Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is traditional sweet and sour sauce made of? ›

While sweet and sour can be found in diverse forms in China, the American version builds upon the simple mixture of sugar, vinegar, and spices with the addition of fruit juice—most commonly pineapple—and ketchup, giving the sauce both its red hue and uniquely Western flavor.

It's also easy to customize sweet & sour sauce if you don't want to make a special trip to the store! Replace the pineapple juice with a mixture of orange and lemon juice, and opt for tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce to make it gluten-free.

Tip: Sugar can also soften acidic flavors, as in a sweet-and-sour sauce. To see how, make an overly sour vinaigrette, then whisk in sugar a pinch at a time until the vinaigrette tastes less harsh but not sweet.

To make a sauce, drain the juice from 1 x 227g tin of pineapple chunks into a separate bowl, mix with 2 heaped teaspoons of cornflour, 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons low-salt soy sauce and 4 tablespoons of water, then put aside.

If the sauce isn't thick enough, you can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk it in. But remember, the sauce will thicken even more as it cools down. So only add more cornstarch if the sauce is way too thin. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

The sweet and sour sauce you get from most chinese restaurants is dyed with food colouring to make it red. When I make sweet and sour sauce from scratch, there's a bit of a red colour, but that's because I use ketchup to make some of the “sour” part. It's also got tomatoes in it, which adds some red colour.

Add Some Baking Soda

If your tomato sauce is too acidic and verging on bitter, turn to baking soda, not sugar. Yes, sugar might make the sauce taste better, but good old baking soda is an alkaline that will help balance the excess acid. A little pinch should do the trick.

Adjust the flavor balance of your sauce: If too tart or acidic, add 1/4 tsp. sugar and stir well. If too bland or sweet, add 1/4 tsp. red wine vinegar and stir well.

What are the ingredients in no name sweet and sour sauce? ›

Ingredients: Water, Sugars (sugar, Plum Puree, Concentrated Pineapplejuice), Modified Corn Starch, White Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Salt,seasoning, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Red Bell Pepper Powder,beta-carotene Colour, Annatto Extract Colour.

INGREDIENTS: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, DISTILLED WHITE VINEGAR, WATER, PINEAPPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, SOYBEAN OIL, POTASSIUM SORBATE & SODIUM BENZOATE AS PRESERVATIVES, DRIED GREEN BELL PEPPERS, DRIED RED BELL PEPPERS, SPICES, NATURAL EXTRACTIVES OF PAPRIKA.

In a blender or salad dressing shaker, combine oil, sugar, vinegar, onion, salt, mustard, and celery seed. Blend or shake until emulsified.

As for the consistency of Chick-fil-A's Polynesian Sauce, it's apparently a bit thinner than sweet and sour sauce, but still perfect for dipping. As explained by a Redditor, "I highly recommend nuggets with Polynesian."

While pineapple is the most common fruit found in sweet and sour sauce, it's not unusual to find other fruits in there too. McDonald's, for instance, use both apricots and peaches to make their famous nugget dipping sauce.

Ingredients: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Apricot Puree Concentrate And/or Peach Puree Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, Contains 2% Or Less: Soy Sauce (water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sherry Wine Powder, Dextrose, Soybean Oil, Xanthan Gum, Spices, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Natural ...