Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce is simply wonderful and wonderfully simple. Heat transforms six humble ingredients into a beautiful red-gold sauce, a perfect foil for crisp fried spring rolls and the garlicky richness of gai yahng, Grilled Garlic Chicken, Issahn Style , To give this sauce its spicy edge, you have many options. My favorite is chili-garlic sauce (sambal oelek). This fire-engine red puree of fresh hot red chilies, garlic, and vinegar has visible seeds and a serious kick, and gives the best color. Other good choices are Sri Rachaa sauce; Tabasco sauce; dried red chili flakes; or a generous spoonful of minced and mashed fresh hot red chilies. Many Asian markets carry a decent version of this dipping sauce.Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce makes a pleasing accompaniment to Sticky Rice, and anything grilled or fried; on the other hand, it tastes delicious tossed with steamed asparagus or broccoli, mixed with mayonnaise, or splashed into dressings and dips. I try to keep it on hand all the time. My dear friend and fellow cookbook author Crescent Dragonwagon likes it so much, she includes it in her magnum opus, The Passionate Vegetarian, with a new name: Thai Crystal.