How do you thicken Chinese sweet and sour sauce without using any starch?
Sweet and sour dishes existed long before starch and ketchup became available. :)
Sweet and sour dishes existed long before starch and ketchup became available. :)
pennybarr
Favorite Answer
You can thicken the Chinese Sweet & Sour sauce by simmering and reducing it.
PoohBearPenguin
Simmering a sauce to reduce it will thicken it but it will become very strong and syrupy which I don't think you want.
There really isn't a replacement for using a slurry of some sort of starch dissolved in little water.
BrownEyedGirl
Hmm... all of the thickeners are starches: arrowroot, cornstarch, tapioca starch, flour. You can thicken the sauce by reducing it or add pureed vegetables such as carrots. You could also try almond or coconut flour which are lower in carbs.
John
You can do any of the suggestions, but I'll tell you that part of Chinese sweet and sour is the "mouthfeel", and that comes from cornstarch, usually.
Anonymous
Shitake mushroom, potatoes, taro, yam etc if added to the sauce will thicken it