Spicy Chile-Lemongrass Sauce

This simple recipe for Spicy Chile-Lemongrass Sauce is mouthwateringly delicious and packed with lots of aromatics, spice and a touch of sweetness. This is the kind of sauce you'll want to spoon over chicken or tofu, stir into a soup or use as a flavorful dipping sauce.

This recipe is inspired by Sa Tế, a Vietnamese lemongrass and chili sauce, though it is very, very different. My spicy chile-lemongrass sauce features fresh hot peppers, garlic, ginger, scallions, limes and, of course, lemongrass. These ingredients are all briefly fried in olive oil and the result is a flavor-packed sauce that I love spooning over proteins like chicken or tofu, or stirring into soups, stews or even salad dressings.

Store the sauce in an airtight container like a mason jar in the refrigerator and it will keep for at least a week (though you'll probably finish it much faster than that). This sauce is an example of how I like to pack in flavor to dishes that my whole family will eat. For example, I'll make some of our Pulled Chicken in a Dutch Oven, then serve it with some rice and our Seared Green Beans. My kids will enjoy the chicken and rice, and vegetables, while my wife and I will spoon on this spicy chile-lemongrass sauce and top with lots of fresh herbs for a big boost of flavor. Yum!

Jump to:

• Ingredients that Matter
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Storage and Serving
• FAQ
• More Sauce
• Dinner Ideas
• Recipe

Ingredients that Matter

This recipe calls for a handful of fresh ingredients that should be readily available at your local grocery store. Here are the ingredients you'll need for this recipe:

• Hot Peppers. For this recipe I recommend using your favorite hot pepper. My top recommendation are bird peppers, which are small thin peppers (green or red) that are fiery hot! They may be hard to find (depending on where you live), so you can also use serrano, jalapeno or cayenne. You'll want 3-5, depending on the size of the peppers and your spice tolerance.
• Lemongrass. This fresh herb has a magnificent lemon flavor (hence the name). You should be able to find it fresh in most grocery stores, often sold near fresh ginger root. I recommend removing the outer layer or two of the lemon grass (reserve for a broth), then cut into quarters, and cut those each in half lengthwise. Then thinly slice and mince it all into very small pieces. Lemongrass can be quite fibrous, so it's important to cut it very, very small.
• Aromatics. While lemongrass and hot peppers play the starring role in this sauce, fresh aromatics, including ginger root, garlic and scallions, play an important role. These ingredients provide a backbone of flavor that compliments the flavor of lemongrass exceptionally well.
• Brown Sugar. Adding just a tablespoon of brown sugar to the sauce tames the heat a bit and creates just a touch of sweetness for an ideal balance of flavor. You can use regular sugar, honey or maple, though I like the molasses flavor from the brown sugar in this sauce.
• Soy Sauce. Finishing the sauce with some soy sauce gives the sauce lots of umami and salty flavor. Use tamari if you you'd like the recipe to be gluten-free.
• Olive Oil. The sauce is made by simmering the fresh ingredients in olive oil. Use whatever oil you'd like, but I recommend using a light flavor oil.
• Lime. The sauce includes some fresh lime zest and lime juice for bright, floral flavor.
• Fish Sauce (optional). To really up the flavor of this sauce, add a splash of fish sauce to taste.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This sauce comes together in about 15 minutes and simply requires some knife work and a bit of simmering. Here is how to make this recipe:

Hint: Use a red hot pepper to get a more vibrant color in the sauce.

Substitutions

This sauce is easy to adjust based on your dietary needs and flavor preferences. Here are some ideas on what to swap:

• Gluten-Free - Simply swap out the soy sauce for tamari to make this recipe gluten-free.
• Vegan - Do not use fish sauce if you want to keep this recipe vegan. You could use coconut aminos, if preferred.
• More Heat - Did you know that not all hot peppers are actually hot? That's right, the hot pepper you buy may not actually be hot. There are a lot of factors that go into the heat of a pepper, but for our sake, what you should do is taste the pepper before using it. Taste a bit off the tip and the stem end to get a sense of how hot the peppers are. Then, adjust the amount of peppers you use based on your heat preference.

Equipment

I recommend using a small saucepan, like this Cuisinart 1.5 Quart Saucepan with Lid to make this recipe. You'll also want a good sharp chef's knife and cutting board to make all those little chops. Or, you could even use a small food processor like this Cuisinart Mini-Prep Food Processor to make short work of all that cutting.

Storage and Serving

The sauce should be stored in an airtight container like a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Note that as the sauce sits in the refrigerator, the oil will rise to the surface and, over time, solidify. You can either leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes or so, or reheat in a small saucepan for about 15 seconds, just until the oil becomes a liquid again.

You could freeze this sauce in an airtight container for up to 1 month, though I doubt you'll have enough leftover to justify freezing it.

Looking for some ideas on how to use this sauce? Try adding a spoonful to our Lentil and Red Pepper Soup or as a dip for our Air Fryer Steak Fries. It also makes a delicious dressing for salads or slaws, like our Purple Cabbage Slaw.

FAQ

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Dinner Ideas

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