Sweet and Sour Sauce

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This is the BEST Sweet and Sour Sauce and it's so easy to make and in my opinion, it's way better than McDonald's Sweet and Sour Sauce! It only takes 6 ingredients (no cornstarch or preservatives!) and approximately 10 minutes, and you'll have a jar of delicious Sweet and Sour Sauce to use with all of your favorite foods! This recipe yields about 1 cup of sauce.

Prep Time5

Cook Time6

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Asian

Servings:

Author: Chris Joe

Ingredients

1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
4 dried apricots
½ cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup ketchup

Instructions

Slice open the dried apriocots lengthwise to expose the inside.
In a medium pot, add the vinegar, sugar, and apricots. Turn the heat to high and stir occasionally until the vinegar boils and the sugar is dissolved. Boil for 3-4 minutes until vinegar has reduced by half. At this point, the apricots should be softened, so smash them a few times with a wooden spoon to release more of their flavor.
Add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, and ketchup. Mix to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce for 2-3 minutes until the sauce resembles a consistency slightly looser than pancake batter.
Remove the apricots and place in a heatproof container to cool.

Notes

Store homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator. (I like to use a mason jar.) I usually will toss any leftover sauce after 3-4 weeks but it rarely lasts that long in my household. Do not store this on your countertop - it will go bad! Make sure to avoid dipping directly into the container or using a used utensil - you want to avoid any cross contamination or crumbs.

Tips:

I recommend using "no sugar added" pineapple juice to control the level of sweetness.
Some brands of ketchup may be sweeter than others; therefore, I would adjust the amount of sugar accordingly.
The dried apricots and pineapple juice already have sugar in them, so you may find that you don't need as much sugar.
The sauce will thicken as it cools, so you don’t want to reduce it down too much. A consistency slightly looser than pancake batter is perfect so that it will thicken upon cooling.
Reducing the vinegar before adding pineapple juice, soy sauce and ketchup is key. We want to reduce the natural water that is in the vinegar before adding the other ingredients to preserve the pungency and really make this sweet and sour sauce shine.

Nutrition