You Likely Have Everything For Homemade Sweet And Sour Sauce In Your Pantry
Sweet and sour sauce is a staple in Asian cuisine. Whether it's used to coat chicken or as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, it's always a delicious addition. If you're a fan of the sauce, then you'll want to know that you don't have to order takeout to satisfy your sweet and sour sauce craving; it's actually quite easy to make at home. And not only is it easy, but you likely already have the ingredients that you need in your pantry.
Homemade sweet and sour sauce requires just six ingredients: sugar, white vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, and water (preferably bottled or filtered). The sugar, of course, brings in the sweetness, while the white vinegar is responsible for the sour aspect of the sauce. Meanwhile, the soy sauce brings in more depth of flavor with its saltiness and umami elements. The ketchup contributes to all four — sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and umami — while also providing the sauce with its deep red color. Finally, the addition of cornstarch and water helps to create the sauce's ideal consistency.
The least common of these ingredients is probably the white vinegar — if you find yourself missing it, you can also use rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, both of which should work just as well at bringing in that sour element. Additionally, you can use either white or brown sugar, so don't worry if you only have one type of sugar in your pantry.
Read more: 21 Delicious Ways To Use Up Leftover Rice
Use The Homemade Sweet And Sour Sauce With These Recipes
After you realize how easy it is to make your own sweet and sour sauce, you'll be dying to use it in as many recipes as possible — but which recipes should you start with? It only makes sense to start with a classic: sweet and sour chicken. You can serve the sweet and sour chicken over rice for the perfect homemade spin on a takeout order. For a vegetarian take, you can make sweet and sour tofu instead. Or, you could infuse it into a batch of sauteed veggies to make your daily veggie intake much more exciting and flavorful.
Speaking of veggies, we can't forget about how perfect sweet and sour sauce is as a dip for both light and fresh spring rolls and vegetarian egg rolls. The sauce is also so tasty that you may just want to drizzle it over a bowl of white rice for a snack or light lunch option. Similarly, you can drizzle it over homemade fried rice to bring in a burst of extra flavor.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
