Sweet Chili Sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar (can also be substituted with white vinegar)
- ½ cup cold water
- ½ cup raw honey
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
- ½ tbsp Sriracha or other hot sauce
- (or however much you want)
- 1 tsp cold water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
In a saucepan, bring rice vinegar, water, and honey to boil. Once boiled, turn down the heat and add garlic, chili flakes, and hot sauce. Let simmer for three to five minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cornstarch with cold water until dissolved. Add to sauce pan and stir till thickened. Thicken with more cornstarch mixture or thin out with water
When the sauce is at desired consistency, add into stir fry, or let cool completely in refrigerator before serving with cold dishes such as veggie sticks or salad rolls.
Stores for about two weeks sealed in the fridge and can be enjoyed anytime
After a nice, two-week break filled with stuffing, turkey, cookies, cakes, wine, presents, the works—I don’t ever want to eat again. Just kidding. As everyone comes to post-Christmas-food coma, the New Year’s resolutions begin to take action via gym memberships and salad for days, but let’s be real; how many people can eat salad meals for more than two days straight? Before you think that you can only get healthy again via leafy greens and dressing, here are some better tasting healthy options that will definitely last you longer than a week.
For those wanting a basic step towards a healthier year, I suggest simply upping your veggie intake by sneaking them in everywhere you can. Stuffed veggies, stir fry, and pasta sauce are a few things that are easy to throw tons of vegetables in without that jaw ache from crunching salad. If you want to step it up a notch, try adding greens to your morning smoothie. All it takes is a bit of spinach or some leftover steamed kale in with your favourite fruits, and you shouldn’t even taste it (the colour is easy to get over).
If you’re up for a challenge, cut out white flour and sugar. And when I say white flour, I don’t necessarily advocate cutting everything gluten. I mean nix the Wonder Bread white from your life. Opt for whole grains, or even better, sprouted grains, instead of regular white bread or pasta. And swap white granulated sugar for less processed options like organic cane sugar and natural sweeteners, like honey and maple syrup.
Don’t feel like you have to become a vegan cold turkey to cleanse yourself post-holiday. All it takes are simple twists on your everyday menu that will add up in the long run. So, to kick off another year and another busy semester, here is a sweet chili sauce recipe that’s quick and easy to whip up. With the simple change of honey instead of sugar, this sauce can be used for anything from stir-fry to veggie dip. You can double or triple the recipe to keep in the fridge for another time, and adjust the spice to your tolerance, because if you’re a wimp like me, you just like the pepper flakes for garnish instead of heat.
