One thing that we always struggle with when we buy one of those shop made takeaway meals or boxes , was the sauces, they never capture the true flavours from a genuine take away. The jars, sachets or packets are never up to scratch, something extra is always needed.
So we’ve given up on jars and shop bought takeaways and have instead started making our own, its also a lot cheaper than actually ordering take away.
Another way to make it cheaper is to not buy the ingredients from the main aisles of shops. Try the world food aisles or even better, world food shops or warehouses, these are what take-aways tend to use.
So after a lot of research, trying and testing we have found the best sweet and sour sauce recipe. It makes a big batch, so can be kept in the fridge or freezer for future use.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 litres Malt Vinegar
- 3.3 litres Water
- 200 ml Double Concentrate Orange Squash
- 2 large Oranges
- 500 g Fresh Ginger
- 1 bulb Garlic
- 2-3 pieces Cinnamon Bark
- 1 handful Star Anise
- 1 tsp Cloves
- 250 ml Tomato Puree
- 1.5 kg White Sugar
- 4 dessert spoons Vegetable or Sunflower Oil
Method:
- Crush (Or Chop) the Garlic
- Cut 30 g Fresh Ginger
- Slice the Oranges
- Blend the rest of the ginger with water (enough water to cover the ginger) to form a paste.
- Place a Large Saucepan over a high heat with the oil.
- Just before the oil gets hot throw in the cinnamon, star anise and the cloves.
- When you can start to smell the oils, turn down the heat .
- Add the chopped ginger, let it cook.
- Add the garlic and cook, without letting it burn.
- Add the Vinegar (careful! it will spit)
- Turn the heat up and add the tomato puree, blended ginger, oranges, squash, water and sugar.
- Bring to the boil, then let it simmer for 45 minutes, giving it an occasional stir.
- Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
- Drain, using a very fine sieve.
Enjoy!
This Sauce goes amazingly in the Crispy Chilli Beef Sauce Recipe, on rice or as a dipping sauce.
Stumbling through Motherhood 