Chili or Chile Sauce

A condiment that can be made from any one of many different chile peppers, depending on the desired intensity and flavor. This Sauce may be blended with vinegar, herbs, garlic, and other seasonings to produce a somewhat sweet and spicy flavored red, green, yellow, or brown Chili Sauce. Many different ingredients can be added to create this sauce, such as tomatoes in some recipes, giving the Sauce a deeper red color and a stronger tomato flavor, while green ingredients produce the green version of Chili Sauce. A combination of ingredients, some of which may be roasted will provide a brown-toned Sauce.

Asian Chili Sauces are available that contain various herbs such as basil and are flavored with different levels of sweetness as well as heat intensities. The Sauces may be produced as red, green or yellow colored mixtures that are also referred to as Chili Pastes. Typically, the Asian Sauce or Paste will contain more of an oil base (palm or soybean oil) than a U.S. or Mexican variety of Chili Sauce.

Mexican Chile Sauces are typically red in color, using tomatoes as a base flavored with various chiles that contain a higher level of heat to provide a very spicy taste. Prepared with varying intensities of heat, from mild to extra hot, all types of Chile Sauces are commonly served as toppings for red meat, poultry, fish, egg dishes, and other foods to be seasoned with a sauce.