Sweet & Sour Soy Dipping Sauce
by Dylan Sabuco
Photo by Dylan Sabuco
prep time
5 minutes
cook time
5 minutes
makes
4-6 servings
Sweet & Sour Soy Dipping Sauce
It’s sweet, sour, salty, and has the zesty zing of ginger. And it’s the only sweet and sour dipping sauce you will ever need—ideal for lumpia, dumplings, skewers, and whatever tasty creation you come up with next!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- measure :
to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).
- simmer :
to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.
- stir :
to mix together two or more ingredients with a spoon or spatula, usually in a circle pattern, or figure eight, or in whatever direction you like!
Equipment Checklist
- Small saucepan
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
scale
1X
2X
3X
4X
5X
6X
7X
Ingredients
Sweet & Sour Soy Dipping Sauce
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 3 T water
- 3 tsp soy sauce **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub liquid aminos; for GLUTEN/SOY ALLERGY sub coconut aminos)**
- 2 tsp ketchup **(for NIGHTSHADE ALLERGY sub 2 tsp sesame seeds if no sesame allergy is present)**
- 3 T honey OR granulated or brown sugar
- 3 T rice wine vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1 tsp grated ginger root
Food Allergen Substitutions
Sweet & Sour Soy Dipping Sauce
- Gluten/Wheat: Substitute liquid aminos or coconut aminos for soy sauce.
- Soy: Substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce.
- Nightshade: For 2 tsp ketchup, substitute 2 tsp sesame seeds if no sesame allergy is present.
Instructions
Sweet & Sour Soy Dipping Sauce
1.
measure + simmer
Measure and add the following ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat: 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 3 tablespoons water, 3 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons ketchup, 3 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 pinch of salt, and 1 pinch of black pepper. Simmer for at least 3 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring often. If you need extra sauce, double the ingredients above.
2.
grate + whisk
Grate 1 teaspoon of ginger into the sauce. Stir in the ginger and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour the sauce into a bowl and let it cool down. Dunk your Fabulous Filipino "Lumpia" Egg Roll Bundles into the sweet and sour sauce and enjoy!
Photo by New Africa/Shutterstock.com
Hi! I'm Cornstarch!
"You can probably guess by my name that I'm made from corn! I've got other names, too, including Cornflour and Maize Starch (you can also spell my name Corn Starch). I'm used to thicken foods, like sauces and soups. I'm also used in glues and as an anti-sticking agent. That confuses me, but I like that I have so many purposes!"
- Cornstarch comes from the endosperm or tissue, making up the bulk of the corn kernel. In commercial processing, after soaking, the germ is separated from the endosperm and they are ground individually. A centrifuge separates the starch from the liquid (corn steep liquor), germ, fiber, and gluten. It is then dried. The residual matter is processed for animal feed and corn oil. Additional modifications to the cornstarch may be necessary, depending on its use.
- Cornstarch started as a laundry starch in the 1800s to stiffen shirt collars and other clothing, like the Paisley shawls made in Paisley, Scotland. In 1854, John Polson of Brown & Polson, the Scottish company that made the laundry starch for the shawls, patented a production method to enable its use in food. They called their product "Patented Corn Flour." They became the largest producers of cornstarch in the United Kingdom.
- In the culinary world, cornstarch is used as a thickening agent. Add cornstarch to water to thicken gravies, sauces, and soups, usually at a 1:2 ratio (e.g., 1 tablespoon corn starch to 2 tablespoons water). Cornstarch results in a clearer thickening slurry than flour. After pouring it into a gravy or sauce, applying heat to the mixture causes it to thicken. However, boiling it for too long will cause the sauce to thin again.
- Corn starch is also added to powdered sugar as an anti-caking agent (to prevent lumps). Adding a thin outer layer of cornstarch to chicken nuggets allows more oil to be absorbed, creating a crisper nugget.
- Non-food uses for cornstarch include baby powder, anti-sticking agent on latex medical items, like medical gloves, and adhesive in creating paste paper designs.
