Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce

Last night, I made some baked pumpkin meatballs, but I was contemplating on simply dipping the meatballs on store-bought sweet and sour sauce, or cooking some. My mother-in-law likes Tangsuyuk (탕수육, Sweet and Sour Pork) so I thought that I might as well learn how to make the sauce and use it for some other recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup water

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup pineapple juice

3 tbsp. tomato ketchup

½ cup sugar

4 tbsp. cornstarch plus some water

1 medium-sized bell pepper, sliced

1 medium-sized onion, sliced

½ to 1 carrot,  julienned

1/4 tsp. chili flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine water, vinegar, pineapple juice, ketchup and sugar onto a heavy bottomed pan.

2. Dissolve cornstarch in some water and add to pan.

 3. Bring all ingredients to a boil then simmer while stirring continuously.

4. Add in the bell pepper, onion, carrot, and chili flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Serve with your favorite meatballs. You can also use it as a dip for roast chicken or fried pork chops. Or, you can also use it to dip in Tangsuyuk (탕수육, pork or beef strips).

And there you have it!