Sweet And Sour Sauce Recipe

Sweet And Sour Sauce Recipe

Sweet and Sour Sauce is a sauce made by combining a sweet component and a sour component with cornstarch as the thickening agent. Some of the common sweet components are brown sugar, granulated white sugar, and honey. Rice vinegar, white vinegar, apple-cider vinegar, and pineapple juice are some of the common ingredients used as sour component.This sweet and sour recipe will give you a good sauce with the right balance of flavors.

The thing that I like most about this Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe is its ease in preparation not to mention the fact that it does not take much time to make one. It also saves me money instead of buying commercialized Sweet and Sour Sauce from the store, I make one for myself and my family with less than half of the cost.

This Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe is best used for fried and breaded meat like pork, chicken, and fish.

Try this Sweet and sour Sauce Recipe and let me know what you think.

Tips For Making And Using Chinese Sweet And Sour Sauce

• Dont expect your sauce to turn out bright red. The source of the color of the Chinese red sauce is a dye. There is just no getting around that fact. Sure, you can use more natural dyes such as grenadine, but a less vibrant color will not affect the taste.
• Be careful while cooking. Keep control of the temperature of the sauce as it simmers. Not only can sugar burn easily, but it can give you a nasty burn if it gets on your skin. Also, avoid smelling the vinegar fumes, which can cause coughing fits.
• Store covered in the fridge. The sweet and sour sauce will stay fresh for around a week in the fridge. Give it a good stir to combine before using.

How To Make Sweet And Sour Chicken Healthy

You can also enjoy homemade sweet and sour chicken in a healthier way. Swap out a few ingredients for healthier options.

• Substitute chicken thighsfor chicken breast or shrimp.
• Grillthe chicken instead of frying in oil. I haven’t tried this yet, but some people said they’ve had good results with air fried chicken.
• Use a sugar substitute, such as honey, stevia or a different sweetener
• Substitute avocado, coconut or grapeseed oil for the vegetable oil.

As I mentioned earlier in the post, this sweet n sour chicken takes some time to prep. To make things easy it’s BEST to prep EVERYTHING first. Get all the ingredients out, dice the veggies, grate the ginger, dice the pineapples and so on.

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How Long Does It Keep

This sauce is best when used the same day, but since it doesnt have any fresh ingredients in it, it will keep for quite a while in your fridge. You can keep the homemade sweet and sour sauce in an air-tight container in your refrigerator for about a week, but it may begin to seep water if kept much longer.

How To Make Sweet & Sour Sauce:

This sweet and sour sauce recipe is super easy to make, and can be made ahead of when you plan to use it.

Combine all the ingredients except the cornstarch in a small pot over medium heat, and whisk to combine well. Stir the cornstarch with 1-2 tablespoons of water to create a slurry, and then add to the pot.

Cook to your desired thickness and then youre ready to use this sauce, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at least 5-7 days.

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Why Youll Love Sweet And Sour Sauce

• It takes minutes to make and lasts for 2 weeks. This sweet and sour sauce is quick and easy to make with just a handful of ingredients . Plus, you can use it in your cooking for the next 2 weeks! Set aside a little bit of time today, and youll be thankful for days to come.
• Sweet and sour sauce adds flavor to any dinner. I love drizzling this sweet and sour sauce over steamed rice or over sautéed or stir-fried vegetables. It can also upgrade basic proteins to sweet and sour chicken or sweet and sour pork!
• You can probably make it right now with pantry staples. If you cook often and have a stock of Asian ingredients , then I bet that you have everything you need to make this sweet and sour sauce already. The key ingredients include ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch.

How To Use Sweet And Sour Sauce

Sweet and sour sauce is the ultimate dipping sauce for potstickers, egg rolls, wontons, chicken nuggets, fish sticks and anything else your heart desires.

You can also incorporate it into your favorite Chinese dishes like sweet and sour chicken, pork or shrimp, sweet and sour meatballs, Asian salad dressings, and as a glaze for grilled chicken, pork, seafood, kabobs, ribs, etc. Its even delicious just drizzled over a bowl of hot steamed rice.

You can also omit the cornstarch and use this sauce as a marinade.

