When you have spent all the time making your own Asian appetizers, (or take the store-bought ones to a whole new level), don’t settle for a jar of duck sauce that tastes as if it came from a jar. Try this homemade sweet duck sauce recipe that is easy to customize. It can be sweet and spicy with plenty of heat, or just tangy-sweet with great undertones ready to mix with Chinese mustard or just to be used on its own. And best of all, you could have all the ingredients already in your pantry.
What is Duck Sauce?
Duck sauce is a condiment popular in Chinese restaurants. It is an orange jelly-ish sauce that tastes both sweet and sour that pairs well with fried appetizers like egg rolls, crab rangoon, or the like. The origin of the name is not known, but the name is most likely because it was served as the sauce for deep-fried pressed duck and the name stuck.
Plum Sauce vs Duck Sauce
The difference in taste between the orange-ish duck sauce and red-ish plum sauce is that plum sauce is made with a base of sweetened plums and duck sauce is made with a base of sweetened apricots. So you can interchange the jam base and make the plum sauce instead of duck sauce by following the very same recipe below.
What to Serve with Homemade Duck Sauce
This sauce is so easy to whip up whenever you serve Asian appetizers.
Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 ounces 1x
- Category: sauce, appetizer, snack
- Method: fresh
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Make your own homemade sweet dipping sauce for egg rolls and other Asian dumplings that is so much more than the duck sauce found in a jar.
Ingredients
- 1 cup apricot jam
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1/4 teaspoon white ground pepper
- Pinch of cayenne powder, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend at medium-speed for 30 seconds or until the mixture turns opaque and all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Transfer sauce to a small container and allow to rest for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld before serving.
- Serve this duck sauce with Chinese mustard and allow guests to combine as desired.
Notes
This recipe can be Gluten-Free by substituting tamari sauce for the soy sauce.
Store any extras in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Increase the rice vinegar to 5 tablespoons if you prefer a sauce with more pronounced tartness.
Add 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to increase the heat of the sauce.
Add up to 1 tablespoon (start with 1 teaspoon) warm water to thin the consistency of the duck sauce. This can be done even after the sauce has been in the refrigerator for awhile.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
Happy Year of the Rat!
Look for a whole week of posts that you can make for a Chinese New Year feast. This year the lunar new year begins January 25th. It is the most important holiday for all the Asian cultures, and over 20% of the population of the world will celebrate with feasts and festivities to ring in the new year.
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