Hong Kong Style Sweet & Sour Sauce

Ah, sweet and sour… memories of a container of deep fried ‘chicken’ balls accompanied by a paper cup full of bright orange gloop.. oh dear! But don’t panic – we can share with you the way to make a proper sweet and sour, the way they make it in Hong Kong, and this is a completely different beast. The secret weapon here is our freeze-dried pineapple powder, which when hooked up with fresh pineapple makes for an exotic explosion of fruity flavour. The sauce works equally well with chicken, pork, fish or prawns.

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Ingredients

1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 red chillies, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3tsp Pineapple powder
3tsp Tomato powder
1tsp Carrot powder
1/2 tsp Intense Balsamic powder
1tsp Chinese Five Spice
1tsp Gochugaru chilli flakes (optional, omit if you don't like hot food)
2tsp sugar
2tsp cornflour
3tsp light soy sauce
300ml water

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Method

1

First, in a jug mix together the spices, sugar and cornflour. Then add the soy sauce and water, whisking well to make sure everything is nicely blended. Put to one side.

2

Heat a wok or deep frying pan then add 1tbs groundnut/sunflower/vegetable oil. When the pan is hot, quickly stir fry the veg for a couple of minutes.

3

Add the carrot first, then onion, then peppers, then chilli, pineapple, ginger and garlic. While the veg is still crispy, pour in the jug of sauce mixture. Keeping the pan on a high heat, stir constantly until the sauce thickens and starts bubbling.

4

Then turn the heat down and let the sauce simmer for five minutes. Your sauce is now ready to add to whichever ingredient you are using.

5

The quickest and easiest option is chicken - simply stir fry strips of chicken fillet seasoned with a little five spice and soy sauce, and when the chicken is cooked, pour in the sauce and mix well. Serve with rice or noodles.

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