Sweet and Sour Sauce (糖醋酱) – Like Chinese Takeout

You cook the sweet and sour sauce from the Chinese restaurant from pineapple juice, rice vinegar, sugar, ketchup and a splash of soy sauce. Cornstarch thickens it until it shines and clings to the meat. Bell pepper and pineapple chunks turn the clear sauce into the version that goes over fried meat.

By Laura Chen· November 4, 2026

15 Mintotal

6servings

90kcal

ChineseCuisine ›

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Taste the sauce before you stir in the starch. Sugar and vinegar should balance each other, and the soy sauce adds only some salt. Add the starch to the boiling liquid and let it cook one more minute, and the sauce turns clear. It thickens further as it cools, so as a dip it may come off the stove thinner.

Over crispy meat with pineapple and bell pepper, it becomes sweet and sour chicken. As a dip it goes with Chinese spring rolls. If you like it hotter, cook sweet chili sauce instead.

Image: AI-generated.

Sweet and Sour Sauce (糖醋酱) – Like Chinese Takeout

Name: Sweet and Sour Sauce (糖醋酱) – Like Chinese Takeout
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 200 ml pineapple juice; 60 ml rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar; 60 g brown sugar; 3 tbsp tomato ketchup; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 2 tbsp cold water; 1 tsp vegetable oil; 1/2 red bell pepper, in 2 cm pieces; 1/2 green bell pepper, in 2 cm pieces; 100 g pineapple (fresh or canned), in chunks

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

5 minutes

Cook time

10 minutes

Calories

Cuisine

Chinese

Ingredients

For the sauce:

200 ml pineapple juice
60 ml rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
60 g brown sugar
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water

For the restaurant version:

1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 red bell pepper, in 2 cm pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, in 2 cm pieces
100 g pineapple (fresh or canned), in chunks

Instructions

Stir the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, ketchup and soy sauce in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.
For the restaurant version, heat the oil in a small pot and fry the garlic and bell pepper for 2 minutes over medium heat. For the dip, put the garlic straight into the pot.
Pour in the liquid and bring everything to a boil. Taste: if acidity is missing, add vinegar, and if the sauce is too sour, a little sugar.
Stir the starch and cold water together. Pour the mixture into the boiling sauce while stirring.
Cook the sauce for 1 more minute, until it turns clear and glossy. Fold in the pineapple chunks and take the pot off the heat.
Pour the sauce warm over fried meat, or let it cool as a dip.

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Sweet and Sour Sauce (糖醋酱) – Like Chinese Takeout

Ingredients

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For the restaurant version:

Instructions

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