- You can make cornstarch at home. Start by cleaning and soaking corn for 30 to 48 hours in room-temperature water to soften the kernels and begin to separate the starch. Drain and rinse the corn, then blend it in a high-powered blender with a little water to release more starch. Pour the resulting slurry into a container through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer. Liquid will pass through with the starch. Let it sit for a few hours, and the starch will settle at the bottom of the container. Pour off the liquid, leaving the starch at the bottom. Spread the wet starch in a thin layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and let it dry out. This may take several hours or days, depending on air circulation and moisture. Breaking up clumps and laying the baking sheet by a sunny window may speed up the drying. Once thoroughly dried, use a blender or food processor to remove clumps and produce a fine powder. Store in an airtight container for up to six months.
History of Sweet and Sour Sauce!
Photo by Andrey Starostin/Shutterstock.com
- Sweet and sour sauces and foods originated in China. Many of their sweet and sour dishes date to the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 CE). Sweet and sour flavors were used in cooking and dipping sauces.
- Sweet and sour sauces and dishes came to the United States in the late 1800s with Chinese immigrants. Sweet and sour chicken and pork, served in a red sweet and sour sauce, are popular dishes in the US.
- The ingredients for sweet and sour sauce can vary. The simplest recipe is sugar for the sweet part and rice vinegar for the sour part. Other recipes may use brown sugar, honey, molasses, or fruit juices, like pear or pineapple for sweetness. Additional sour or savory ingredients may include chiles, ketchup, soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce.
- In addition to flavoring meat and vegetables, sweet and sour dipping sauce is often served with egg rolls, spring rolls, and fried wontons.
Let's Learn About China!
Photo by XiXinXing/Shutterstock.com
- China's official name is The People's Republic of China. It became a republic in 1912; however, the first Chinese dynasty appeared around 2100 BCE. China is one of the largest countries in the world, and it has the most people!
- The official language of China is Mandarin. However, various dialects are spoken in different regions of the country. For example, in Shanghai, they speak Shanghainese.
- China is around the same size as the continental United States but only has one official time zone. The continental US has four.
- China's capital city is Beijing, while the most populated city is Shanghai.
- The Great Wall in China is the largest man-made construction on Earth, stretching an incredible 5,500 miles. Its builders used mortar that included sticky rice to bind the Great Wall's stones!
- China's land is diverse, with high mountains, low coastal lands, deserts, and damp tropical areas. Just like the United States!
- The Chinese are known for their papermaking, porcelain, and silk cloth. In addition to paper, they also invented the compass during the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE), woodblock printing in the Tang dynasty (by 7th century), gunpowder in the Tang dynasty (9th century), and movable type made of porcelain (for printing) between 1039 and 1048 CE, during the Song dynasty.
- Chinese cuisine varies by region. Climate, local agriculture, ethnic and class backgrounds, and outside influences all contribute to China's food diversity. There are eight major regional Chinese cuisines: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang.
- Wheat is farmed in northern China, so noodles and other foods made from wheat are consumed more in the North. On the other hand, rice is cultivated in southern China; therefore, rice is a staple in the South.
- Tea has long been part of Chinese culture across all parts of society. China was the first country to grow and drink tea and, today, it exports the most green tea worldwide.
What's It Like to Be a Kid in China?
- School success is greatly emphasized in China. Chinese kids go to school five days a week (six days before 1995), and their school day runs from 7:30 or 8 am until 4 or 5 pm. After school, they might do homework for three hours.
- In primary school, kids learn the Chinese language, which is made up of about 7,000 characters, not letters. The characters represent words. By the time they finish primary school, they will have learned about 4,000 characters. They will also learn a foreign language, especially English.
- Kids may not have aunts, uncles, or cousins because, at one time, the Chinese government allowed couples to have just one child due to the high population. That later changed to two, and in May 2021, the policy changed again to allow three kids, so now a child may have a sibling or two.
- Some of the holidays that kids celebrate with their families are Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day. National Day is celebrated with fireworks and parades to commemorate the formal proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
- Kids enjoy playing ping pong, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. They also play video games and ride their bikes.
- Rice and noodles are staples, and kids may eat these at every meal. They'll eat their food using chopsticks, not forks!
THYME for a Laugh
Mom fertilized the garden with cornstarch.
The plot thickens.
THYME for a Laugh
My cell phone got wet, so I put it in rice, but I don't think it's working.
The soy sauce just made things worse!
Lettuce Joke Around
I accidentally dropped a whole pack of cornstarch into the pot while cooking.
It was a thickening experience.
