Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe (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.

Chinese sweet and sour is usually thickened with corn starch.

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

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.

How long will homemade sweet and sour sauce keep in the fridge? This sweet and sour sauce recipe should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If you are storing the sauce straight after cooking, let it cool to room temperature first.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

What are 2 ways to thicken sauce? ›

In many cases, canned pineapple can be substituted for fresh pineapple (and vice versa) in equal measure, which is good to know when you only need a small amount of pineapple for a recipe.

Sour mix is both sweet and sour, so if you need to make a swap, you'll want to make sure you add both so the taste will be comparable. Using equal parts lemon juice or lime juice and simple syrup or soda is the safest bet.

In Filipino cuisine, sweet and sour sauces are known as agre dulce or Filipino sweet and sour sauce. It is made by mixing cornstarch with water, salt, sugar, and a tangy ingredient (typically tomato ketchup, banana ketchup, or pineapples). The mixture is brought to a boil then simmered until it thickens.

Directions. Stir together sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, onion, and ketchup until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk the vegetable oil into the onion mixture until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour; shake well before using.

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.