Sweet and Sour Sauce is the classic tangy and sweet dipping sauce of Chinese takeout restaurants that has just six ingredients and in less than 10 minutes!
Make this with Crab Rangoon for dipping as an appetizer and this makes for an easy Chinese takeout meal at home! Pairs well with Orange Chicken and Chicken Lo Mein or Classic Chinese Chow Mein.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
If you’ve followed along with the blog for more than a couple days you know that we love Chinese food around here.
How do I make a simple sweet and sour sauce?
This is a classic version of your favorite sauce. I also made a Panda Express Sweet and Sour Sauce if you’re looking for that distinct flavor. That sauce is based on a completely different recipe using white vinegar and plain sugar while this is sweet and sour pineapple juice recipe with brown sugar and rice vinegar as the base. Because of the white vinegar in the Panda Express version, the flavors in that recipe are much sharper than the flavors in this one.
How do you make Chinese sweet and sour sauce?
Sweet and Sour Sauce is as easy as bringing a few ingredients including pineapple juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce to a boil before adding a cornstarch slurry to the mixture to thicken it. The classic red color from sweet and sour sauce comes from red food coloring (which is completely optional).
How do you make sweet and sour sauce thicker?
A mixture of cornstarch and water is added to the pot of ingredients to thicken the sweet and sour sauce. If you are missing cornstarch, do not boil down the sauce before adding in the cornstarch mixture as it can become much too overpowering with the amount of sugar and vinegar in the sauce. Instead use arrowroot powder or if all else fails, a mixture of flour and water.
Can you use this sweet and sour sauce for chicken or pork?
YES, absolutely. I do have a Sweet and Sour Chicken on the blog but this recipe for the sauce would be a perfect swap for the sauce in the recipe. If you have tempura battered chicken or pork, all you have to do is quickly sauté some onion and bell pepper chunks with come pineapple chunks and toss it with this sauce.
Want more Chinese Food Recipes?
- Crispy Sesame Chicken
- Chinese Honey Chicken
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Panda Express Recipes… every single one in fact: Panda Express Recipes Index
- Many more Chinese food options…
Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 3 drops red food coloring optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Add the pineapple juice, light brown sugar, rice vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and food coloring to a saucepan on medium heat.
- Stir well until it comes to a boil.
Mix the water and cornstarch together and add it to the saucepan.
- Whisk well until the cornstarch is fully incorporated and the sauce has thickened.
- Allow to cool before serving.
I actually could not find just plain pineapple juice in a container of reasonable size so I used pine/orange juice and reduced the amount of rice vinegar to 1/4 cup and made up the difference with the juice and it turned out wonderfully.
Thanks for the tip, Lani!
1 cup cold water, 1 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Whisk. Cook until clear, then remove from heat. Whisk in red food coloring. This is what they serve you at Chinese restaurants. No brown sugar, no pineapple juice, no soy sauce.
What are the crispy things you dip in sweet and sour that is showed in the picture at the very top of this page?
These are wonton chips. I don’t have a recipe but someone left instructions in the comments below.
what can I use if I do not have pineapple juice
I haven’t tested this using any other juice.
How long is this good for in the fridge? Can you freeze it?
I’d say about 2 weeks but you can put it in a freezer safe container and freeze it to extend the life of it.
Came out perfectly!? I didn’t use the food color and didn’t miss it. Thanks so much ?
You’re welcome, Faith.
Now… the question is: how do you make those wanton chips to dip into the sauce!?
I’ll add that to my list. Thanks for the suggestion.
I second the need for the wanton chip recipe!!
Get wonton or eggroll wraps (can often find the in the produce section), cut them to size, and fry them in oil. Just drop them in, fish them out when golden brown, put them on some paper towels to reduce grease, and sprinkle with salt while still hot. The uncooked portions will dry quickly, which makes me suspect that using the leftover wraps is how that sort of thing became a common side.
I thought the vinegar was a little heavy and the sauce wasn’t quite sweet enough, so I added 1 T honey and 1 T Splenda, and we loved it!
Glad you were able to customize it more to your liking.
FAR superior to bottled sauces. Delicious flavor. Next time, I’ll use a little less vinegar. But, this recipe is definitely a keeper.
Thanks, Marjorie.
What food color brand did you use for Recipes?
I used Wilton but use any brand you prefer.
I love this dipping sauce, I have tried it several times without the pineapple juice but this one is just the right sweet and sour. You will not be disappointed with this recipe.
Thanks so much for the 5 stars, Jerry.
This recipe was SO easy and quick! It was perfectly tasty, too!
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
this turned out amazing!!!!
thank you, you saved the day!
How long will the sweet & sour sauce last in the frig?
If kept in an air tight container, it should last up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
My grandkids love this sauce! If I make a large batch, how long can I keep it in the refrigerator? Can I freeze it?
So glad they love it! I would suggest keeping it in an air tight container in the refrigerator and it should last up to 2 weeks. I haven’t tried freezing this recipe because it’s so easy to whip up but it would work. Maybe freeze it in single size portions to defrost in the refrigerator when you’re ready to use. Hope this helps!
Why is mirin mentioned exactly once on this page?
Ha! Thanks for pointing that out. I used to have it in the recipe but it was such a hard ingredient for people to find and with more recipe testing I was able to remove it with no issues so I removed it from the recipe card but forgot to take it out of that paragraph.
Sabrina,
do you have a recipe for wonton filling ? pork or shrimp?
I don’t but I’ll add it to my to do list. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion!
The only issue I have is the ketchup flavor is too strong. But I can tweek it and it’ll be perfect!!
This sauce is better than what l have been served at the Chinese place
I don’t have rice vinegar. Is there something I can use instead?
Best substitute is cider vinegar, if you have it. Other vinegars might be too strong as a substitute and may change up the flavor too much.
How do you make the chips?
I only made the sauce for this recipe. 🙂
Looks delicious and so easy to make! !
Thank you Erin!
Great addition an any Chinese night! Love when I can eat in and not out!
Yes!!
I love sweet and sour sauce!! This sounds SO delicious!!
Thanks Katerina!
Yummy! Sweet and sour sauce is one of my favorite dipping sauces!
Looks so tasty! I love sweet and sour sauce!
SO easy to make, and delicious!!!
Definitely!
This is my favorite sauce ever! I can’t wait to make this!!
Enjoy!