Chili Garlic Sauce is a hot and spicy sauce made with chili peppers and certain other ingredients such as mustard, capsaicin extract, etc. Chili Garlic Sauce recipe is quite popular in many cuisines and the sauce is generally used as a condiment to spice up meals, especially in burgers, soups, ketchups, etc. The chili peppers are usually infused with vinegar, oil, water, alcohol, beer or even fruits and vegetables and the intensity of heat in the sauce varies depending on the proportion of these ingredients. Depending on the locally available ingredients and the local taste, there are many variations to the recipe of Chili Garlic Sauce.

Origin
Chili Garlic Sauce is a hot sauce that originated in Mexico and South American countries. In Mexico the sauce was made with green chili peppers, Chipotles (dried jalapenos), Tabasco, Habanera, and other locally available chilies. With time, the popularity of the Chili Garlic Sauce recipe increased and today there are many variations of the sauce ranging from North American, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and other South East Asian versions of the Chili Garlic Sauce.

Preparation
Chili Garlic Sauce is quite popular in many cuisines. The ingredients that are included in a traditional Chili Garlic Sauce recipe are chopped chilies, minced garlic, minced ginger, fresh tomatoes, chopped onions, soy sauce, all spice, corn starch, sugar, salt and oil. All the ingredients except sugar and corn starch are heated in a saucepan with a little water on medium flame. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the contents are cooled and transferred into a blender to make into a smooth paste. This paste is again put back into the saucepan and cooked with diluted corn starch and sugar. After the sauce thickens, the stove is turned off and the sauce is poured into airtight bottles to be stored away. Different types of chilies can be used for making the Chili Garlic Sauce.

Popular Variations
Chili Garlic Sauce has many variations that cater to individual tastes of various countries. Some popular variations of the Chili Garlic Sauce recipe are –

Thai Chili Sauce – This recipe uses birds eye chilies, paprika, Thai fish sauce, cilantro and lime juice along with other ingredients as used in the basic recipe of Chili Sauce. The only ingredient that does not go into this sauce is garlic. The process of cooking this sauce is similar to that of Chili Garlic Sauce.

Habanero Hot Sauce, Jalapeno Sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce, Heincz 57 Sauce are certain other popular Chili Sauce recipes.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Chili Garlic Sauce adds a lot of flavor and taste to the dish to which it is added. However, if one is not used to consuming spicy foods, the inclusion of the sauce in any recipe can lead to stomach upset and other stomach related ailments.