Thai-Style Sweet Chili Sauce � Nam Jim for the Win

As promised, here is my take on Thai-style sweet chili sauce, or Nam Jim, if you want to sound cool. I do a sort of hybrid between the cooked and fresh versions, and using this technique, I think you get the best of both worlds.

If you can�t find these beautiful Thai bird�s eye chilies, you can make this sauce with any other combination of fresh, preserved, and/or dried chilies. Things like jalapeno, red Fresno, or Serrano chilies work great, as does habanero. If it�s hot, give it a shot.

Above and beyond the array of deep-fried treats you enjoy this stuff with at your favorite southeast-Asian restaurant, it also makes an incredibly good sauce for grilled meats, especially chicken and pork. Even the most insipid boneless-skinless breast shines, once shined with this sauce.

And I wasn�t kidding about the fish sauce being mandatory. It really is a key ingredient here, so I�m counting on you to either get some, or maybe sit this one out. As always, the amounts listed below are what tastes �perfect� to me, but what do I know? So, be sure to taste and adjust before you serve. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 1 cup of Thai-Style Sweet Chili Sauce:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 teaspoons sambal chili sauce

1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

6 cloves finely crushed garlic

2 tablespoons finely minced Thai chili peppers (or more of a less spicy pepper like Frenso, Jalapeno, or Serrano)