Vietnamese Sa Tế (lemongrass chili sauce)

Jump to recipe

Buyer beware: this condiment is spicy. There is no gentle heat with this one, but it imparts the most wonderful flavour to phở or bún chả. I would suggest you start with a little and use to your taste and tolerance, but it’s well worth it.

There are not many ingredients in this sauce, and it is quick to bring together. I haven’t seen this in the stores, but tried it for the first time last year in a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant in Camrose, AB.

I looked for recipes online and tweaked and played with the ingredients until I found something close, but not the same as the delicious sauce that the owner of the store made and shared with me. She was rather cagey about the ingredients, and told me there were a few things in there I didn’t need to worry about. So, here is my version of Vietnamese Sa Tế sauce. Enjoy as you dare!

---

Vietnamese Sa Tế (lemongrass chili sauce)

Vietnamese Sa Tế (lemongrass chili sauce)

Servings: yields about 3 cups of sauce

Ingredients

• 3 cups vegetable oil

• 2 bulbs garlic, chopped

• 2 cups chopped lemongrass (I found lemongrass ready chopped in the freezer section of my local Asian grocery store).

• 2 cups chopped Thai or birds eye chilis

• 1 cup chopped large dried red chilies

• 1 tbs salt

• 1 tsp sugar

---

Instructions

1. Place oil in a large wok or saucepan and heat. The oil is hot enough when bubbles form around a chopstick inserted into the oil.

2. Add the chopped lemongrass to the oil and stir for a few minutes to infuse the oil.

3. Turn the heat to low, and add the garlic, and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add the chopped fresh chilies to the oil - I chopped mine in a food processor until I got small pieces of chili. Continue to cook for 5 more minutes.

5. Chop the dried chilies in the food processor until the same size as the fresh chili pieces.

6. Add the dried chili, salt and sugar to the oil, and gently simmer for 15 minutes.

7. Once cooled, decant into jars and refrigerate until serving. The sauce should stay fresh at least a month in the refrigerator. This can also be frozen.

---