Any idea how to make the thick version of the red sweet and sour sauce?!
Answers: 99 percent of the time, chinese restaurants have the red sweet and sour sauce but it is quite watery. Tonight, I went to a take out place and the their sauce is very thick and yummy. Any idea how to make it?
1. From:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1615,1451...
CHINESE SWEET & SOUR SAUCE
1/2 c. pineapple juice
3 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. white vinegar
Cornstarch
Heat first five ingredients just to boiling. Thicken with a little cornstarch dissolved in cold water. Add vinegar. Stir and serve with pork, chicken or beef.
2. From:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1815,1501...
SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE - CHINESE
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. ice water
1 tbsp. chopped green pepper
1 tbsp. chopped pimiento
1 tsp. paprika
Combine sugar, vinegar, water, pepper and pimiento and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add mixed cornstarch and water to simmering sauce; stir and cook until sauce thickens. Let cool. Add 1 teaspoon paprika. Strain.
2 tablespoons oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 red Hawaiian chile, diced
3 guava, split
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Coat a 3-quart saucepan with oil and place over medium heat. Saute the garlic, ginger, and chili in the hot oil for 2 minutes. Add the guava and tomatoes; continue to cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Pass the sauce through a strainer before serving
We made it in a foods class in high school, and we just mixed ketchup and grape jelly. It sounded really gross at the time but it tasted just like sweet and sour sauce!
I just asked my mother and she says it's all in the corn starch. Take a small amount of water, mix in some cornstarch until dissolved, then add to your sauce. You can't dump it in out of hte box because it would clump. Ketchup is also involved, so I guess if you put enough of that it might thicken things up.
She has mentioned before when we were in a restaurant that they might have used tapioca starch for a certain sauce, but it does not mix clear like corn starch...or something like that. You could try both; both are traditional, tasteless thickening agents commonly used Chinese cuisine.
Hope this helped.
another thickening agent is Arrowroot flour or powder. It thickens the sauce but it stays clear, whereas cornstarch makes it cloudy and lumpy. I would give that a try!
The cheapest and fastest way is to use banana ketchup. The natural viscosity of ripe bananas eliminate the need for cornstarch or flour thickeners. Banana ketchup is also the perfect color for the sauce. You can find bottles of banana ketchup in Oriental grocery stores and in supermarkets.
In an emergency, stirfry garlic, onions and red/green peppers. Add banana ketchup and a little soy sauce. Tabasco if you want more heat. To make it extra special, add canned or fresh pineapple cubes.
As i am sure you know there is nothing in the ingredients to give a thick sauce,you always have to depend on thickening agents ,corn starch or arrowroot - -take your pick.ketchup adds colour & flavour as well as serves to thicken.
The more thicjening agent you use the thicker the sauce,no two ways about that.However using a lot of thickner can overpower the effevt of the basic ingredients ,so you will need to be a bit more liberal with main sauce ingredients .
Chinese Sweet & Sour Sauce
- 1 tbl plum sauce/paste (I prefer pure plum paste, without any chilli or other stuff)
- 3 tbl tomato ketchup
- 1 tbl chilli sauce
- 1 tbl sugar
- 1 tsp salt (depending on taste, as there's already salt in the 1st three sauces)
- 1/2 tbl white rice vinegar
- 100 ml water
Heat & thicken with cornstarch solution, or until it reduces.
Personally, I prefer to use chunks of fresh pineapple for the sour taste rather than vinegar. I find vinegar gives a jarring sourness while I prefer the sweet and sour tastes to blend into each other more smoothly. Besides pineapple chunks, use with sliced onions & green capsicum peppers together with chunks of deepfried battered pork for Sweet & Sour Pork.