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Ingredients For Sweet And Sour Sauce

• Tomato Paste – I like to use tomato paste instead of ketchup because I find it has a lot more flavor. Tomato paste has a lot more umami flavor as well.
• Sugar – I use cane sugar for this recipe, but you definitely can substitute it with honey or brown sugar. If you use brown sugar, the sauce may not be a vibrant red color.
• White Vinegar – for this sauce, I like to use white vinegar because it’s easy to find, and it provides a tartness without any additional flavors. In a pinch, you can also substitute it with rice vinegar.
• Soy Sauce – To give the sauce the balance of sweet and sour, I use soy sauce as the savoriness to pull the flavors together. It also adds a bit of umami as well.
• Oil – Use neutral oils without strong flavors. I like to use avocado oil in most of my cooking. We use the oil to toast the tomato paste to bring out the flavors
• Garlic Clove – I like to add a smashed piece of garlic into the sauce to give it a bit of flavor. It’s a subtle flavor since it doesn’t simmer in the sauce for too long.
• Corn Starch – this is used to thicken the sauce.
• Chili Flakes/Cayenne/Sriracha – If you like to make a spicy sweet and sour sauce, you can add chili flakes, cayenne, or sriracha to it.

Which Vinegar Should You Use

It really depends on your taste preference and what you have on hand. I prefer white vinegar, so thats how the recipe is written. You could also use apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar.

If you prefer a sauce that has a stronger vinegar flavor, then Id recommend using the sweet and sour sauce from my Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe. You could also just add more vinegar to this sauce if you think its too sweet.

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Best Sweet And Sour Sauce

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There are so many ways to enjoy this popular and versatile sauce. And with only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep/cook time, this delicious Sweet and Sour Sauce recipe couldnt be simpler! Plus its better than your favorite Chinese takeout or restaurant!

Chinese food and sweet and sour sauce go hand in hand and for that reason youll find it served in every Chinese restaurant and at every takeout. Its also an essential staple to have in your kitchen. If youve never made your own, its time to get on board because not only is it incredibly easy, it tastes WAY better than store-bought and what you get at your local takeout. Plus its free of preservatives, chemicals and junk ingredients.

Get ready for this fast, simple, and thoroughly deeeelicious homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce recipe!

How To Make The Best Sweet And Sour Sauce

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Can I Use Different Vinegar

IMHO, rice vinegar is worth the purchase. Its usually very inexpensive, and it has a much more delicate flavor than other types of vinegar. If you decide to substitute either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for the rice vinegar in this recipe, you will likely throw the flavor balance off a bit. You may be able to remedy this by adding more sugar, but it will depend entirely on your own taste buds.

If youre unsure of how youll use the rest of your rice vinegar, its great in all sorts of Asian-inspired recipes. Try it in this Thai Cucumber Salad, Homemade Sushi Bowls, or Easy Sesame Chicken.

More Homemade Sauces To Try

I love a good homemade sauce! Im the one who wants sauce dripping off of my burger and want all of my chicken completely covered in sauce. The more the better! And when I make a homemade sauce, then I have plenty to do that with! Here are a few more of my favorite sauces that we use constantly at our house! Try one or try them all, you will love them!

Dressings, Sauces, and Dips

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What Makes This Sauce So Good

Unlike many other online recipes, this one includes actual fruits. Most contain very similar ingredients. They include ketchup, yes, you read that right, sugar, vinegar, and water.

This version has a more complex flavor because we are going to flavor our water with fresh oranges, lemons, and ginger. I think the natural fruit juice and oils that are extracted from the water make a large difference in the final flavor.

How To Use It

• As A Dip: A very popular way to enjoy this sauce is as a dip. Try using it as your dipping sauce for chicken balls, ribs, crab rangoon, wontons, spring rolls, egg rolls, lumpia, dumplings, or chicken nuggets.
• As A Marinade: Did you know you can use sweet and sour sauce as a marinade? Seriously SO good and kind of unexpected. Youll need to thin it out with either water or additional pineapple juice and add a tiny bit of a neutral tasting oil. Then you can marinade any quick cooking meat before grilling it on the bbq.
• In A Stir Fry: One of the most classic ways to enjoy this sauce is in a stir fry, like my Sweet and Sour Chicken. Its the perfect addition to any breaded meat, bell pepper, and onion combination.
• In The Slow Cooker: If you havent tried sweet and sour meatballs yet, youre in for a treat. Place the pork meatballs in the bottom of your crock pot and pour the sauce over top. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours.

