East Asia Chinese cuisine with
pineapple and
bell pepper Sweet and sour dishes, sauces, and cooking methods have a long history in China. One of the earliest recordings of sweet and sour may come from
Shaowei Yanshi Dan (), a menu of the food served in
Tang dynasty (618–907) "Shaowei banquet" festivals written in 708. It included many sweet and sour adjacent dishes and recorded that they were invented by Chancellor
Wei Juyuan under
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang when he hosted the Emperor at his house. Some authors say that the original sweet and sour sauce () came from the
Chinese province of
Henan, but the sauce in this area is a light
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 in cooking, as is common in Westernized Chinese cuisine. ) balls This style of using sauces is popular amongst Chinese who tie certain sauces to particular meats such as chili and soy for shrimp and vinegar and
garlic for goose. There are, however, some dishes, such as the
Cantonese 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. 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. This cold dish combines salad vegetables such as
cucumber,
tomato,
bell pepper, and
onion with a mixture of
pineapple (or
pear), vinegar, and sugar. In China, the sauces are traditionally made by mixing sugar or honey with a sour liquid such as
rice vinegar or
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. Cantonese sweet and sour sauce is the direct ancestor of the sauce of the same name in the West and was originally developed for sweet and sour pork. The late
Hong Kong chef Leung King included the following as his sweet and sour sauce recipe: white rice vinegar, salt, Chinese brown candy,
ketchup,
Worcestershire sauce, and
dark soy sauce. Hong Kong's gourmet Willie Mark Yiu-Tong (better known as Wei Ling|唯靈), a longtime friend of Leung, suggests to contemporary eateries not to resort to cheap bulk manufactured versions of vinegar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce, or the sauce will risk being too sharp in taste and might break the balance of flavors. He suggests the more acidic white rice vinegar could be replaced with apple cider vinegar and that ketchup and Worcestershire sauce should be of renowned gourmet brands.
Hong Kong/Cantonese The original Cantonese sweet and sour pork () is made with vinegar, preserved plums and hawthorn candy for an almost scarlet color and sweet-sour taste. A related
Hong Kong/
Cantonese-based dish is sweet and sour spare ribs (). The methods used are identical, with spareribs used instead of pork loin.
Guo bao rou Guo bao rou () is a classic dish from
Northeast China originating in
Harbin,
Heilongjiang Province. It consists of large thinly sliced pieces of pork tenderloin in
potato starch batter, deep-fried twice until crispy. They are then lightly coated in a variation of a sweet and sour sauce, made from freshly prepared
syrup and rice vinegar, and flavored with ginger and garlic. The batter absorbs the sauce and softens. A Beijing variant has the sauce thin and watery, while the dish as prepared in Liaoning Province often has a thicker sauce made with ketchup. However, the true or original version of guō bāo ròu served in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, is made with an amber-colored sauce due to the fact that it uses caramelized sugar. A similar dish is
gu lao rou or sweet and sour pork.
Squirrel fish , a well-known dish in
Jiangsu cuisine Originating in
Suzhou,
Jiangsu province, the
squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish () has a crisp skin but soft center. The fish body of
Siniperca chuatsi is scored such that it fans out when cooked, similar in appearance to a bushy squirrel tail. The fish is served with a sweet and sour sauce drizzled on top and garnished with a little shrimp meat and dried bamboo shoots.
Sweet and sour Yellow River carp A specialty of
Shandong province, in particular the city of
Jinan, the Yellow River carp is prepared by making diagonal slices partway through its flesh. It is next coated in corn flour, then deep-fried, causing the fish to curl and the slices to open out. Finally, a sweet and sour sauce is poured over the cooked fish. This is one of the distinctive dishes typical of
Shandong cuisine.
Sweet and sour spare ribs A popular dish in
Shanghai cuisine, sweet and sour spare ribs () are made using pork ribs that are lightly coated in cornstarch and seasoned before being fried and served in a sweet and sour sauce.
Korean cuisine '' In
South Korea, a sweet and sour meat dish known as
tangsuyuk () is one of the most popular
Korean Chinese dishes. Made with either
pork or
beef, the bite-sized pieces are usually coated with
potato/sweet potato starch/
cornstarch or
glutinous rice flour and double-fried in oil. The dish is served with sweet and sour sauce, typically made by boiling
vinegar,
sugar, and water with a variety of fruits and vegetables like
carrot,
cucumber,
onion,
wood ear mushroom, and
pineapple. Starch slurry is used to thicken the sauce.
Italian cuisine Agrodolce () is a traditional sweet and sour
sauce in
Italian cuisine. Its name comes from
agro () and
dolce (). Agrodolce is made by
reducing sour and sweet elements, traditionally
vinegar and
sugar. Sometimes, additional flavorings are added, such as
wine,
fruit, or even
chocolate. One recipe for lamb agrodolce is served over
rigatoni or wide noodles, such as
pappardelle. Some agrodolce recipes can be used as pickling brine for preserving fruit. According to food writer Arthur Schwartz, within
Neapolitan cooking, sweet and sour was the dominant food pairing before the introduction of the tomato and the mass-uptake of pasta. Preparations using the combination eaten in the modern cuisine include sweet and sour eggplant, but it is never used to flavour pasta dishes.
Southeast Asia Filipino cuisine with an agre dulce'' dipping sauce In
Filipino cuisine, sweet and sour sauces are known as
agre dulce or
Filipino sweet and sour sauce. They are made by mixing
cornstarch with water, salt, sugar, and a tangy ingredient (typically
tomato ketchup,
banana ketchup, or
pineapples). The mixture is brought to a boil then simmered until it thickens.
Labuyo chilis may also be added. The name means "sour-sweet" in
Philippine Spanish, from
Spanish agrio ("sour") and
dulce ("sweet"). It is also known as
agri dulci in
Chavacano and the phrase can refer to dishes cooked with the sauce.
Agre dulce is commonly used as a dipping sauce for appetizers like
lumpia or
okoy. == Fusion cuisine ==