Hello, my dear readers, what are we going to cook today? I had chicken and potatoes for lunch, so I decided to make one of the most popular sauces in the world. Any cafe, even McDonald's always has it on sale. But can it be prepared at home? Read on.

Sweet and sour sauce, the recipe for which is available in different versions, has constant ingredients - tomato paste and berries. In our blog I will again reveal the secrets of cooking.

Chinese sweet and sour sauce

Of course it was invented by the Chinese. Probably every fifth thing on Earth was invented by them. Traditionally, the Chinese recipe contains the following ingredients:

• Apple juice – 100 ml;
• Garlic – 2 cloves;
• Onion – 1 piece;
• Ginger root – 1 piece;
• Vegetable oil – 3 tbsp;
• Ketchup – 1 tbsp;
• Sugar -1 tbsp;
• Starch – 1 tbsp;
• Vinegar – 1 tbsp.

To prepare, we need a frying pan or saucepan. While the frying pan is heating the oil over low heat, chop the onion and garlic. Grate some ginger. Buy a chopper or blender for chopping and don’t worry!

Fry vegetables in vegetable oil. When the onion turns yellowish, add a tablespoon each of vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and ketchup. Bring to a boil and add starch diluted in water to the sauce. Pour in 100 ml of fruit juice and stir constantly. Instead of starch, you can use flour. Cook until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.

This sauce is often used in Chinese cuisine. Can be served with noodles or sushi, used as a dressing for udon or for vegetable salad.

For meat dishes

Don't know where to put the last pickled cucumber from the jar? There is the easiest way to get rid of it. Try an unusual sweet and sour gravy for meat. You can feel the Slavic soul in this recipe! To prepare, we need an unusual set of products:

• Pickled cucumbers – 1 piece;
• Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp;
• Cognac – 1 tbsp;
• Tomato paste – 1 tbsp;
• Ground ginger – 5 g;
• Wine vinegar – 5 ml.

To prepare a sweet and sour sauce for meat, you need to fry cucumbers. Yes that's right! Then add all the other ingredients and pour in 300 ml of water. Increase the heat to high and stir all the time. Turn on low heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.

You can serve sweet and sour sauce with beef, lamb, even chicken. I made a lot of sauce, so I even ate it with potatoes. It goes well with your favorite dish.

Like at McDonald's

Dedicated to fast food lovers. This recipe produces a very similar packaged sauce flavor. Only homemade sauce is much healthier. Ingredients we will use:

• Plums – 200 g;
• Chili pepper – 1 circle;
• Garlic – 2 cloves;
• Adjika (dry) – 5 g;
• Sugar, salt, pepper.

Peel the plums and grind them in a blender. You can cut into pieces and simmer for half an hour until smooth. And simmer mechanically chopped plums for only 5 minutes.

Add chili, adjika, sugar and salt to the plum puree. Add coriander for a spicy taste. Boil for another 10-15 minutes, add garlic. By the way, this sauce can be prepared for the winter, just increase the amount of ingredients several times!

Do you remember that same taste? Cook hamburgers for everyone and host your own McDonald's right at home! Watch the cooking video here.

Now you know not one, but three recipes for sweet and sour sauce and can delight your loved ones with the delicacies of Chinese cuisine. If you were interested and want to know even more recipes, subscribe to my page. Have a good mood and bon appetit everyone!

Asian cuisine burst into our lives quickly and unshakably, forever winning the hearts of gourmets and fans of exotic dishes. Increasingly, we strive to recreate these delights at home, and in order for them to acquire a characteristic twist, you need to know the recipe for how to make Chinese sweet and sour sauce. It is with this universal seasoning that our culinary masterpieces will sparkle with new colors, giving the feast an oriental, mysterious atmosphere and aura.

Benefits of using sauce

Any sauce is designed to advantageously emphasize the strengths of dishes, highlight weak ones and enrich neutral ones.

1. For example, in the case of a simple side dish, such as rice or noodles, the gravy takes on the leading taste role of the entire dish.
2. In addition, these liquid seasonings are often used as marinades for meat and fish products, as well as as a base for stewing or baking plant or animal products.
3. Sweet and sour sauce in this case is exactly that universal remedy that goes with everything, vegetables, seafood, and poultry.
4. In addition, this seasoning helps improve digestion, so it is more appropriate to serve it with fatty and heavy dishes.

