Sweet and sour sauce - general principles and methods of preparation
What kind of sauce should I make? Sour is too sharp, sweet is cloying, and you can’t serve it with meat. What if these flavors were combined? Then you will get a completely new sweet and sour sauce, playing with different flavor facets. This is a perky sourness and a pleasant bitterness and a sweet soft note. Sauces with a sweet and sour taste are found in different cuisines - Jewish, Caucasian, but they are most common in Asian, in particular Chinese. The acidifiers most often used are lemon, apple, orange juice, and sour berries, and the sweeteners are honey, jam, and sugar. Sweet and sour sauces will enliven the bland taste of boiled meat and are simply ideal for fatty meat, making it more easily digestible for the stomach.
Lingonberry sauce with spices
The simple sauce for this recipe has a very multi-faceted spicy taste that amazingly highlights the meat.
You will need:
200 g lingonberries, 2 tbsp.
sugar, 25 ml balsamic vinegar, 1 chili pepper, 2 cloves, a mixture of peppers, salt, 0.5 tsp. khmeli-suneli. Preparation:
Wash the lingonberries, sprinkle with sugar, mash lightly and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Grind the berries through a sieve, add chopped pepper, vinegar and spices. Stir the lingonberry sauce and simmer a little more until thick.
Recipe 1: Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce
You don't have to go to China or visit a Chinese restaurant to try authentic Chinese sweet and sour sauce. You can prepare it without leaving your apartment. It is very popular not only in China, but also in our country. Its success lies in its amazing taste and versatility; this sauce can be used on absolutely anything. It will add piquancy to vegetables, meat and fish. Brown sugar will certainly come in handy, but if you don’t have it, replace it with regular granulated sugar.
Ingredients: ginger root (a piece of five centimeters), 2 tablespoons each - brown sugar, ketchup, water and soy sauce, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 3 tbsp. vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. l. starch and table vinegar (6%), 1 onion, 150 ml of fruit juice (with sourness - apple, orange).
Cooking method
Fry in vegetable oil, adding finely chopped onion, garlic, and ginger, one by one. Pour in soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ketchup and juice. Stir and let simmer a little. Dilute the starch with water and pour into the bubbling sauce. Bring to a boil, when it starts to thicken, turn off. Ready!
Aioli sauce for fries
A very easy-to-prepare sauce for French fries made from egg yolk and olive oil, ready in 15 minutes. It turns out one serving with a calorie content of 700 kcal.
Ingredients:
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- yolk;
- a pinch of salt;
- lemon juice - half a tsp;
- stack olive oils;
- 1 tbsp. water.
Preparation:
- Grind the garlic well in a container and pour in olive oil in portions.
- Add the yolk and mash the mixture very well. Season with salt and add lemon juice.
- Pour in cold water and mix thoroughly.
Stir the sauce until it becomes thick in consistency.
Recipe 2: Sweet and sour sauce for meat
An interesting option for making sauce with slices of pickled cucumbers. It’s sour and sweet and spicy, and in one word – delicious. And original. It is served directly on a plate or separately, in special sauce bowls. Cucumbers should be finely chopped, so the recipe indicates the amount in spoons.
Ingredients: pickles – 3 tbsp, 2 tsp each. starch, sugar and cognac, 0.5 tsp each. ground ginger (spices) and wine vinegar (table 6% is fine), add a spoonful. oil, 1 tsp. tomato paste.
Cooking method
Lightly moisten the pan with vegetable oil; do not pour too much. Heat the oil and add the cucumbers, simmer for five minutes.
Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and gradually add water, stirring the mixture. You will need approximately 1.5-2 cups of water - watch the consistency so that when the starch is brewed, it is not too thick or liquid. Add this mixture to the cucumbers and simmer for about five minutes over low heat.
Recipes for sauces for potatoes based on sour cream
Sour cream is a universal product to which you can add different ingredients and spices, which allows you to get an original version. Let's consider several options that are suitable for potatoes prepared in any way.
