David's Recipe for Vaguely Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce

There are many ways to make vaguely or authentically Chinese sweet and sour sauces. This one is based on strawberry jam and vinegar, with the addition of pineapple, and is meant as a cooking sauce for foods deep-fried in a cornstarch batter.

Sauce, Chinese

1 small onion, minced fine A 2" piece of fresh ginger, minced fine 1/2 dark green sweet pepper, minced fine A few tablespoons of oil for sauteing About 1-1/2 cups boiling water (details below) 1 cup strawberry jam 1 cup vinegar 1 large can pineapple chunks 3 soup spoons cornstarch 1/4 cup water for making a cornstarch paste 3 soup spoons soy sauce Saute the ginger, onion, and pepper for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and the pepper dark green. Drain the syrup from the pineapple into a measuring cup. Add water to make 2 cups of liquid. Crush the jam with a spoon and add some of the syrup and water mixture in order to make it easy to mix the jam into the rest of the ingredients. Add the remaining syrup and water mixture to the vegetables. Stir. Add the jam and stir in well. Add the pineapple. Make a thin paste by gradually mixing the water into the cornstarch. By this time the sauce should have returned to a full boil. Add the cornstarch paste, stir in well, and lower the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce. Heat the deep-fried meat, fish, or whatever in the sauce for about 10 minutes or more, depending on size and temperature, stirring occasionally. The pieces should glisten.

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