Sweet and sour sauce recipe – Mr Wei’s stir fry duck recipe. Forget fluorescent orange sauces; this sweet and sour sauce recipe used in my duck stir fry is simple, sharp, sweet and as authentic as it gets.

I was shown this sweet and sour sauce recipe by Mr Wei whom kept a close eye on how his duck stir fry was being cooked!.

Mr Wei; the owner of a hostel in Yangshuo in the Guilin province of China that myself and half a dozen other vagrant travellers happened to collide into one rainy afternoon,..and stayed…

It is a sanctuary of calm and wonder, surrounded with traditional Chinese past-times that invite you to participate..

So besides hours of pretending to perform Tai-Chi (I was likened to a gangly hippy dancing in slow motion) we took turns to cook the evening meal for everyone in the hostel, luckily it only slept about 8..

I’ve juggled the recipe a bit and left a lot of freedom to add whatever vegetables you have free; this dish is all about the duck, pineapple and sauce. Although you could happily swap the duck for chicken or even pork. You could make it a vegetarian recipe – but who wants that?! 🙂

I normally use a couple of the following; spring onions, red peppers, celery, onion, bok choi, oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts; even really nice ripe chopped tomatoes – literally use what you want, but keep it simple with just two or three types.

(Picture – Prepping in Mr Wei’s kitchen with his wife, you can’t see me – I’m taking the picture!)

Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe in Duck Stir Fry

Serves 2 – Ingredients:

Duck Marinade:

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 duck breasts

Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe – Ingredients:

1/2 whole pineapple – diced into 1 inch pieces

Vegetables – cut into approx 1 inch sizes

2 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger diced

1/2 red chilli diced (de-seeded)

2 tablespoons dark sugar (slightly heaped)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/3 cup water

Pinch of fresh coriander

Method:

1. Lightly oil the duck breast all over, season and lie skin side down in a medium hot pan – cook for 6-8 minutes until fat has rendered and skin is crisp. Turn duck over and lower heat and cook for a further 5 minutes; leave to rest.
2. Once done, slice each breast into strips across the breast but about 1/2 inch thick. It will be quite raw; but don’t worry it will cook through later.
3. Mix the oyster sauce and soy together in a bowl, add the sliced duck breast and leave.

Make the sweet and sour sauce

1. In a hot wok, add a few tablespoons of oil and fry your chosen vegetables and pineapple, stir well, then add the garlic, ginger and chilli – leave on high heat while stirring.
2. Add duck pieces, sugar, vinegar and half the water, stir.
3. In the remaining water mix the cornflour and pour into the pan, keep stirring the sauce – it will thicken quite nicely.
4. Turn off heat and season, you want the balance of sharpness and sweet so taste and add more sugar or vinegar to get the right balance. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh coriander and seasoning if required.

Goes well with noodles or boiled rice and a group of new friends trying not to stab each other with chopsticks…