Recipe No. 1 – with herbs. Prepare 1 tbsp for this option. spoon of flour, 2 tbsp. tablespoons butter and chopped herbs (dill, parsley and cilantro), 0.5 tbsp. sour cream and 1 tbsp. potato decoction or broth.
Cooking process: melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the flour in it until golden. Slowly pour in the hot broth and stir constantly to prevent lumps from forming. After this, add sour cream and cook for 6 minutes. It's important to keep mixing.
When the consistency becomes thick, add chopped herbs and boil everything together.
Recipe No. 2 - with cottage cheese and nuts. The consistency of this sauce is thicker. It can be added to both French fries and baked and boiled vegetables. Take the following products: 150 g of cottage cheese, 2.5 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, 2 tbsp. spoons of peeled walnuts, 3 cloves of garlic, herbs and salt.
Cooking process: Place peeled garlic and nuts in a blender bowl, and then puree them until fine crumbs are obtained. Add coarsely chopped herbs, sour cream and cottage cheese there. Add salt to taste, usually 0.5 teaspoon is enough. Using a blender, puree everything until smooth. The gravy is ready to use.
Cream cheese sauce recipe for fries
This sauce is very popular. It is served along with fries in almost any fast food, and it is also suitable for meat and poultry. It stands out not only for its original taste, but also for its aroma. The prepared ingredients are enough for 3 servings.
Take the following set of products: 20 g cream, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp. white wine, 180 g hard cheese, 50 g ground nutmeg, salt and pepper.
The cooking process is as follows:
- take a saucepan and pour cream into it. Place over low heat and heat, but do not boil. Grind the cheese on a fine grater and add it to the cream. Stir well until the cheese begins to melt;
- Finely chop the peeled garlic and add it to the saucepan along with pepper, nutmeg and salt. Mix thoroughly, pour in the wine and boil everything together for 3 minutes.
Feta cheese sauce for potatoes
This gravy is ideal for a Lenten menu. It can be served not only with potatoes, but also with meat, or you can simply spread it on bread and eat sandwiches.
For this recipe you should take the following set of products: 100 g of low-fat feta, 1/4 cup of low-fat kefir, 3 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice, a clove of garlic, a pinch of pepper, oregano, a quarter of chopped green sweet pepper, 2 teaspoons each of olive oil and water.
The preparation process is as follows: place all ingredients except oil and pepper in a blender bowl and beat at minimum speed. Slowly pour in the oil and mix until smooth, add the pepper and beat everything thoroughly again for a couple of seconds.
Tomato sauce recipe
Many people like to use ketchup, but store-bought versions are not healthy at all, so you can make an excellent alternative. The garlic gives the gravy a slightly spicy kick. Everything is prepared extremely quickly and simply.
The composition includes the following products: 250 g of tomatoes, celery stalk, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of olive oil, salt and pepper.
The cooking process is as follows:
- First you need to get rid of the skins on the tomatoes. To do this, make a cross-shaped cut on them and lower them into boiling water for a minute. After this, pour cold water over the vegetables. These manipulations will help you easily remove the skin. Cut the pulp into small cubes;
- Pass the peeled garlic through a press, and finely chop the celery. Heat the oil in a frying pan for 5 minutes. fry the tomatoes. After this, add celery, garlic and other ingredients. Mix everything and cook for 5 minutes. After this, using a blender, bring the mixture until smooth.
Original sauce with mustard
If you cooked potatoes in the oven, make a spicy sauce for them. It turns out spicy and very tasty. Everything is prepared extremely quickly and simply.
Prepare the following set of products: 0.5 tbsp. sour cream, 2 tbsp. natural yogurt, herbs, mustard, 4 eggs, salt and pepper. The amount of mustard depends on how spicy you want the final product to be. If desired, you can change the composition of the ingredients.
The cooking process is as follows: Finely chop the greens and boil the eggs for 6 minutes. Grind them on a fine grater, add sour cream and yogurt. Mix everything well, add herbs, salt, pepper and mustard. Mix everything well until smooth.
