Just a handful of pantry ingredients and 5 minutes, this tastes a million times better than store bought!
I’ve only ever tried sweet and sour sauce out of a bottle once in my life, back in my college days. Once was enough. After scrunching up my nose with distaste when I tried it, it took all of 5 minutes to find a recipe to make it myself and I still remember that feeling of victory when I realized that I had everything I needed to make it!
Sweet and Sour sauce is essential for dipping Crispy Homemade Egg Rolls or my favorite Crab Rangoon!
If you’ve never tried a homemade sweet and sour sauce, you are in for a real treat.
That stuff you get from suburban Chinese takeout places is usually way too sweet, and bizarrely very oily. ( <— ??? I don’t get it, why is oil added to Sweet and Sour Sauce??!!!)
Homemade sauce is far less sweet, it tastes cleaner and you get to balance out the flavors to your taste if you want yours more tangy, or more sweet, or, if you like things spicy, add a dash of heat!!
It’s literally just a dump and mix job.
Place cornstarch, water, cider vinegar, sugar, ketchup and soy sauce in a saucepan, then whisk and bring to heat and it will thicken in just a few minutes.
And this is what you’ll get – a beautiful glossy, shiny homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce.
There are so many things you can use Sweet and Sour Sauce for.
Toss your favourite meatballs in them, use it as a dipping sauce for all sorts of things, chicken nuggets to spring rolls.
Slather it over ribs, chicken, pork, use it as a basting sauce, or even as a marinade.
I’ve been known to even just spoon it over a bowl of plain rice, then eat it just like that!!!
I find that the tanginess of the sauce starts fading after a few days, but other than that, homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce can be kept for even a week.
Just adjust the tanginess by stirring through more cider vinegar – go easy with this, start with just 1/4 tsp at a time!
Remember, you can always add more but you can’t undo it if you add too much! (Though if you accidentally do, just add more sugar to balance it out. :-) )
So tell me, what’s your favorite way with Sweet and Sour Sauce??? For dipping, for tossing, for slathering??
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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