creation.
- Blend the peppers with the seasonings until it forms a chunky sauce.
- Remove 1/4 cup of blended peppers to add back later for texture.
- Blend the rest of the ingredients into a smooth sauce.
- Strain the sauce.
- Slightly cook the sauce together with the chunky part.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to thicken it.
NOTE: bringing the sauce to a gentle boil helps thicken it and brings out the flavor of the peppers. Avoid overcooking the sauce, which will make the bright red-orange color go away.
The sauce will be quite spicy once you make it. But the flavor will become milder and more balanced over time.
You should always keep the sauce in your refrigerator so it stays fresh. Then you can use it on all kinds of dishes.
How to use chili garlic sauce
What can you use it on? As a hot sauce, this chili garlic sauce is amazing with chicken wings. You can also add a spoonful of it to any type of Asian-style noodles, or even jazz up steamed or roasted vegetables with it. It’s also a key ingredient in dishes such as chili garlic shrimp, sweet and sour fish and pineapple glazed ham. It’s so versatile, which is why I’m sure it’s going to become your new favorite condiment!
Use your chili garlic sauce in these dishes:
- 15-Minute Curry Ramen with Leftover Ham
- Hokkien Noodles
- Hokkien Prawn Mee Noodle Soup (Hae Mee)
- 15-Minute Garlic Noodles
- Vegetarian Pho Noodle Soup
How to store chili garlic sauce
Store chili garlic sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I wrote down 1 month in the fridge. But in reality I’ve stored homemade chili garlic sauce in the fridge for more than 3 months and it was still good. It’s important to always use a dried clean spoon when using the sauce, to keep the bacteria out. Before using the sauce, always smell it first if you have stored it for a long time. If you plan to store the chili garlic sauce for even longer, it’s better to freeze a portion of it so it lasts longer.
Other homemade sauce recipes
Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce (Huy Fong Brand Copycat)
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225 g) red jalapeno peppers
- 2 heads garlic , peeled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/3 cup white distilled vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water , divided
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine the peppers, garlic, salt, sugar, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of water in a blender. Blend on medium until chunky. Remove 1/4 of the blended mixture.
- Turn the blender to high and liquify the remaining contents of the blender.
- Strain the liquified mixture so that you are left with just the juices.
- Add the strained juice and reserved chunky bits to a pot. Heat over medium-high heat.
- Dissolve the cornstarch with the remaining 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry.
- Once the chili pepper mixture is warm, add the cornstarch slurry. Stir until bringing to a boil.
- After reaching a boil, remove from heat and allow to cool completely. The chili garlic sauce is ready to serve.
- To store, transfer the chili garlic sauce to a clean mason jar and seal it. Store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Video
Nutrition
Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
Is the old recipe for the Sichuan all purpose chili-garlic master sauce available anywhere now that this recipe has been changed? I love the other sauce with the Sichuan peppercorns!
Hi Caitlin,
I’m glad to hear you like the old recipe!
Here it’s the old one:
30 grams (1 cup) whole dried chili peppers
15 grams (1 thumb) minced ginger
60 grams (15 cloves) garlic, crushed
1/2 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorn
4 tablespoons spicy fermented bean paste
(1) Use scissors to cut each chili pepper into 5 to 6 pieces. Prepare ginger and garlic.
(2) Add oil and peppercorn to a wok (or small skillet) and heat over medium heat. When the peppercorns start sizzling, continue cooking for about 2 minutes, until they turn dark brown and you can smell a pungent fragrance. If the oil starts to smoke, turn to lowest heat. Remove the peppercorns with a straining ladle or spatula and discard them.
(3) Add chili peppers and cook over low heat until the color darkens. This will happen very quickly, in less than 1 minute, if you’re using a gas stove.
(4) Add ginger and garlic and give it a quick stir. Add chili bean paste and sugar and continue to cook over low heat until everything is mixed well and you can smell a strong garlicky aroma, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer everything to a large plate to cool off.
(5) When the sauce has cooled, transfer it to a clean jar. You can store the sauce at room temperature for a month or in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Hi Maggie! I just came across this recipe online and I would love to give it a try. I have one question, can I keep this in a sterile jar and keep it in room temperature (2-3 weeks) until I open it? I would like to send it to a family member by post. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Hi Maggie
Is there any way you also link to the old bean paste version as I love that one? I will try this one of course!
Thank you also for all the wonderful recipes that you provide.
You are my go to for this cuisine.
Steve
Hi Steve, I just added the previous recipe at the bottom of the post (under the new recipe). Glad to hear you like it!
I liked this recipe. I couldn’t find red jalapeños so I used red Long hot peppers and one red habanero. I’m sure the flavor is a litttle different but your method for making the sauce seems solid. I think it ended up a little spicier than huy fung.
Really good! I made a batch yesterday and we’ve already eaten 1/4 of it…
Easy, fast and delicious!
Hi Maggie,
I suppose I should have messaged you about this recipe when I found it over 5 years ago. This recipe has been such a staple foundation to my Asian chili oil that I make to give out to friends and relatives for Asian New Year’s over the last few years!! This recipe is AMAZING!!!!! This year, I’m going to experiment a bit and cut the peppers into the vinegar mixture to see if “pickling” will add to the flavor at all….thoughts? suggestions?? I’m thinking about leaving the cut peppers in the vinegar/salt/water/garlic/etc. mixture for about 7 days before blending and straining. Any advice would be helpful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!
