Sweet and Sour Sauce (A Quick and Easy Homemade Recipe!) (2024)

This sweet and sour sauce has a perfectly balanced sweet and tangy flavor that will rival your favorite Chinese restaurant! It's a perfect dipping sauce, a super glaze for fried chunks of chicken or pork, tempura-battered shrimp, or pan-fried short ribs, and a fantastic stir-fry sauce! Once you see how easy it is to make sweet and sour sauce at home, you'll never buy the bottled stuff again!

Sweet And Sour Sauce Recipe

This well-loved and very popular Chinese food sauce is always a hit with the family! It's been a while, but when I was growing up, my Mom and I would enjoy some takeout food from a little Chinese restaurant.

I still can't believe that she would have to ask, "What would you like?" Um, sweet and sour, please! Some things never change, and I am still a die-hard fan of this addictive red sauce that I have loved for as long as I can remember!

🥘 Ingredients For Sweet and Sour Sauce

All you need is a handful of simple ingredients to make your own sweet and sour sauce! The red food coloring is purely for presentation and can be left out if desired.

• Canned Pineapple Juice - 1 cup of canned pineapple juice (1 28-ounce can of diced pineapples, drained).
• Light Brown Sugar - ¾ cup packed light brown sugar.
• Apple Cider Vinegar - ⅓ cup of apple cider vinegar.
• Ketchup - 3 tablespoons of ketchup.
• Soy Sauce - 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
• Ginger - ½ tablespoon of fresh ground ginger or ¼ teaspoon of dried ground ginger.
• Red Food Coloring (optional) - 2-4 drops.
• Cornstarch - ½ tablespoon of cornstarch (combine with 2 tablespoons cold water to make a slurry).

*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*

🔪 How To Make Sweet and Sour Sauce

This sauce is super simple, just be sure to stay nearby and monitor it constantly. You will need your measuring utensils, a can opener, a saucepan, a whisk, and a spoon.

1 batch makes about 2 cups of sweet and sour sauce which is usually plenty for most recipes!

1. Combine. Start out by combining 1 cup of pineapple juice, ¾ cup of light brown sugar, ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons of ketchup, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of grated ginger, and 2-4 drops of the optional red food coloring in a small saucepan.
2. Boil. Bring the saucepan with the ingredients to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the temperature as needed to maintain a low boil during cooking.
3. Make a slurry. While the sauce is heating, mix the cornstarch and cold water to make your slurry. Add the cornstarch slurry into the sauce once it has reached a low boil.
4. Stir frequently. Stir the sauce constantly while cooking at a simmer for about one minute, or until thickened and clinging to your spoon. Remove from heat once it reaches your desired thickness.
5. Cool. Allow the sauce to cool completely before storing it if you will be using it later.

Serve over your sweet and sour chicken, pork, or shrimp garnished with green onions and/or sesame seeds, if desired. Don't forget some Jasmine or Basmati rice on the side.Enjoy!

💭 Tips & Notes

• Use Canned Pineapple Juice. This is a pretty big thing! Just like in my pineapple curd, you need to use canned pineapple juice rather than fresh pineapple juice. Fresh pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain (in the stem, fruit, and juice of the pineapple) which will break down the cornstarch and prevent your sweet and sour sauce from thickening. The bromelain enzyme is broken down during the canning process, which is why canned pineapple is required for this recipe.
• Stirring is key. You want to keep your sauce at a low boil and stir it frequently to prevent it from burning or becoming too thick!
• Authenticity. Practically everything that we are used to here in America has been 'Americanized' in some way, shape, or form. Sweet and sour sauce as we know and love it, is based on the original Cantonese sauce also called sweet and sour that was first used with sweet and sour pork. The well-known chef, Leung Kim, of Hong Kong included rice wine vinegar, Chinese brown candy, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, dark soy sauce, and salt in his sweet and sour recipe. His friend, Willie Mak, a gourmet also from Hong Kong, suggests using a less acidic apple cider vinegar along with superior quality brands for your ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and dark soy sauce as the key to a great sweet and sour sauce.

🥡 Storing

Store your sweet and sour sauce after it has cooled completely. Use an airtight container and keep the remaining sauce refrigerated. If stored properly, the sauce will last for up to 2 weeks.

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❓ FAQ

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📖 Recipe Card

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