The success of this spicy mass lies in its excellent balance of flavors: sour, due to fruit juices or berries, and sweet, which is provided by sugar or honey. In general, to prepare this exotic gravy, it is better to use brown refined sugar, but in the absence of this product, you can get by with simple white sand.

Making gravy, like in Asian restaurants, is quite simple, despite the abundance of ingredients.

Sweet and sour sauce

Ingredients

• Fruit juice - 1/2 takana + -
• — 35 ml + -
• — 15 g + -
• — 35 ml + -
• — 50 ml + -
• Ketchup – 30 g + -
• — 30 ​​g + -
• - 1 onion + -
• - 3 slices + -
• - 1 root per 7 cm + -

Preparation

It should be noted right away that citrus fruits, apple, pineapple juices, or any sour berries, such as red currants or cranberries, can be used as a fruit drink. In all other respects, you need to strictly adhere to the recipe, then the sauce will turn out exactly the same as it is prepared in China itself.

• We will begin the preparation of our delicacy with the heat treatment of vegetables, which must first be washed, peeled and chopped. Chop the onion into very small cubes, grate the garlic on a fine grater, and pass the ginger through a meat grinder.
• Now these products need to be placed in hot oil in a frying pan and fry thoroughly. However, you should stir our frying regularly so that it does not burn.
• After 3-5 minutes, add vinegar, juice, soy sauce and sugar to the vegetable mass, mix everything well and leave the whole mass to boil over low heat.

• At this time we will deal with the thickener, that is, starch. We need to dilute it in cold water and then add it into the boiling mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly to avoid the appearance of lumps.
  As soon as the mass thickens, the sauce can be considered ready.

You can talk endlessly about the incredible taste of this masterpiece, but you just have to try it once, and unnecessary words will no longer be needed.

Try cooking meatballs or chicken wings in this seasoning and you will be amazed at how an ordinary dish takes on a whole new meaning. Harmony and sophistication, everything that is inherent in oriental cuisine is hidden in this sauce.

You can serve it in a separate bowl, garnished with a basil leaf, or flavor the finished dish with it.

Chinese folk wisdom says that tasty food gets rid of pills and potions, and nutritious food gets rid of all diseases, and this is true.
Just look at the Chinese sweet and sour sauce, the recipe for which is incredibly simple, but the seasoning itself, with its unshakable charm, can turn the simplest dish into a real culinary treasure.

What kind of sauce should I make? Sour is too sharp, sweet is cloying, and you can’t serve it with meat. What if these flavors were combined? Then you will get a completely new sweet and sour sauce, playing with different flavor facets. This is a perky sourness and a pleasant bitterness and a sweet soft note. Sauces with a sweet and sour taste are found in different cuisines - Jewish, Caucasian, but they are most common in Asian, in particular Chinese. The acidifiers most often used are lemon, apple, orange juice, and sour berries, and the sweeteners are honey, jam, and sugar. Sweet and sour sauces will enliven the bland taste of boiled meat and are simply ideal for fatty meat, making it more easily digestible for the stomach.

Sweet and sour sauce - food preparation

If the composition includes starch, it is diluted in water before adding it to the sauce. Otherwise, the products for this sauce do not require special preparation; the ingredients are simply mixed and heat-treated.

Sweet and sour sauce - the best recipes

Recipe 1: Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce

You don't have to go to China or visit a Chinese restaurant to try authentic Chinese sweet and sour sauce. You can prepare it without leaving your apartment. It is very popular not only in China, but also in our country. Its success lies in its amazing taste and versatility; this sauce can be used on absolutely anything. It will add piquancy to vegetables, meat and fish. Brown sugar will certainly come in handy, but if you don’t have it, replace it with regular granulated sugar.

Ingredients: ginger root (a piece of about five centimeters), 2 tablespoons each - brown sugar, ketchup, water and soy sauce, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 3 tbsp. vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. l. starch and table vinegar (6%), 1 onion, 150 ml of fruit juice (with sourness - apple, orange).

Cooking method

Fry in vegetable oil, adding finely chopped onion, garlic, and ginger, one by one. Pour in soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ketchup and juice. Stir and let simmer a little. Dilute the starch with water and pour into the bubbling sauce. Bring to a boil, when it starts to thicken, turn off. Ready!

Recipe 2: Sweet and sour sauce for meat

An interesting option for making sauce with slices of pickled cucumbers. It’s sour and sweet and spicy, and in one word – delicious. And original. It is served directly on a plate or separately, in special sauce bowls. Cucumbers should be finely chopped, so the recipe indicates the amount in spoons.

