Name: Puritan Backroom–Style Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
Yield: Makes about ½ cup
Ingredients: 1/2 cup duck sauce; 4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar; 1 teaspoon soy sauce; 1/4 teaspoon salt; Pinch ground ginger; Pinch cayenne pepper; 1 - 2 tablespoons water

Why This Recipe Works

Duck sauce (or plum sauce), a staple in Chinese cooking, tends to be very sweet straight from the bottle. To put our own spin on this bottled sauce, we added sour white vinegar to tame the sweetness, along with soy sauce for depth and a pinch each of ground ginger and cayenne for zing and oomph.

Before You Begin

Since the consistency of duck sauce can vary significantly from product to product, we call for a range for the amount of water.

Instructions

Combine duck sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, ginger, and cayenne in bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water and check consistency; sauce should cling to spoon but should not be gloppy or runny. Adjust consistency with up to 1 additional tablespoon water as needed.