Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe in 15 Minutes

Name: Sweet and Sour Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 200 ml pineapple juice; 80 ml rice vinegar; 80 g ketchup; 60 g caster sugar; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp cornflour; 2 tbsp water

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup and sugar simmered for 10 minutes and thickened with cornflour into a glossy sauce. Eight servings in 15 minutes.

Not yet rated 15 min total Serves 8 servings Easy

Why This Is Worth Making

The sauce should taste of both things at once, with neither winning. Too much sugar and it becomes sweet jam; too much vinegar and it turns harsh.

Pineapple juice gives the sweetness a fruity edge, which sugar alone cannot manage. Ketchup adds body and colour, rice vinegar brings the sour, and a splash of soy sauce rounds it off.

Simmer for 10 minutes so the vinegar loses its sting. Thicken with cornflour mixed in cold water, whisking as you pour, and the sauce turns glossy and clear within a minute.

If your hob runs hot, check at 7 minutes. Taste before you finish. A spoon more vinegar sharpens it, and a spoon more sugar rounds it. Toss it with fried chicken or pork, or serve it on the side for dipping spring rolls and prawn crackers. For a brighter colour add a spoon of tomato puree, and for a deeper tang use a splash of rice vinegar at the end.

Build the Meal Around Sweet and Sour Sauce

Fried chicken
Battered pork
Spring rolls
Egg fried rice

Making Sweet and Sour Sauce, Step by Step

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

Simmer the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, sugar and soy sauce in a pan for 10 minutes.
Mix the cornflour with the water and whisk it in.
Simmer for 1 minute until glossy. Cool and keep in a jar.

Notes From the Method

Mix the cornflour with cold water.

Taste before thickening.

If your hob runs hot, check at 7 minutes.

Toss with the food just before serving.

Keeping What's Left

Keeps in a clean jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Sweet and Sour Sauce: Your Questions Answered

How long does Sweet and Sour Sauce take to make?

About 15 minutes in total — 5 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe serves 8.

What are the key tips for making Sweet and Sour Sauce?

Mix the cornflour with cold water. Taste before thickening. If your hob runs hot, check at 7 minutes. Toss with the food just before serving.

What should I serve with Sweet and Sour Sauce?

Fried chicken; Battered pork; Spring rolls; Egg fried rice.

How should Sweet and Sour Sauce be stored?

Keeps in a clean jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Is Sweet and Sour Sauce suitable for a special diet?

This recipe is vegetarian, dairy-free, low-carb and keto. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.

0Calories

0gProtein

0gCarbs

0gFat

0gFibre

0gSugar

0mgSodium

Vegetarian Dairy-Free Low-Carb Keto

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Build the Meal Around Sweet and Sour Sauce

Making Sweet and Sour Sauce, Step by Step

Notes From the Method

Keeping What's Left

Sweet and Sour Sauce: Your Questions Answered

Nutrition per Serving

Reader Reviews

Cooked this? Leave a review

Build the Meal Around Sweet and Sour Sauce

Making Sweet and Sour Sauce, Step by Step

Notes From the Method

Keeping What's Left

Sweet and Sour Sauce: Your Questions Answered

Nutrition per Serving

Reader Reviews

Cooked this? Leave a review

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