If you love a Chinese takeaway, then you need to try making your own Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce. It's is much easier than you think and in less than 10 minutes, using ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard, you have yourself a deliciously smooth sauce that you can use for so many recipes, or just as a dip.
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If you have only every tried sweet and sour sauce from a jar, or your local takeaway, then you are missing out. It's so easy to make and tastes a million times better.
It's an essential dipping sauce, and a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and can be a little bit spicy if you like.
Why You Will Love It
- Tastes so much better than store bought or takeaway
- Ready in less than 10 minutes
- Uses store cupboard ingredients
- Easy to adapt
How to Make Sweet and Sour Sauce
Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan, gently heat and whisk until smooth. Keep whisking whilst on simmer for 3-5 minutes, until it has thickened.
Ways to Use Sweet and Sour Sauce
This is one of those sauces that has way more uses than you probably might think. Using it to make a sweet and sour prawns or chicken dish is the obvious choice, but there are lots more options.
We love it as a dipping sauce and it's great with spring rolls, meatballs, or to use it as a marinade for ribs or chicken kebabs. Our kids loves dipping homemade chicken nuggets into it too.
Sometimes we just drizzle it over boiled rice to jazz it up a bit.
How to Adapt the Sauce
The great thing about being able to make the sauce yourself is that you can adapt it to suit your own tastes. If you don't like super sweet sauces, then you can use less honey or you could go the opposite and make it super sweet if that's your thing.
Another way we like to adapt this sauce recipe is to add a kick of heat to it. You could add a little fresh chopped red chilli, some cayenne or a dash of your favourite chilli sauce.
Dannii's Top Tips
- The sauce can be used up to a week later (but best up to 3 days after making), however you might want to add a tiny bit of vinegar before reusing to boost the flavour.
- Use leftover sauce as a dip for spring rolls and meatballs, or use as a marinade for ribs or chicken kebabs.
- Feel free to adapt how sweet it is by adding more or less honey.
- Add a kick of heat to it with some chopped fresh red chilli, a pinch of cayenne or a splash of your favourite chilli sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store it in an air tight jar in the fridge and it will last for up to a week, but it will start losing its flavour after 3 days so it's best to try and use it up within a couple of days. If you are using it up to a week later, you might want to add a little more vinegar before reusing to boost the flavour.
More Sauce Recipes
If you've tried this sweet and sour sauce recipe, then let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) Water
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Cornflour (corn starch)
- 4 tablespoon Honey
- 2 tablespoon Pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) Passata
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan, heat gently and whisk until smooth.
- Keep whisking whilst on simmer for 3-5 minutes, until it has thickened.
Recipe Tips
- The sauce can be used up to a week later (but best up to 3 days after making), however you might want to add a tiny bit of vinegar before reusing to boost the flavour.
- Use leftover sauce as a dip for spring rolls and meatballs, or use as a marinade for ribs or chicken kebabs.
- feel free to adapt how sweet it is by adding more or less honey.
- Add a kick of heat to it with some chopped fresh red chilli, a pinch of cayenne or a splash of your favourite chilli sauce.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Theresa Smith says
Absolutely beautiful.....
Perfect for my chicken balls....
Thank you x
Jessica says
`Easy to make and lovely to drizzle on vegetables and rice! Substituted the apple cider vinegar for a little less white wine vinegar, and it turned out great.
Dannii says
So glad you enjoyed it.
veenaazmanov says
This is such a lovely and tempting recipe. So easy and quick to make and delicious to eat too. Best when homemade and can be enjoyed with amazing snacks too.
Kacie Morgan says
Homemade sweet and sour sauce tastes so much better than the pre-made stuff. I love sweet and sour chicken and it's been way too long since I last got to eat it!
Mahy says
OK, you sold it to me with the images and incredibly easy instructions to follow. :-) Can't wait to give this sauce a try now!
Cate says
This sauce looks awesome and I love the simple ingredients! Can't wait to try this!!
liz says
I had no idea how easy this was to make! I prefer to make sauces from scratch when possible so I'll definitely try this out!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
I am always making homemade Chinese feasts but hadn't yet been able to master the sweet and sour sauce perfectly. Will certainly give your delicious recipe a try!
Mirlene says
I had no clue sweet and sour sauce was this easy to make. WOW. I cannot wait to give it a try on my own.
Shashi says
I love making homemade sauces - and this is one that's getting added to my list - thank you!
Charla says
Oh great, I've got some gluten free bread that I can pair this sweet and sour sauce with.