Mushroom sauce for potatoes
Mushrooms and potatoes are an ideal combination that is used in many dishes. Therefore, we suggest preparing a delicious gravy from mushrooms. You can either use wild mushrooms, which will add not only an original taste and aroma to the dish, but also affordable champignons.
Take the following products: 0.5 kg of mushrooms, onion, 2 tbsp. spoons of flour, 200 ml of cream, 50 ml of olive and 20 g of butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
The cooking process is as follows:
- The mushrooms must be thoroughly washed, peeled, filled with water and put on the stove to cook. The duration of heat treatment is 35 minutes. Cut the finished mushrooms into small pieces. Heat two types of oil in a frying pan and fry the cooked mushrooms;
- Cut the peeled onion into small cubes and add it to the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper and cook until the onion is soft. Add flour and mix until golden;
- Separately combine the cream, nutmeg and a little pepper. Mix everything and pour into the mushrooms. Cook for 12 minutes. before the mass becomes thick. You can leave the gravy as is, or you can grind everything using a blender to a puree.
Potatoes in soy sauce recipe in the oven
It is impossible not to talk about this dish because it is very tasty. Soy sauce makes the vegetable spicy, and garlic gives it a spicy note. This side dish is ideal for home dinners and holidays.
To prepare potatoes in soy sauce, you need to take the following products: 1 kg of potatoes, 20 ml of sunflower oil and soy sauce, 1 teaspoon each of salt and spices, and another 3 cloves of garlic.
The cooking process is as follows:
- First, peel the root vegetables and cut them lengthwise into 4 pieces. Fill with water and boil until half cooked;
- In a separate container, combine oil, soy sauce, salt and spices. A little chopped garlic in the marinade won't hurt, so don't forget to add it. Drain the potatoes and place them in the prepared mixture. Mix thoroughly and leave for 10 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the slices on it tightly to each other. Bake in the oven, which needs to be preheated to 200 degrees, for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with meat or vegetables.
We tried to present you with the simplest, but at the same time original, gravy options. The attractiveness of the presented recipes is that, if desired, you can change the composition by adding different spices, herbs and other ingredients.
Recipe 3: Sweet and sour redcurrant sauce
Tasty, unusual and absolutely natural, this sauce is perfect for boiled meat, tongue, and fatty brisket. If it's not in season, it can be made without mint or cherry leaves. But they are the ones who add a touch of tartness and a specific aroma. Spicy lovers can sprinkle the sauce with a pinch or two of hot chili pepper.
Ingredients: red currants - 0.5 cups, water - 0.5 cups, half a medium onion, little butter - 25g, salt, a couple of cherry leaves and a sprig of mint, 3-4 allspice peas and a couple of cloves (spices).
Cooking method
Heat water, add butter, sugar. Once it dissolves, add currants, mint, and spices. Simmer until the currants give juice. Do not close the lid, increase the heat.
Finely chop the cherry leaves and onions, add to the sauce and simmer. The sauce should thicken and the onion should soften. Cook, covered with a lid, over low heat. Add salt.
Examples of dishes with Sweet and sour sauce
In a frying pan
Let's talk about how to make homemade French fries in a frying pan or in a saucepan. In fact, it couldn't be easier. The recipe is also suitable for a novice housewife. But there is a rule. Be sure to take a frying pan with high sides.
Ingredients:
- potatoes – 0.5 kg;
- sunflower oil – 1 tbsp.;
- olive oil – 1 tbsp.;
- salt - to taste;
- sweet paprika - a couple of pinches;
- dried basil – 1 tsp.
Recipe 1: Meatballs in sweet and sour sauce
The recipe for delicious hedgehog meatballs is borrowed from Jewish cuisine. After all, sweet and sour sauce is not only Chinese. You can take any meat. If you don't have broth on hand, dissolve a meat or chicken cube in water.
