Easy Sweet & Sour Sauce | only 5 ingredients!

This sauce is my go-to anytime I need an easy sweet & sour sauce! Pour over crispy tofu, a veggie stir fry, or any noodle bowl!

It’s such an easy recipe, just an equal mix of these three main ingredients, soy sauce, maple syrup, and rice wine vinegar! Plus some fresh garlic and fresh ginger!

There are a couple of ways you can elevate this recipe even more like making it into a pineapple sauce for pineapple fried rice, or simmering it on the stove to thicken it up with some freshly squeezed orange juice for an “orange tofu” vibe, or adding sunflower butter to it to make a peanut sauce!

My sister and I use this recipe at least once a week! I have always loved sticky orange sweet & sour sauce, so it is so fun to be able to make it healthier with better ingredients!

What can I use this sauce for?

Now, this is why I love this recipe so much! It is SO versatile and tastes good in everything!

A few things I use this for are:

  • Sweet & sour tofu
  • Pineapple tofu veggie stir fry with sweet & sour sauce
  • Vegan pad Thai with a sunflower butter “peanut” sauce
  • Sweet & sour mushrooms – my recipe linked here
  • Orange sweet & sour baked tofu

The options are pure deliciousness!

How to make this?

For this simple sauce, you’ll need 1/3 cup of each of these ingredients:

Then I mince a few cloves of garlic, and grate about an inch of fresh ginger! If we have green onions, I also chop a few and put them in the sauce as well!

GINGER TIP

When you buy fresh ginger, try to get organic, wash the skin, and put it in the freezer as soon as you get home! This will help preserve the freshness and all of its unique nutrients. It also makes it last soooo much longer, and even makes it easier to grate! Don’t worry about peeling the skin, leave it on and grate right through it!

GREEN ONION TIP

Store your green onions in water! Just enough to cover the roots and a tiny part of the white bottoms! When you slice the green onions, leave the roots and an inch or two of the white base and place them back in water. They grow so fast and will continue to regrow completely at least a few times!

Elevate & customize the flavor!

Here are some customizations you can add to this simple sauce to turn it into something even better.

  • Add 1/4th cup of sunflower butter to turn this into a delicious nut-free peanut sauce! You can use any nut or seed butter of your choice! I love making a “peanut” noodle bowl with udon noodles and sautéed veggies!
  • Mix in 1 tablespoon of miso paste for a miso garlic flavor! The miso makes the sauce creamy and sweet!
  • Squeeze an orange into the sauce for sticky orange tofu! I love baking or air frying cubes of tofu, with just salt and pepper, sometimes some ginger powder and bake for about 20 minutes until crispy! This sauce is incredible over the top and especially nostalgic with the orange flavor!
  • Add a few tablespoons of pineapple juice to make a pineapple sauce! I use this as the simmer sauce for my pineapple fried rice!
Thicken it up!

If you want to turn this sauce into a thicker, sticky sauce, it’s super easy! This is perfect for a sticky orange sauce for tofu!

First, you have to make a “slurry” with either arrowroot powder or cornstarch!

For the slurry, In a small bowl, add one teaspoon of arrowroot powder or cornstarch, and two tablespoons of water and stir.

In a small saucepan with the heat on medium-high, add your sauce mixture. Once it starts to boil, turn it on low and add in the slurry Cook on medium-low for about 3 more minutes then turn it off. it will thicken more as it cools!

You do not have to cook the sauce! It is completely optional, and only if you want a stickier sauce! I love the sauce as is, and use it non-thickened way more often!

 

Easy Sweet & Sour Sauce!

Print Recipe
soy sauce, maple syrup & rice wine vinegar, garlic and ginger!
Course sauce
Keyword ginger, maple syrup, soysauce, sweet and sour
Prep Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce low sodium Tamari
  • ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2-4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 inch ginger grated
  • 1 handful green onions chopped

Optional- see blog post!

  • 1 heaping tbsp miso paste
  • ½ tsp chili paste
  • 2 tbsp orange juice or pineapple juice
  • ¼ cup sunflower butter or nut butter of choice

Instructions

  • in a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients
  • pour over your tofu, or into your stir fry for an incredible flavor

Notes

Substitutions:
maple syrup can be swapped for agave!

I’d love to see your creations with this recipe!

Leave a comment and let me know how you used it! & be sure to tag me on Instagram!