Ingredients: pickled cucumbers – 3 tbsp, 2 tsp each starch, sugar and cognac, 0.5 tsp each. ground ginger (spices) and wine vinegar (table 6% is fine), add a spoonful. oil, 1 tsp. tomato paste.

Cooking method

Lightly moisten the pan with vegetable oil; do not pour too much. Heat the oil and add the cucumbers, simmer for five minutes.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and gradually add water, stirring the mixture. You will need approximately 1.5-2 cups of water - watch the consistency so that when the starch is brewed, it is not too thick or liquid. Add this mixture to the cucumbers and simmer for about five minutes over low heat.

Recipe 3: Sweet and sour redcurrant sauce

Tasty, unusual and absolutely natural, this sauce is perfect for boiled meat, tongue, and fatty brisket. If it's not in season, it can be made without mint or cherry leaves. But they are the ones who add a touch of tartness and a specific aroma. Spicy lovers can sprinkle the sauce with a pinch or two of hot chili pepper.

Ingredients: red currants - 0.5 cups, water - 0.5 cups, half a medium onion, little butter - 25g, salt, a couple of cherry leaves and a sprig of mint, 3-4 allspice peas and a couple of cloves (spices).

Cooking method

Heat water, add butter, sugar. Once it dissolves, add currants, mint, and spices. Simmer until the currants give juice. Do not close the lid, increase the heat.

Finely chop the cherry leaves and onions, add to the sauce and simmer. The sauce should thicken and the onion should soften. Cook, covered with a lid, over low heat. Add salt.

Examples of dishes with Sweet and sour sauce

Recipe 1: Meatballs in sweet and sour sauce

The recipe for delicious hedgehog meatballs is borrowed from Jewish cuisine. After all, sweet and sour sauce is not only Chinese. You can take any meat. If you don't have broth on hand, dissolve a meat or chicken cube in water.

Ingredients: Meatballs: minced meat – 1 kg, rice – 0.5 cups, 2 eggs, salt and pepper. Sauce: 0.8 liters of broth, tomato paste - 1 table. l., sugar – 2 tbsp., honey – 1 teaspoon. spoon, salt, a pinch of citric acid, peppercorns, 3 tablespoons of rye crackers.

Cooking method

Mix minced meat, raw rice (no need to boil) and eggs, add salt and pepper and knead. Roll into round meatballs, fry them in oil, no need to cook until done, just fry.

Mix all ingredients for the sauce, except rye breadcrumbs, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add meatballs and simmer for 15 minutes. Now it’s the turn of the crackers. They thicken the sauce and add additional sourness. Pour them into the pan and boil for another 15 minutes. Cook the meatballs with the lid closed.

Recipe 2: Chicken wings in sweet and sour sauce

What can you make from chicken wings? That's right, smoke it, bake it in the grill, brown it on the grill. It's delicious, but requires special equipment. You can also fry it. It's fast, but banal, and you want something new. Why not cook them in sweet and sour sauce? Fast, original, simple. A sauce consisting of three ingredients – honey, lemon, soy sauce – will give the dish a new taste. Try it, you might like it.

Ingredients: chicken wings, soy sauce, honey - 1 tbsp, lemon.

Cooking method

Fry the wings with a small amount of oil on both sides. Pour soy sauce into the pan so that it covers the wings by a third or a little less than half. Add honey and juice of half a lemon. Simmer until the wings are soft over low heat, turning them occasionally. Taste the sauce; you may want to adjust it by increasing or decreasing the amount of honey and lemon juice.

Sweet and sour sauce goes great with meat, fish and vegetables. It is quite easy to prepare in your home kitchen. We almost always have the bulk of the ingredients in our refrigerator or kitchen cabinets. The rest of the products can be bought without problems at any supermarket. Next, you will learn in detail how to make sweet and sour sauce.

Sweet and sour sauce recipe

We need: spatula, pan.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

Video recipe for making sweet and sour sauce

Now you know the recipe for sweet and sour sauce, like at McDonald's. And the following video will help you clearly see the whole process.

Sweet and sour sauce with pineapple recipe

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes.
We need: blender, bowls, grater, frying pan, glass.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

1. Combine 35 milliliters of soy sauce, 15 milliliters of Worcestershire sauce, 10 milliliters of vinegar, 65 grams of ketchup, 45 grams of sugar, 145 milliliters of pineapple juice in a bowl.
   
