Sweet and sour

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For the Australian television series, see Sweet and Sour (TV series).
Prepared Sweet and sour sauces
Prepared Sweet and sour sauces

Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It is popular in China where it originated and is now also a firm favourite in both American and European cuisines.

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[edit] Sweet and sour in China

Some authors say that the original sweet and sour came from the Chinese province of Hunan[1] but the sauce in this area is a weak vinegar and sugar mixture not resembling what most people including the Chinese would call sweet and sour. Many places in China use a sweet and sour sauce as a dipping sauce for fish and meat, rather than the cook in style of western cuisine.[2] This style of using sauces is popular amongst Chinese who tie certain sauces to particular meats such as chilli and soy for shrimp and vinegar and garlic for goose. There are however, some dishes such as the Cantonese Gu lo yuk (sweet and sour pork) or Loong har kow (sweet and sour lobster balls) in which the meat is cooked and a sauce added to the wok before serving.[3]

Not all dishes are cooked, some such as 'sweet and sour fruit and vegetable salad' from the eastern regions of China also find their way in Chinese cuisine [4]. This dish combines salad vegetables such as cucumber, tomato, bell pepper and onion with a mixture of pineapple, vinegar and sugar to make a cold served dish.

The ingredients used in Chinese cuisine vary from those in western cuisine, in China the sauces are made from mixing sugar or honey with a sour liquid such as Shao Hsing (rice vinegar), soy sauce and spices such as ginger and cloves. Sometimes a paste made from tomatoes is used but this is rare and normally restricted to western cooking.[5]

[edit] Sweet and sour in western cuisine

Western forms of sweet and sour fall into two categories, those dishes that cook the meat in a sauce and those that use a pour over or dipping sauce.

It is common to find restaurants and take-way establishments serving chicken, pork or shrimp, that has been battered and deep-fried then served with a sweet and sour sauce, poured over them. This style is considered as being traditional style in both American and English cooking, but does not resemble the authentic Chinese methods, except for some dishes from the Hunan region. In Europe, it is common to find the sweet and sour sauce cooked with sliced green pepper, onion and pineapple before it is poured on the battered and fried meat.

Many western dishes involve cooking the meat with a variety of ingredients to make a complete sweet and sour dish in the manner of the Gu lo yuk. The most poular dishes are those of pork and shrimp. In France the cuisine has been developed contrary to normal French cooking and cooking of sweet and sour (Aigreur douce) involves the absolute drowning of the food with sauce which would repel most Chinese people [6]

Common in western sweet and sour is the addition of fruit such as pineapple and vegetables such as sweet pepper and green (or spring) onions. The traditional rice vinegar is now becoming more available in Asian and Chinese stores but many still use a mixture of vinegar and dry sherry in their dishes. Also common is the use of tomato ketchup to give a stronger red colour to the dish and to add a western taste. Today however, most supermarkets across Europe and America carry a range of prepared sweet and sour sauces for either adding to a stir-fry or using as a dipping sauce. Packets of flavouring are also available to add to stir fry dishes.

Mainly in America, sweet and sour sauce is given to customers in small sachets or tubs at take away restaurants when they purchase egg or spring rolls to be used as a dipping sauce..

[edit] References

  1. ^ Simoons, Frederick J (1991). Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry. CRC Press:Boca Raton. 
  2. ^ Anderson, E.N. (1988). The Food of China,. Yale University Press:New Haven. 
  3. ^ Patten, Maguerite (1973). International Cooking in Colour. hamlyn, Middlesex, England, page 113. 
  4. ^ Doeser, Linda (2001). Asian Cooking. Hermes House, page 370. 
  5. ^ Kiple, Kenneth F (2000). Cambridge World Encyclopaedia of Food, Volume II, China. Cambridge University Press:, Cambridge, England, pp 1165-1175. 
  6. ^ Chang, K.C (Ed) (1977). Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives. Yale University Press, :New Haven, page 362. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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