This sweet and spicy Thai style chilli jam is very easy to make at home as long as you have a food processor and a saucepan! It is a fuss-free type of recipe that you can put together in less than 10 minutes and forget about it for a couple of hours. All you need to do is to blitz the mixture to a smooth sauce at the end of the cooking process.

This incredibly delicious sauce is made with tomatoes, onions, red peppers and seasoned with Asian flavours for an extra kick! It is a versatile sauce to serve with cheese, fishcakes, burgers, spring rolls or just to spread on a piece of Homemade Toast Bread. But the best way to eat this homemade tomato chilli jam is to dip it with crispy Turkish Cheese Rolls (Sigara Borek).
How to Make Tomato Chilli Jam?
Making this spicy jam is very simple and straightforward. However, to achieve the best results you need to follow a few simple steps:
- Prepare your vegetables - Wash and roughly chop tomatoes and place in a large saucepan. Wash, deseed and roughly chop red peppers and add to tomatoes. Roughly chop the chillies and add to the pan. Keep the seeds if you want your sauce extra hot. You can also adjust the amount of chilli to your taste. Use less chilli if you think it's too much or add extra if you want it hotter. Peel and roughly chop the garlic, onions, ginger then add them to the pan. Finely chop the lemongrass and the lime leaves and add them to the pan along with the star anise, sugar and fish sauce.
- Gently simmer on low heat - Place the pan over medium heat, cover with a lid and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and gently simmer for an hour with the lid on. Remove the lid and simmer for another hour or until the mixture is almost dry.
- Blitz in a food processor - Take the pan off the heat, remove the star anises and place the mixture in a food processor. Blitz until nice and smooth and store in a jar. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Sweet chilli sauce is made with red chillies, vinegar, sugar and thickened with starch. It doesn't require slow cooking, usually ready in less than half an hour. Chilli Jam is made with vegetables such as red peppers, tomatoes onions and ginger. It requires slow cooking and blitzing.
Chilli jam is very versatile and you can use it as a dip with spring rolls or crispy Turkish Cheese Rolls (Sigara Borek), you can serve it on a cheese or charcuterie board as a condiment, you can serve with burgers, sandwiches or fishcakes and you can even spread it on a slice of Homemade Toast Bread.
You can keep chilli jam in a sterilised jar for up to 3 months. Once opened, you should keep it in the fridge and consume it within a month.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this Thai style tomato and chilli jam as much as you enjoy eating it!🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

Chilli Jam
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g tomatoes (roughly chopped)
- 300 g red peppers (roughly chopped)
- 5 red chillies (roughly chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic ((roughly chopped)
- 1 medium onion (roughly chopped)
- 1 thumb ginger (roughly chopped)
- 2 lemongrass (finely chopped)
- 4 lime leaves (finely chopped)
- 2 star anise
- 1 cup sugar (160 grams)
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
Instructions
- Wash and roughly chop tomatoes and place in a large saucepan.
- Wash, deseed and roughly chop red peppers and add to tomatoes.
- Roughly chop the chilies and add to the pan. Keep the seeds if you want your sauce extra hot.
- Peel and roughly chop the garlic, onions, ginger then add them to the pan.
- Finely chop the lemongrass and lime leaves, add them to the pan along with the star anise, sugar, and fish sauce.
- Place the pan over medium heat, cover with a lid and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Lower the heat and gently simmer for an hour with the lid on.
- Remove the lid and simmer for another hour or until the mixture is almost dry.
- Take the pan off the heat, remove the star anises and place the mixture in a food processor.
- Blitz until nice and smooth and store in a jar. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Video
Nutrition
FOOD SAFETY
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
Emma
Great recipe, really liked the taste of the jam.