This is a simple homemade recipe for sweet and sour sauce. Sweet and sour sauce is used primarily for chicken or pork dishes, but can also be used for fish as well.

This recipe seems a little bit simple, and isn’t 100% authentic, but it is a delicious sweet and sour sauce you can make in about ten minutes.

Pork not included.

Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients

To make about two cups of sweet and sour sauce you will use:

• Three quarters of a cup of sugar
• Two thirds of a cup of water
• A third of a cup of white vinegar
• A quarter cup of soy sauce
• About a tablespoon of ketchup
• And about two tablespoons of corn starch

How to Make Sweet and Sour Sauce

Bring a saucepan to medium-high heat and start combining ingredients.

It’s usually easiest to combine the water, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup and corn starch first, and slowly stir in the sugar. It’s quite a bit of sugar and you want to make sure it fully dissolves to ensure your sauce ends up delicious.

While you’re stirring, your mixture should gradually come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, slightly reduce the heat. Continue simmering until it starts to thicken.

The cooking time should only be about five to seven minutes, but going a bit longer is okay to get a thicker sauce.

Tips for Making Sweet and Sour Sauce

• You can substitute out the white vinegar for rice vinegar if you want to get all fancy and authenticy, but most people prefer the familiar taste of white vinegar.
• Don’t worry if the sauce continues at a rolling boil when you reduce the heat during the cooking time. It doesn’t end up “burnt” unless you really, really overdo it. The higher the temperature while you simmer it, the quicker it cooks. Bringing it down a bit further is probably the best plan, though.