Sweet And Pungent Sauce Ii Recipes

SWEET-AND-PUNGENT SAUCE II

Steps:

• 1. Mince garlic. Slice, dice or sliver vegetables. 2. Combine sugar, vinegar, water and soy sauce. 3. Heat oil. Add garlic and stir-fry a few times. Add vegetables stir-fry until slightly softened (2 to 3 minutes). 4. Add sugar-vinegar mixture. Stir in over medium heat to dissolve and heat through. 5. Meanwhile blend cornstarch and remaining cold water to a paste then stir in to thicken. Pour over deep-fried meat or fish and serve. NOTE: For the vegetables, use any of the following in any combination: bamboo shoots, carrots, cucumbers, green peas, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, pickles and snow peas. You may also add, at the end of step 4, fresh tomatoes or canned pineapple chunks, lichees or crab apples. For typical combinations, see Sweet-And-Pungent Sauce Combinations.VARIATIONS: * For the garlic, substitute 2 slices fresh ginger root and 1 scallion stalk, both minced. * For the oil, substitute chicken fat or lard. * For the sugar, use brown sugar or honey. * For the vinegar, use cider vinegar. * For the soy sauce, use heavy soy sauce. * For the water in step 1, substitute stock. Or use equal parts of water and tomato juice or water and pineapple juice or pineapple juice and tomato juice. * For other ingredients that may be added in step 2: 1 to 2 tablespoons sherry 1 to 2 tablespoons catsup or tomato sauce 1 tablespoon molasses 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 scallion stalk, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce few drops of Worcestershire Sauce few drops of sesame oil 1 teaspoon ginger juice juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup subgum ginger, sliced 1/2 cup sweet mixed pickles, shredded * Omit the cornstarch paste in step 5. Instead, combine the cornstarch directly with the ingredients in step 2, increasing the water to 1 cup. Add, as in step 4, and cook, stirring, to thicken. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.