Friday 18 October 2013

FOOD FRIDAY: SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE

It's Friday again and it's either time to indulge a bit and talk about food or fashion. Remember I told you I found an old cookbook my dad bought on one of his travels? Well, I decided to give some of the dishes in the book a try by making it and if it turned out nice, then I'll share the recipe with you. Many of us already know about the "sweet and sour sauce", it's in jars in many grocery stores all over the world. Wouldn't it be fun though to try and make it your self? Well I did and of course added my own modifications. I guess that's the fun in making your own food. You decide what goes in and what stays out.

I actually got my first taste of the sauce when a first of my back in the school days when my friend and flatmate Dr. Nena Kalu-Nsi came back from the holidays and told us about a new sauce she had just learnt. She made it and when I tasted it, I went straight to cloud nine. I had to learn it. The sauce she'd used came in a jar and after a while, I didn't see it in stores anymore. So you can imagine my joy when I got a hold of this cookbook. This is how the recipe goes, enjoy...

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/3 cup of sweetener (sugar, honey, apple jelly or packed brown sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • Spice (1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 6 whole cloves, 1 stick cinnamon or 1/8 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root)
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup of vegetable (sliced water chestnut, green onions cut into 1-inch pieces, zucchini cut into julienne strips or green pepper cut into julienne strips)
  • Fruit (1 can (8 ounces) mandarin orange segments-drained, 1 cup pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes or 1 can apricot halves-drained and cut up.

RECIPE:

  • In a saucepan, add the sweetener, cornstarch, spice and garlic
  • Gradually stir in broth, vinegar and soy sauce.
  • Over medium - high heat, heat to boiling, stirring constantly
  • Allow to boil for 1 minute
  • Discard cloves or cinnamon
  • Stir in vegetable and Fruit; heat through
Now this is the basic sweet and sauce, to make it more appetizing like in the photo below, chop some carrots, green beans, green pepper and onions into large pieces. Fry in some olive oil, add a pinch of salt.

You can add fish, meat or chicken. Then pour in your basic sweet and sour sauce. It can be served with rice or potatoes. 



Have a happy weekend guys, Cheers.....

2 comments:

  1. This sweet and sour sauce is a delicious classic anytime. Thanks keren @ the reference. Nena

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes Nena. Thanks for introducing me to it.

    ReplyDelete

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