Nam Jim Wan - sweet dipping sauce

This is a simple dipping sauce usually used with deep fried items such 
as spring rolls and the stuffed chicken wings I shall post shortly. 

ingredients 

3 cups of water 
3 cups of sugar 
1 cup of vinegar (preferably rice vinegar) 

3 tablespoons of Chinese pickled plums 
3 tablespoons of thinly sliced prik ki nu daeng (red birdseye chilis) 
2 tablespoons of garlic, very thinly sliced 
2 tablespoons of ginger, julienned or grated 
1 teaspoon of salt 

Method 

Boil the water, and add the pickled plums (sometimes sold as 'salted 
plums'), and simmer for five minutes. 

Remove the plums to a food processor and puree them. 

Continue to boil the water, adding and dissolving the sugar, then adding 
the vinegar and salt. If any sugar is still undissolved, add a little 
more water until it dissolves. 

Return the plums to the mixture, and then pour over the other 
ingredients in a sterilized preserving jar, and keep in a cool place for 
at least a week before using.