Lemongrass Sweet Chili Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons finely-minced lemongrass (fresh or frozen-prepared)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 - 1 tablespoon dried crushed chili (1 tablespoon makes for very spicy sauce)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sherry wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 3-4 tbsp. cool water

Preparation

Place all sauce ingredients except cornstarch-water mixture in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. When sauce comes to a rolling boil and begins to foam up, reduce heat to medium. Continue boiling over medium heat 10 minutes, or until vinegar has burned off and sauce is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the cornstarch mixture, stirring well to incorporate. Sauce will gradually thicken in 1-2 minutes. If you'd like it thicker, add more cornstarch-water in the same way.
Remove from heat and taste-test. The sauce should taste sweet first, followed by sour and then spicy tones. Adjust this balance by adding more sugar for a sweeter sauce, or a little more vinegar OR lemon/lime juice if too sweet. Add more chili if you'd like it spicier. This sauce is usually served at room temperature.