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How To Make Sweet And Sour Sauce:

In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar until combined.

In a separate cup, whisk 3/4 cup cold water with 4 Tbsp cornstarch until well blended. Whisk vigorously into the ketchup mixture. Bring to a boil while whisking until bubbly, then reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, remove from heat. Keep in mind, the sauce will get thicker when cooled.

Small Batch For The Win

I like to make my homemade sauces in small batches so there are no leftovers because having a million half-used homemade sauces in your fridge is just as annoying as having a million half-used bottled sauces in your fridge. The recipe below makes about 1/2 cup of sauce, but can easily be doubled or tripled if needed. Simply adjust the number of servings in the servings box in the recipe card and all of the ingredient quantities will adjust for you. There will be no change to the cooking method.

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Customize Your Sweet And Sour Sauce

The recipe listed below is a very basic, simple sweet and sour sauce. If you want to change up your sauce and do something a little more interesting, here are a few options:

• Zingy Add 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• Spicy Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, or a small squirt of sriracha
• Pineapple Replace the water with pineapple juice and reduce the brown sugar by 1 Tbsp

Making The Sweet And Sour Sauce

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Sweet And Sour Sauce Recipe Ingredients

Luckily, you probably already have most of the ingredients in this recipe in your pantry at home. The one exception may be MSG.

MSG or Monosodium Glutamate has gotten a pretty bad reputation, and lots of people get nervous using it for cooking. You shouldnt be. While some people can have adverse reactions after eating food with MSG, it is not as common as you may think.

Of course, one of the benefits of making your own sauce is controlling the ingredients. So, dont skip trying this recipe if you are not into the whole MSG thing leave it out. Add a couple of extra drops of Worcestershire sauce, and you may not even notice.

Worcestershire sauce may be tough to say, but it is a powerhouse when it comes to umami. Umami is often considered the fifth category of taste, along with sweet, sour, salt, and bitter.

That bottle of Worcestershire sauce on your shelf has everything from cured anchovies to fermented veggies inside, and it brings a lot of savory goodness to any recipe. Just be sure to measure it out carefully.

Ketchup isnt very Chinese , true, but remember that this style of sweet and sour sauce was born in the US, where ketchup is the third best-selling condiment .

To get the most flavor from this recipe, look for ketchup that is not overly sweet. Remember, you will be adding plenty of sugar.

Recipe Tips And Tricks

• Making substitutions: If youve never made sweet and sour sauce before, stick to the recipe. But, if you know what you like, then feel free to make adjustments. If you like it sourer, add more vinegar. If you prefer it saltier, use more soy sauce. Is it too sweet? Add less sugar. You get the idea.
• How to thicken: If the sauce is not thickened enough to your liking, just continue to simmer to activate the cornstarch. The longer you simmer the sauce, the more it will thicken as it reduces.
• Use it as a marinade: To use this sauce as a marinade, just leave out the cornstarch and slather it on your meats before cooking.

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Whats In Sweet And Sour Sauce

Sweet and sour sauce is made from a bunch of ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen! See the recipe card below for a list of exact ingredient measurements.

• Pineapple juice: This is what will give you that zesty, fresh flavor!
• Rice vinegar: I like to usethis rice vinegar from the store.
• Brown sugar: This will sweeten up the recipe and give it a deeper flavor than white sugar would give to it.
• Ketchup: Not only does this add to the taste but it gives it that beautiful red color as well!
• Soy sauce:This is my favorite soy sauce to use!
• Cornstarch and water: When you mix these two together, it will help thicken up the sauce to the perfect consistency!

How To Make Chinese Sweet And Sour Sauce

This recipe will make about a quart of sweet and sour sauce. It will make the perfect amount for making sweet and sour chicken.

This homemade sweet and sour sauce goes great with some cream cheese rangoons. You might even enjoy it with chicken nuggets.

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