Sweet and Sour Sauce
Many places in China use a sweet and sour sauce as a dipping sauce for fish and meat, rather than in cooking as is commonly found in westernized Chinese cuisine. Today, in Western countries it is mostly used as a sauce for deep-fried meats, such as in Sweet and Sour Pork/Chicken. The dish generally comprises cubes of white meat chicken or pork deep-fried in batter and served with sweet and sour sauce. Sometimes it is topped with pineapple, green pepper, carrot, or sweet pickles.
Cantonese sweet and sour sauce is the direct ancestor of sauce of the same name in the West, and originally developed for sweet and sour pork. The late renowned chef from Hong Kong, Leung King, included the following as his sweet and sour source sauce recipe: white rice vinegar, salt, Chinese brown candy, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and dark soy sauce. The original Cantonese sweet and sour pork is made with vinegar, preserved plums and hawthorn candy for an almost scarlet colour and sweet-sour taste.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Source: Great Chefs of New Orleans, Tele-record Productions - 1983: www.greatchefs.com - 747 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Chefs The Wong Brothers, Trey Yuen Restaurant, New Orleans
This is similar to the reddish sauces that you get in packages when you order Chinese food.
FMM: This recipe makes over a quart of sauce. Cut back depending on what you are making.
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water, for dissolving cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
Heat the oil in a wok and add garlic, ginger, water, vinegar, sugar and ketchup. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add salt. Add to the mixture in the wok and cook until clear.
Serve hot, or cool and refrigerate for later use. Reheat before serving over fish.
Sweet and Sour Sauce (with pinapple juice)
This recipe looks closer to what is used when making Sweet and Sour Pork/Chicken.
Cornstarch Slurry:
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
2/3 cups canned or bottled pineapple juice*
1/4 cup rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
2/3 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 teaspoons soy sauce
Optional: 2 drops all-natural red food coloring
Place all of the ingredients, except for the cornstarch slurry, in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for another minute until thickened, stirring constantly. If using red food coloring, stir it in.
Let the sauce cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
* Freshly squeezed pineapple juice contains enzymes that will break down the cornstarch and prevent the sauce from remaining thick, so use either canned or bottled
Another recipe for Sweet and Sour Sauce submitted by a reviewer:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
