Picture this: You’re dipping into your favorite condiment while eating lunch with some friends. One of them looks over and says, “You know, what exactly is in that?” In that moment, you realize you have no idea what it’s made of, or what you’re putting into your body. Just that dumplings wouldn’t be the same without it.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to us. And it got us thinking, “Do we really know what’s in the sauces and dips we salivate over?” So, we’re here to find out for you. We’ll break down what’s in the food, tell you where you can use it, and even share how to make your own.
This week we are talking about duck sauce.
Tell Me About It:
You might be familiar with it’s jelly-like consistency and orange color. Used most often with take out Chinese food, (it’s insanely delicious on egg rolls), but you can also use it on other fried foods too. Some people refer to duck sauce as, “Plum sauce,” since the basis of it is actually plums.
Can I Get A History Of It?
Sure! According to Laura Kiniry’s research, it’s a little complicated but most people believe it was originally served with Peking duck in China for hundreds of years.
What Exactly Is In It?
Drum roll please: It is predominately made of plums, apricots, pineapples or peaches added to sugar, vinegar, ginger and chili peppers. The packets you’re probably used to seeing have additives including corn syrup, caramel color, dyes, and more.
Can I Make It At Home?
Yes, you definitely can make it at home to avoid the added preservatives of the packets from your favorite Chinese food place. You’ll need sugar, hot water, apricot preserves, salted pickled plum, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. You can check out a complete recipe here.
Final Thoughts:
While the packets are just fine, we’re excited to try to make this sauce at home. Maybe we will do a side-by-side comparison, you know, for testing sake. (We will do anything for our readers, especially when it comes to eating delicious food.)
