Lismore resident Tessalie Parker loves growing chillies - and an abundance of chillies in the garden brings a need to use them.

"I originally got this recipe from friends of mine, but I changed it to have more of a Thai flavour.

"It’s like a Thai hot sweet chilli sauce with fish sauce – if you wanted a vegetarian option, add coconut amino fish sauce, or use double the amount of soy sauce or tamari instead.

“It’s great to eat with anything - I like to eat it with dumplings or Thai fish cakes or chicken stew. I like a dollop on steamed vegetables."

Ingredients: 

10 cloves of garlic

10cm knob of ginger

8 kaffir limes leaves already cut up

3 stems of lemongrass already cut up

1 cup of fresh coriander

cumin and coriander seeds (optional)

1kg raw sugar

1 cup of water

250ml vinegar

125ml fish sauce

125ml soy sauce (or tamari)

Method:

Blend to a paste in a food processor the garlic, chillies, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, cumin and coriander seeds, fresh coriander and a little water.

In a really big pot, heat 1 kg of raw sugar and 1 cup of water and stir until the sugar has melted. 

Let it boil for 10 minutes without stirring much or letting it burn on the bottom. 

Add the blended paste to the sugar syrup and bring back to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes. 

Add 250ml vinegar, 125 fish sauce, 125 soy sauce to the pot and bring back to boil. 

Let that simmer for 20 minutes or an hour if you want a thicker the sauce. 

Pop into sterilised jars and enjoy!