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READY IN 12 mins

Sweet and Sour Sauce I

Read Reviews (490)

"An excellent, traditional sweet and sour sauce. It is great served with meatballs, with tempura, or even over rice!" — NAG_CA

Ingredients Edit and Save

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Sugar and Sweeteners

Original recipe makes 2 cups Change Servings

3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch

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Directions

Place the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, ketchup and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened.

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PREP 2 mins
COOK 10 mins
READY IN 12 mins

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As the recipe is written, this is a good sauce. I did do a few things to doctor my version of the sauce which I think gave it more body and flavor. I used the recipe with these substitutions: 1/4 C of brown sugar and 1/2 C of white sugar instead of 3/4 C white sugar, 1/4 C of pineapple juice instead of water, 1/4 C of ketchup instead of the 1 tablespoon (trust me on this!), and I used 2 Tablespoons of flour dissolved into a little water. I added the flour/water mixture to the boiling (on low heat) mix of the other items. I thought these substitutions brought more body, flavor, and color.

—SHELS77

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Jul 23, 2003

This was okay but even with my modifications, still needs some work to perfect. Per previous reviews regards the excessiveness of the soy sauce, I reduced the amt to 2 TBLS but next time I'll reduce down to 1. I also added 1 TBLS of honey. Next time, I also reduce the vinegar to 1/8 cup and add 1/4 cup pineapple juice. I'm hoping this might taste closer to the sweet&sour sauces I am accustomed to.

—DREGINEK

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611 Ratings

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Jul 13, 2003

This recipe was quite good. I was looking for something fast to serve with leftover takeout Chinese food as we had no more S/S packets. You will shorten cooking time considerably if you combine all ingredients *except* cornstarch, let come to a boil, spoon out about a 1/4 cup of the sauce into your measuring cup, mix in the cornstarch with it and then slowly add while mixing to the remainder of sauce in pan. It will take only 5-6 minutes to cook and it will thicken immediately.

—CMiceli

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Jan 25, 2004

I make this all the time and have passed the recipe around to many. I have followed all the suggestions left by others at different times and no matter what I have done to this recipe, it turns out great! We put chicken in it, or ground beef, or meatballs and serve it over rice. I have added veggies also. You can't go wrong. It is wonderful!

—JELLYKELLY23

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Aug 15, 2003

Great recipe. Kept amt. of soy sauce as written and just added about 1 TBSP of honey. Perfect for chicken tenders! :)

—MichelleRD

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Jul 13, 2003

Thank you Linda! I have been searching hi and low for a s-n-s sauce that tastes much like something you would find in a chinese restaurant. perfect balance of sweet with sour. served this great sauce (that you can make as thick or thin as you like) over stir fried chicken and veggies on thin spaghetti. Tasted really close to Chicken Lo Mein!!!

—JENN5

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Jan 25, 2004

I made this on a night that I tried to make my Grandmom's fried chicken fingers and ended up messing them up and they looked like the Chinese sweet & sour chiken strips...so I grabbed this in a matter of 2 minutes and turned them into the Chinese sweet & sour chicken. Anyway, I really liked this!! I thought it was fabulous and tasted just like the hot-pink kind from the Chinese take-outs.

—MissMommy

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Dec 07, 2003

Easy to make. Made this for a large party and had loads of requests for this recipe. I used this for store bought meatball cocktails.

—ANGEL97

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Nutrition

Calories
43 kcal
2%

Carbohydrates
10.8 g
3%

Cholesterol
0 mg
0%

Fat
0 g
< 1%

Fiber
0 g
< 1%

Protein
0.3 g
< 1%

Sodium
236 mg
9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Sweet and Sour Sauce I

Serving Size: 1/16 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving
** Calories: 43
** Calories from Fat: < 1

% Daily Value *
** Total Fat 0g < 1 %
** Saturated Fat 0g < 1 %
** Cholesterol 0mg 0 %
** Sodium 236mg 9 %
** Potassium 12mg < 1 %
** Total Carbohydrates 10.8g 3 %
** Dietary Fiber 0g < 1 %
** Protein 0.3g < 1 %
** Sugars 9.6g
** Vitamin A < 1 %
** Vitamin C < 1 %
** Calcium < 1 %
** Iron < 1 %
** Thiamin < 1 %
** Niacin 1 %
** Vitamin B6 < 1 %
** Magnesium < 1 %
** Folate < 1 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.