Hi Tonya, thanks for leaving a positive review and I’m glad to hear you like the recipe.
I’ve never did the “pickling” but I think it should be delicious! If you try it out, do let me know the result 🙂
Hi Maggie,
Just making this now, in step 1 , but I am a bit confused because the water seems to be added in step one but then does it need to be added to the cornstarch to make a slurry?
I totally forgot to mention that step in the recipe. Thanks so much for pointing it out. I just added the info and now it include both water amounts.
The sauce turned out very delicious! We ended up using an equal amount of water for the slurry. Had used small hot chili peppers and it was very spicy at first but the heat mellowed out after a few days. Great recipe!
I’m excited to make the Chile Garlic Sauce – I love the Huy Fong brand, but making it myself is better! Question: Is straining the sauce necessary? I often prefer the texture of dishes/sauces that aren’t strained, even though the recipe may call for it. What would be the disadvantage to skipping this step?
Thanks very much!
Hi Lili, straining the finely blended sauce then add back the chunky pieces will produce a result that is the closest to the texture of the store-bought version. If you do not wish to strain it, you probably don’t want to blend the sauce very fine, which will result in a very thick texture. Other than that, you can leave all the peppers in without straining it.
What’s the difference between spicy chili paste and chili sauce? Can your recipe be made into a paste?
Chili paste is much more thicker than the sauce and depending on the type, it can taste very different (saltier, or sweeter etc)
This recipe create the consistency more like a hot sauce, and I don’t think you can make it into a paste.
Thank you, Maggie, for replying to my question about paste vs sauce. Do you, by chance, have a recipe for making paste? the reason I ask is I have a recipe that calls for Hunan Spicy Chili Paste.
I look forward to making your sauce….sounds like it can be used in numerous recipes and is healthier option to the store bought versions with all their preservatives.
Why do you discard the filtered solids? Cant you just add that to the thickened mixture?
I filtered the solids so the end product will have a very similar consistency like the store-bought chili garlic sauce (so you can use it interchangeably in a recipe that calls for chili garlic sauce). You can certainly keep the solids to have a thicker sauce.
Hi there – I am very keen to try this sauce.
I have a huge box filled with red jalapeños that i need to use!
Is this chilli garlic sauce suitable for canning?
Thanks very much
I’ve never tried canning for this one but I don’t see why not. Even if you don’t use canning, it can be stored in the fridge for quite a long time (a couple months as long as you use a clean spoon when you use the sauce). Happy cooking!
Quick question: your “original” non-American recipe mentions adding the bean paste and sugar at the end but I don’t see sugar listed as an ingredient. What am I missing? Thanks in advance for your answer. I am anxious to make this recipe
Thanks for catching it! I must have done it by error when I copy pasted it. Just added the sugar to the list.
Maggie, thank you SO much for this recipe! I was thrilled to find out I could make my own chili garlic sauce when I realized I didn’t have it for a recipe (for which it is very important). It was really easy to make and turned out to be delicious. So wonderful!
I love ALL your recipes and cannot wait to try them
Tastes great and the house smelled amazing! I used a wide variety of peppers from the garden from sweet all the way up to super hots. I didn’t strain the peppers though and I let it cook a while longer adding water as needed.
Hi Maggie, we grow green jalapeños and a few other chilis but I can’t get red jalapeños here. Can green be used and how would that affect the final taste? (I don’t care about the color). Thank you so much!
It’s totally fine to use the green jalapeños or other types of peppers (or a blend). The taste of the sauce will come out a bit different just because other peppers will taste differently, but I think the sauce will be very tasty nonetheless.
Looks great! How long is it good for?
I wrote 1 month in the fridge, but I remember mine stayed quite a bit longer than 1 month (maybe 2 month-ish?). The key is to always use a clean spoon for the sauce to prevent bacteria growth. If you plan to store it longer, I would freeze a portion of it.
I have a good stock of red jalapenos and want to make this, enough to store up. I’m thinking that if I made it and cooked slightly then freeze in portions, I can thaw, reheat and continue with the cornstarch secion of the recipe. What do you think?
That’s definitely doable! Since you will be adding the cornstarch after the freezing and thawing, it shouldn’t affect the texture too much. When you freeze the sauce, the pepper might release a bit liquid after thawing. If you think the sauce is too thin, you can add a bit more cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon water, slowly add and stir the sauce, until the desired thickness is reached)
This was Awesome! I used a combo of chilis from our garden. Thank you for the tips Maggie. One last question – can this be frozen without compromising the flavor or quality and for how long would recommend?
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
I have not tried to freeze the sauce, so I cannot tell for sure. I have kept it in the refrigerator for quite a long time (maybe 2 months or more) and it stayed well.
I think you can definitely freeze the sauce and the flavor will stay good. Thawing the sauce might weaken the cornstarch thickening power, so the sauce might get a bit diluted.
It should stay well in the freezer for 5 to 6 months.