Sweet and Sour Sauce
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Sweet and sour sauce is the bright, glossy red-orange sauce that coats sweet-and-sour pork and serves as a dip for egg rolls, wontons and dumplings. It's a simple balance of sugar and acid: rice vinegar and sugar for the sweet-sour core, ketchup for color, body and a tangy edge, a splash of pineapple juice for fruity roundness, a little soy sauce for savory depth, and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it into a clingy glaze. The whole thing takes about 10 minutes on the stove. The red color comes from ketchup, not food dye — homemade sauce is fresher and far less cloying than the bottled or takeout versions. Use it as a glaze tossed with crispy pork, chicken or shrimp, or serve it as a dipping sauce. It keeps for over a week in the fridge.
Why you'll love this sweet and sour sauce
- Perfectly balanced — bright and tangy, not the cloying neon goo from a jar.
- Ready in 10 minutes from pantry staples.
- Works two ways: a glaze for pork, chicken or shrimp, or a dip for egg rolls and dumplings.
- Naturally red from ketchup — no artificial food dye.
Ingredients
Sweet and sour sauce
- ⅓ cup rice vinegarsubstitutes →
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- ¼ cup pineapple juice, or water
- 1 tbsp light soy saucesubstitutes →
- ½ cup water
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
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Equipment
- Small saucepan — All you need to build and thicken the sauce.(shop →)
Instructions
Stir the rice vinegar, sugar, ketchup, pineapple juice, soy sauce and water together in a small saucepan. Mix the cornstarch and cold water into a separate slurry.
Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Re-stir the cornstarch slurry and pour it in. Simmer for about a minute, stirring, until the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon.
💡 Add the slurry gradually — stop when it's glossy and clings; over-thickening makes it gluey as it cools.
Taste and balance: more vinegar for tang, more sugar for sweetness. Use as a glaze right away, or cool for a dipping sauce.
Tips & notes
- How to use it: toss with crispy fried pork, chicken or shrimp and bell peppers, onion and pineapple for sweet-and-sour anything; or cool it and serve as a dip for egg rolls, spring rolls, wontons and dumplings.
- The red color is from ketchup, not dye. For a deeper red without more ketchup, a tiny pinch of paprika works.
- Balance is everything — taste and adjust the vinegar-to-sugar ratio. Homemade should be brighter and less sweet than bottled.
- Storage: keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It thickens cold; loosen with a splash of water when reheating.
- Vegan as written — it's already meat-free and works as a dip or a glaze for crispy tofu.
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Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Prep
- 3 min
- Cook
- 7 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Beginner
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- ¼ cup pineapple juice, or water
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Stir the rice vinegar, sugar, ketchup, pineapple juice, soy sauce and water together in a small saucepan. Mix the cornstarch and cold water into a separate slurry.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Re-stir the cornstarch slurry and pour it in. Simmer for about a minute, stirring, until the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Taste and balance: more vinegar for tang, more sugar for sweetness. Use as a glaze right away, or cool for a dipping sauce.
Nutrition (est., per serving): 55 cal · 0 g protein · 13 g carbs · 0 g fat
Sweet and Sour Sauce FAQ
What is sweet and sour sauce made of?
Rice vinegar and sugar form the sweet-sour core, with ketchup for color and tangy body, a splash of pineapple juice for fruity roundness, a little soy sauce for savory depth, and a cornstarch slurry to thicken. Some versions add bell pepper and pineapple chunks when used as a glaze, but the base sauce is just pantry staples.
Why is sweet and sour sauce red?
The classic red-orange color comes from ketchup (and sometimes a pinch of paprika), not artificial food dye. Restaurant versions occasionally add red coloring for a brighter neon look, but you don't need it — homemade sauce gets a natural, appetizing red from the ketchup alone.
What's the difference between sweet and sour sauce and sweet chili sauce?
Sweet and sour sauce is tangy and ketchup-based, balanced between sugar and vinegar, and usually not spicy. Sweet chili sauce is sweeter, thinner, and gets gentle heat and flecks of red chili, leaning on garlic and chili rather than vinegar and ketchup. They're used differently — sweet and sour as a glaze, sweet chili mostly as a dip.
How do you thicken sweet and sour sauce?
With a cornstarch slurry — equal parts cornstarch and cold water stirred smooth, then added to the simmering sauce. Add it gradually and stop as soon as the sauce turns glossy and coats a spoon; it thickens further as it cools, so don't overdo it or it turns gluey.
How long does homemade sweet and sour sauce last?
In a sealed jar in the refrigerator it keeps for up to two weeks. It firms up when chilled because of the cornstarch; just stir in a splash of water and warm it gently to bring it back to a pourable, glossy consistency. It also freezes well in small portions.
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