Peel the cloves of garlic and roast lightly on a griddle with help of few drops of oil. You can dry roast it too, but with oil it releases a great aroma.
If you are using fresh red chili, then you can chop them and directly proceed with the recipe. Use gloves!
Else if you are using dried red chili pepper, then remove seeds, and soak them in water until they become tender. Use gloves!
In a blender, blend garlic, red chili pepper, salt, sugar and vinegar to a fine paste.
Mince the shallots.
Heat the oil lightly, saute' the shallots gently till the rawness disappear.
Switch off the heat and add the chill garlic paste, then blend it well.
Check flavor for amount of salt and sugar needed.
Add fish sauce.
Add Holy Basil leaves.
Hand mix it well. Place in canning jar, and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before you use it.
If you don’t want to make your own, I really like this brand