This sweet sticky sauce has a hint of gingery heat, and makes a versatile base to keep in the fridge. Use it straight up as a ketchup or a mopping sauce for cooked meats, mix it up to use as a hot or cold dipping sauce, or start with it as a base for your favourite marinade flavours.
Ingredients
| 1 | Onion, finely chopped |
| 1 | Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated (Main) |
| 3 cloves | Garlic, crushed with 1 tsp sea salt flakes |
| 40 g | Ginger, finely grated (Main) |
| 2 Tbsp | Olive oil |
| ⅓ cup | Apple cider vinegar (Main) |
| ⅓ cup | Rice wine vinegar (Main) |
| 1 cup | Plum sauce, homemade, or a good ketchup (Main) |
| 1 bottle | Gingerella, 330ml (Main) |
| 1 Tbsp | Mustard, hot or otherwise, you may need 2 Tbsp |
| 1 Tbsp | Honey, increase to 2 Tbsp if you want a sweeter sauce |
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Directions
- Gently fry onion, apple, garlic and ginger in olive oil until soft and paste-like. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine, and simmer gently to reduce to a thickened sauce (around 15-20 minutes).
- Remove from heat and rest until cool, then blitz until smooth. Store in a large sterilised jar. Keep refrigerated once opened. Will keep 2-4 weeks.
Make it your way
- Add an Asian edge: add 1 Tbsp each of fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind paste and gochujang paste, and a few kaffir lime leaves.
- Give it a barbecue kick: add 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (finely chopped), 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp barbecue rub or spice mix, and use a bottle of Karma cola instead of Gingerella.
How to eat
- Use the sauce as is, squirted over a sausage in bread, on a hot dog, on a homemade cheeseburger or pork chop.
- Mix it first with chopped herbs, thin with lemon or apple juice, add chopped chilli or hot sauce, then brush it on to skewers of squid, fish or chicken, and barbecue or grill.
- Reheat the sauce, and use it as a dipping sauce for cocktail sausages, chicken nibbles, skewers or satays.
- Finish slow-cooked ribs, roasts and wings that are near their required doneness, by mopping the reheated sauce on to the meat, and grill to glaze and sticky up.
- Mix sauce with fresh horseradish, lemon zest and juice, chill, and serve as a dipping sauce for cooked shellfish.
- Thin sauce by mixing equal parts sticky sauce and vinegar, and squirt over pulled pork or lamb shoulder (use a minty vinegar sauce), roast chicken, etc.
- Mix sauce with a little rum or bourbon, mixed spice, orange zest and juice, and fresh chopped mint, then brush on sliced chicken thighs, and grill.
- Use as a base sauce for marinades. Try mixing sticky sauce with additional honey, grapefruit or lemon juice, hoisin sauce, hot sauce, soy or Worcester sauces, then marinate meats for an hour or more before grilling. Reserve a little of the marinade up front to drizzle on the cooked meat.
