Chinese Takeaway Sweet and Sour sauce recipe?

Fergus

Everyone knows the sauce. It's red, thick, and far more sweet than sour. Comes in a polystyrene cup with a chuck of pineapple in it. Decried by food buffs as being nothing like the real thing in China. etc.

Can someone confirm whether takeaways buy it in or make it?

Or can someone provide the recipe? I can get close with combinations of white vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, soy sauce or salt, pineapple juice, a lot of corn starch.. but haven't found anything quite right yet..

Please?? Anybody care to share??

commuterised

I don't think I want to know what they actually put in it..
ignorance being bliss and all that.

Sandi

Buy the Sweet n' Sour stuff in the jar. It's really tasty!

Sarky

Any Chinese folks I've met tell me that either half the menu of chinese restraunts is either changed horribly from what it's really like in china, or doesn't actually exist. Chinese restraunts are lying to us! Just an observation, I'm not going to stop eating food that, while it may not be authentic, is certainly tastey gorgeous!

SoundWave

1 cup Pineapple or Cherry Juice (or half of each)
4 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
3 tsp tomato paste
4 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 Clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
2 tsp cornflour mixed with 6 tsp water

Bring all the ingredients (except the cornstarch) slowly to the boil, stirring continuously, add the cornflour to thicken. u can then strain it to get the bits of chilli garlic and ginger out if u want

will keep in fridge for about 2 weeks.

Donkeyhotey

2 Parts Sugar
1 Part Red Sauce
1 Part Vinegar
Grated Ginger Root to taste
Boil in the microwave or in a pot. Do try it

JackieBurkhart

Chinese wouldn't eat take-out chinese food, as marketed here. They eat a lot of fish, brocolli and steamed rice.

I worked in a chinese for years. They don't make all the sauces - for example they don't make Satay sauce from scratch, but I'm fairly sure they make the Sweet & Sour.

All I can remember is that the internal bits of peppers - you know the pips and rind - they used to save that and put it in the pot where they were making the S&S sauce.

They used to put starch in EVERYTHING.

In summary I'm not much good to you

S.R.F.C.

Jassha's thread on chinese recipes might be of some use to you, have a look in the cooking and recipes section.

YumCha

I haven't tried it, but Rasa Malaysia has a recipe and they are usually pretty good!

http://rasamalaysia.com/sweet-and-sour-chicken/