One of the most famous takeaway sauces, this colourful Chinese restaurant style sweet & sour sauce is as eye catching as it is delicious. Make your own with this simple recipe!
Think Chinese takeaway food, and neon bright sticky sweet & sour sauce is surely one of the first images that comes to mind. It’s a must have alongside chicken balls and spring rolls, and making your own at home is very easy. So, let’s do just that!
There are a variety of different ways to make Chinese takeaway style sweet & sour sauce. Many restaurants in the UK make a flavourful stock with bananas, carrots, celery, onion and ginger, with some recipes calling for tomato puree or ketchup for flavour and colour. This simple recipe uses sugar and pineapple juice as a base, with vinegar for sourness and natural beetroot powder for colour. It’s an easy sweet & sour sauce that takes just 5 minutes to make, with spectacular results.
Ingredients For Chinese Takeaway Style Sweet & Sour Sauce
The core sweet & sour ingredients for this sauce are a mix of white and brown sugar, with pineapple juice and vinegar. The classic deep red colour is achieved with a touch of natural beetroot powder and the sauce is thickened just a little with potato starch.
- White Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Water
- Pineapple Juice
- Vinegar
- Beetroot Powder
- Potato Starch
How To Make Chinese Takeaway Style Sweet & Sour Sauce
To make this simple Chinese takeaway style sweet & sour sauce, water, sugar and pineapple juice is cooked together briefly. Then, vinegar and beetroot powder are added. The sauce is thickened with potato starch to create the classic sweet & sour sauce consistency.
Step 1: Boil Sugar
In a pot, add 100 millilitres water and 50 millilitres pineapple juice. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then add 3 tablespoons caster sugar and 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar. Mix well and simmer for 3 minutes.
Step 2: Make Sweet & Sour Sauce
In a pot, add 100 millilitres water and 50 millilitres pineapple juice. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then add 3 tablespoons caster sugar and 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar. Mix well and simmer for 3 minutes.
Recipe Tips For Chinese Takeaway Style Sweet & Sour Sauce
Pineapple Juice: This recipe uses 50ml pineapple juice. This happens to be exactly how much juice you can typically drain from one of these pineapple pots, which is very handy. If I’m using a pineapple pot for something else (say, for example, pineapple to top a pizza), I’ll typically save the juice to make sweet & sour sauce.
I hope you’ll try this Chinese takeaway style sweet & sour sauce recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Sweet & Sour Sauce (Chinese Takeaway Style)
Equipment
- 1 pot
Ingredients
- 100 millilitres water
- 50 millilitres pineapple juice
- 3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar
- 20 millilitres distilled clear malt vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon beetroot powder, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 1-2 pineapple chunks
Instructions
- In a pot, add 100 millilitres water and 50 millilitres pineapple juice. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then add 3 tablespoons caster sugar and 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar. Mix well and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add 20 millilitres distilled clear malt vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon beetroot powder, mixed with 1 tablespoon water. Mix well. Slowly add 1 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water, stirring well until the sauce reaches the desired consistency (all of the mix may not be needed). Add 1-2 pineapple chunks, transfer the Chinese takeaway style sweet & sour sauce to a bowl and serve.
Chinese Restaurant Style Sweet & Sour Sauce FAQ
How do Chinese takeaways make sweet & sour sauce?
Some of the very best Chinese restaurants prepare a delicious sweet & sour sauce made with a long list of healthy ingredients, including orange peel, banana, celery, onion, carrot and more. This simple recipe combines pineapple juice, sugar, water and vinegar with added beetroot powder for colour to make an easy and tasty sweet and sour sauce.
Do you like this Chinese takeaway style sweet & sour sauce recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make crispy won ton, salt & chilli chicken, satay sauce, pineapple fritters and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
- McGovern, Kenny (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages – 06/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Robinson (Publisher)
