Ingredients

• 2 red onions
• finely chopped
• 400g/14oz ripe cherry tomatoes
• halved
• 400g/14oz ripe plum tomatoes
• quartered
• 3 large mild red chillies
• deseeded
• finely chopped
• 5cm/2in piece fresh root ginger
• grated
• 1 star anise
• 250ml/9fl oz white wine vinegar
• 300g/10½oz soft light brown sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce (substitute soy sauce for vegetarians)

Directions

• Sterilise the jars. Wash in very hot water or on the hot cycle of a dishwasher. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Place the jars upside down on a baking tray and dry in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
• Heat the red onion and chopped tomatoes in a large heavy-based saucepan over a low heat.
• Add the chillies
• ginger
• star anise
• vinegar and sugar. Bring the mixture to the boil
• then simmer for about 30 minutes
• or until very thick and you can draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan so that it leaves a channel behind it that does not immediately fill with liquid.
• Add the fish sauce and cook for 2-3 more minutes
• then spoon into sterilised jars.