Plum Sauce
Plum sauce (especially the stuff you get at a Chinese food restaurant ) always scared me a bit with its bright day-glo red-orange color. I figured the color had to come from chemical additive, and of course there is always the gluten issue.
So I decided to try and make my own. It wasn’t until then that I understood how it got that color…it really does come from the plums! Seems obvious enough I know, but until I saw how the plums cooked down, and by pressing out all the juice from the pulp, that orangey red color really does come out.
See (and taste) for yourself how easy and delicious this homemade Plum Sauce really is!
Plum Sauce
Ingredients
Variation 1
- 1 lb 1 can purple plums in heavy syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp GF chilli sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
Variation 2:
- 3 lbs red or purple plums halved and pitted
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup white rice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8-1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
Variation 1:
- Purée plums and syrup in a food processor or blender.
- Pour purée into a saucepan and mix with remaining ingredients. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, until thickened.
- Allow to cool, then keep refrigerated in a sealed container.
Variation 2:
- In large heavy saucepan, bring plums, onions, water, ginger and garlic to boil over medium heat. Cover and lower heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until plums and onions are very tender, about 30 minutes.
- Place a large sieve over a large bowl, and pour mixture into sieve. Using a potato masher, or the bottom of a cup, press the mixture through until you have extracted as much of the liquid as you can.
- Pour liquid in bowl into a clean pot and add remaining ingredients. Taste, and adjust any spices as necessary. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer until mixture has thickened, about 45 minutes.
- Allow to cool, then keep refrigerated in a sealed container. Or can fill hot sauce into canning jars, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.