   
2. Mix very thoroughly with a spatula or whisk until the sugar grains are completely dissolved.
   
   
3. Cut 65 grams of onion and one pod of hot pepper into small pieces.
   
   
4. Three 6 grams of fresh ginger and 2 cloves of garlic on a fine grater.
   
   
5. Heat a frying pan, pour in 10-15 milliliters of sunflower oil, add chopped onion and fry for 2 minutes over moderate heat.
   
   
6. Add chopped hot pepper, grated garlic and ginger to the onion in the frying pan. Mix everything and fry for another 2 minutes.
   
   
7. Add pieces of canned pineapple (55 grams) to the vegetables.
   
   
8. Pour in the previously prepared liquid mixture. Mix everything and simmer over moderate heat for 5 minutes.
   
   
9. In a glass, mix 65 milliliters of water and 30 grams of starch, mix very thoroughly so that there are no lumps.
   
   
10. Pour the resulting mixture into the sauce and mix well.
    
    
11. Let the sauce cool slightly, pour into a glass and grind with a blender.
    
    
12. Pour the finished sauce into a container with a lid and place it in the refrigerator for storage.
    
    

Sweet and sour sauce according to this recipe can be prepared and left for the winter.

Video recipe for making sweet and sour sauce with pineapples

You can clearly see the entire simple recipe for sweet and sour sauce described above in the next video. And you will see that it is prepared very quickly and simply.

Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes.
We need: blender, glass, frying pan, spatula.

All sauces are necessary in order to fully reveal the taste of the dish and give it unique shades. After all, you must admit that the same dish, but served with different sauces, “sounds” completely differently. What kind of sauce should I prepare? Sour is sharp, sweet is quite cloying, especially since you can’t serve it with meat. But you can combine these flavors and then you will get a completely new, exciting and piquant sweet and sour sauce. It combines original bitterness, unusual sourness, and a soft sweet note. Let's look at some recipes with you.

Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• vinegar – 375 ml;
• sugar – 150 g;
• ketchup – 125 ml;
• soy sauce – 1 tbsp. spoon;
• spices - to taste.

Preparation

Now we’ll tell you how to make sweet and sour sauce. Pour sugar into a separate bowl, add vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil over low heat. Then add ketchup and any spices to taste to the resulting mixture. Cook over low heat for several minutes. To make the sauce a little thicker, add a little flour.

Sweet and sour sauce recipe

Ingredients:

• garlic – 2 cloves;
• onion – 2 pcs.;
• ginger root;
• vegetable oil;
• soy sauce – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• vinegar - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• brown sugar - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• fruit juice – 125 ml;
• water – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• starch - 1 tbsp. spoon.

Preparation

Grind the peeled garlic along with the onion and ginger, and then fry in a frying pan coated with oil for 3 minutes, stirring from time to time. In a separate saucepan, combine soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, add ketchup and any fruit juice. After this, bring the mixture to a boil, add a little starch and pour in water. Continue stirring until the finished sauce reaches the desired consistency.

A simple recipe for sweet and sour sauce for meat

Ingredients:

• pickled cucumber – 1 pc.;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. spoon;
• potato starch - 2 teaspoons;
• vinegar - -0.5 teaspoon;
• cognac – 2 teaspoons;
• tomato paste – 1 teaspoon;
• sugar – 1.5 teaspoons;
• ginger - to taste.

Preparation

Cut into small cubes and pour into a hot frying pan. Simmer them for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. During this time, in a separate saucepan, mix starch, granulated sugar, pour in cognac, vinegar and add tomato paste. Lightly beat everything with a whisk until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. Add a little water to the resulting mixture and continue stirring. Pour the resulting mixture over the cucumbers and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve the finished sweet and sour sauce to the table in a separate bowl into which you can dip pieces of meat.

Recipe for sweet and sour sauce with pineapples for fish

Ingredients:

Preparation

So, pour the pineapple juice into a small saucepan and put it on low heat. Then add a little water to it, add tomato paste and sugar, mix everything. The result is a reddish liquid that tastes sweet and has a slight pineapple flavor. Next, add starch, stirring until the sauce thickens. Pour vinegar into the resulting mixture and add diced vegetables and pieces of canned pineapple. Boil the resulting sauce over low heat for 5 minutes and remove from the stove. Then cool it thoroughly, cool it, pour it into a bowl and serve it with any fried fish.