Homemade Low Carb Sweet and Sour Sauce- 15 Minute Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a substitute for sweet and sour sauce? ›

Alternative Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup pineapple juice. 1/3 cup water. 3 tablespoons vinegar. 1 tablespoon soy sauce.

In a medium saucepan, combine pineapple juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

It's also easy to customize sweet & sour sauce if you don't want to make a special trip to the store! Replace the pineapple juice with a mixture of orange and lemon juice, and opt for tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce to make it gluten-free.

If the sauce isn't thick enough, you can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk it in. But remember, the sauce will thicken even more as it cools down. So only add more cornstarch if the sauce is way too thin. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Sour mix is both sweet and sour, so if you need to make a swap, you'll want to make sure you add both so the taste will be comparable. Using equal parts lemon juice or lime juice and simple syrup or soda is the safest bet.

Ingredients: Water, Sugars (sugar, Plum Puree, Concentrated Pineapplejuice), Modified Corn Starch, White Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Salt,seasoning, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Red Bell Pepper Powder,beta-carotene Colour, Annatto Extract Colour.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

The carbohydrates found in sweet and sour sauce are simple carbs, and it has a glycemic index of 70.

Worst: Sweet and Sour Pork

It typically serves up 16 teaspoons of sugar, about the same amount in 3 chocolate bars. If that isn't bad enough, the syrupy sauce coats chunks of deep-fried pork. Even if you split this entree with someone, you're still likely to get more than 800 calories and 48 grams of fat.

While you can buy prepared pineapple juice and crushed pineapple at the store, there's something special about using fresh pineapple. Not only does it pack in more flavor, but less processing also means more nutrients are preserved, including vitamin C and bromelain.

What can you use in place of pineapple? ›

And although the texture and flavors are a bit different, apples are a great pineapple substitute. Oranges (or juice): Providing the citrusy, sweet, and tart flavors, oranges can also replace pineapples. Apricots: Again, this replacement is both sweet and tart — like a pineapple.

Simply replace the oil, milk, or water called for in the recipe with pineapple juice in equal proportions. A yellow or white cake works best, since the pineapple flavor could clash or get lost if you use chocolate or another flavor.

Adjust the flavor balance of your sauce: If too tart or acidic, add 1/4 tsp. sugar and stir well. If too bland or sweet, add 1/4 tsp. red wine vinegar and stir well.

To use flour as a thickening agent: Use two tablespoons flour mixed with ¼ cup cold water for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix in the water to prevent lumps. After stirring the combined flour and water into the sauce, cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

Tip: Sugar can also soften acidic flavors, as in a sweet-and-sour sauce. To see how, make an overly sour vinaigrette, then whisk in sugar a pinch at a time until the vinaigrette tastes less harsh but not sweet.

In Filipino cuisine, sweet and sour sauces are known as agre dulce or Filipino sweet and sour sauce. It is made by mixing cornstarch with water, salt, sugar, and a tangy ingredient (typically tomato ketchup, banana ketchup, or pineapples). The mixture is brought to a boil then simmered until it thickens.

Both are incredibly simple to make. The only difference between sweet chilli sauce and sweet and sour sauce is that sweet chilli sauce is sweet, sour, and spicy. So only the spiciness goes missing when using sweet and sour sauce instead of sweet chilli sauce.

The sour often is from white rice vinegar, but can also include soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Garlic, clove, and ginger also can make an appearance. Western sweet and sour sauce will often include the following: vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, tomato paste or ketchup, pineapple, green bell pepper, garlic, and onion.