Ingredients : Meatballs: minced meat – 1 kg, rice – 0.5 cups, 2 eggs, salt and pepper. Sauce: 0.8 liters of broth, tomato paste - 1 table. l., sugar – 2 tbsp., honey – 1 teaspoon. spoon, salt, a pinch of citric acid, peppercorns, 3 tablespoons of rye crackers.
Cooking method
Mix minced meat, raw rice (no need to boil) and eggs, add salt and pepper and knead. Roll into round meatballs, fry them in oil, no need to cook until done, just fry.
Mix all ingredients for the sauce, except rye breadcrumbs, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add meatballs and simmer for 15 minutes. Now it’s the turn of the crackers. They thicken the sauce and add additional sourness. Pour them into the pan and boil for another 15 minutes. Cook the meatballs with the lid closed.
Cheese sauce
INGREDIENTS | ||||||
Butter Flour Milk Ketchup Salt Pepper Cheese | ········ ········ ········ ········ ········ ········ ········ | 2 tbsp. spoons 2 tbsp. spoons 1 glass 1 tbsp. spoon to taste to taste 200 g |
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add ketchup and flour and stir until smooth for two minutes. Gradually add milk, continuing to stir. Then add finely grated cheese in portions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Oh, how tasty, varied and aromatic it is!
France is considered to be the birthplace of sauces, because it has a rich collection of more than 3,000 names of various sauces. And, indeed, compared to the British or Americans, the French have excelled in the art of creating sauces. If you think that this is just a gravy, then you will be mistaken, as we are talking about a unique combination of ingredients that enrich the taste and aroma of the dish served.
To make it clear to the reader what we are talking about, imagine ready-made sausages without a side dish and salad. Looking at them, you want something spicy or spicy, doesn’t it? Now we’ll add ketchup to the sausages! Which option is tastier, the first - bland or the second, flavored with a sweet-sour mass with pungency? This is the whole “salt” of the sauce - to provide the dish with a different taste or enhance the existing one, to give it piquancy: pungency, bitterness, sourness, spice.
By the way, the word “sauce” comes from the ancient Roman “salsa”, that is, “salted, salted food”. And the French use the word “sauce” to mean “gravy” - a runny seasoning that is served with side dishes, meat, fish, and salads. In fact, gravy and sauce are different from each other: gravy is usually an integral part of a dish, such as a stew, while sauces are prepared separately and used for dipping pieces of food. In rare cases, almost finished meat or game is poured with a separately prepared sauce.
Lingonberry sauce with honey
Thanks to the broth in the recipe, the lingonberry sauce becomes even richer, and with honey the meat turns out even tastier.
You will need:
1 cup lingonberries, 1.5 cups broth, 0.5 tbsp.
wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. honey, 0.5 tbsp. starch. Preparation:
Puree the lingonberries and mix them in a blender. Leave a couple of spoons of broth to dilute the starch, and pour the rest into the berry. Add vinegar, heat the sauce on the stove, add starch and cook the lingonberry sauce until thick, stirring constantly.
Aioli
The recipe for Mediterranean cuisine is similar in taste to traditional, but piquant mayonnaise. It goes well not only with French fries, but also with seafood, meat, and vegetables.
Interesting fact! Scientists have proven the effectiveness of consuming garlic not only for viral diseases, but also for male weakness, heart, liver and joint diseases.
- 2 pcs. raw chicken yolk;
- 300 ml olive oil;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- juice of half a lemon;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
- Chop the garlic cloves, separate the yolks from the whites and mix with spices and lemon juice in a deep bowl.
- We begin to whisk the future sauce with a whisk, while simultaneously pouring in the oil in a thin stream. If we beat with a blender, be sure to use it at low speed.
- We adjust the thickness of the sauce ourselves, if desired. Cool in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes, and the sauce for the fries is ready.
The most valuable thing about homemade sauce is the healthy ingredients and the ability to completely control the taste and richness.
All the recipes presented go perfectly with potatoes in any form: fries, Idaho, fried, boiled and baked.
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