Chinese plum sauce is a smooth sweet and tart sauce infused with traditional Chinese spices and boasts a deliciously complex flavor profile that will mesmerize your taste buds! It’s wonderfully versatile as a dipping sauce, stir-fry sauce, basting sauce or glaze as well as simply tossed with noodles and drizzled on rice.
Chinese Plum Sauce Recipe
It is believed that the Chinese were the first to cultivate plums and plums have an important place in traditional Chinese culture. Â Even Confucius paid tribute to them in a poem wherein he likens their beauty to a loved one:
“The branches of the aspen plum
To and fro they sway
How can I not think of her?
But home is far away.”
What Is Plum Sauce? Â
Another famous tribute to plums is a culinary one and it comes in the form of Plum Sauce.  Or Duck Sauce.  The terms are interchangeable and refer to the same thing:  A highly popular, delicious, and versatile Chinese condiment you’ll find in any Chinese takeout or restaurant.  And no, there’s no actual duck in it. But there are plums, spices, honey and other ingredients that make this traditional and authentic plum sauce recipe a real winner.
Now I have to tell you from the get-go, this isn’t the typical congealed and anemic cornstarch + sugar + vinegar + food coloring duck sauce that comes in ketchup-style packets or in squeeze bottles at your local Chinese takeout. Â This is the more authentic, home-style Chinese plum sauce that you’ll find in only the best Chinese restaurants with a far more complex (translated “amazingly delicious”) flavor profile. Â Multiple layers of flavor come together to create a truly sensational sauce that will dazzle your taste buds!
What Kind of Plums Should I Use?
You can use any plums you have available for this sauce. Â Some variations of this sauce are even made with peaches, apricots or pineapple. Â You can also use traditional Chinese salted plums that come dried or in jars packed in brine. Â You can find them online or in Asian grocery stores but given their source and list of ingredients I do not recommend them. Â I am using and recommend fresh plums.
We happen to have three Italian plum trees on our property and making and canning enough plum sauce to last until the following plum harvest is one way I put our plums to good use.
Plum lovers, be sure to also check out my Plum Butter, German Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen), and homemade Fruit Leather!
Among a variety of Chinese spices, we’re also using another ingredient that the Chinese traditionally included in their plum sauce – sweet potato – that contributes a rich color and smooth texture. Â Once you’ve gathered the spices and ingredients you need, this sauce is easy to prepare and makes to either give away as a hostess gift or to last you for quite a while.
This sauce can be made and eaten within a couple of weeks or canned for long-term storage. Â I’m including canning instructions for those interested.
Last but not least, the all-important question:
How Do You Use Plum Sauce?
This plum sauce is not only delicious, it’s wonderfully versatile. Here are just a few ways you can use it:
- As a dipping sauce for wontons, egg rolls, spring rolls, dumplings, etc.
- Serve as a finishing sauce with roasted duck (that’s where it got its nickname “duck sauce”), fish, shrimp, chicken and pork
- As a stir-fry sauce
- Tossed with noodles
- Drizzled on rice
- As a basting sauce for grilling meats, poultry and seafood
- As a glaze for baked poultry, pork and seafood
How To Can Plum Sauce for Long-Term Storage
That’s right, you can easily make a double bath or more and can it so that you can enjoy this delicious plum sauce all year long! All you have to do to can this is ladle the hot plum sauce into sterilized jars, seal with the lids and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.  Remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours then check the seals. Then store the jars in a dark cool place where they will keep for at least a year.
Plum Sauce Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place all the ingredients except for the spice mixture in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree until smooth (then return to pot). Â
Place the whole spices (skip if using store-bought five spice powder) in a small dry pan and toast over medium-high heat just until fragrant.  Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will taste bitter.  Let the spices cool and then place the whole spices in a piece of cheesecloth tied shut with string or in a tea sachet.  Do the same if using store-bought ground five spice powder.
Place the spice packet in the pot with the plum sauce and continue to simmer uncovered for 25-45 minutes until the sauce is thickened to the desired consistency. Â Discard the spice packet. Â Let the sauce cool. Â Store in the fridge in an airtight non-reactive container. Â Will keep for up to 2 weeks.
OPTIONAL CANNING INSTRUCTIONS: Â Ladle the hot plum sauce into sterilized jars, seal with the lids and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Â Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Â Remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours then check the seals. Â Will keep in a dark, cool place for at least a year.
Enjoy!
For more phenomenal homemade Asian sauces be sure to try our:
Authentic Chinese Plum Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds plums, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup diced Garnet yam (i.e., orange flesh)
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- For the Spice Mixture (highly recommended but see below for shortcut option):
- 1 2-3 inch piece cinnamon stick
- 2 whole star anise
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon sichuan peppercorns (NOT the same thing as black pepper)
- 1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
- OR 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients except for the spice mixture in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree until smooth (then return to pot).
- Place the whole spices (skip if using store-bought five spice powder) in a small dry pan and toast over medium-high heat just until fragrant. Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will taste bitter. Let the spices cool and then place the whole spices in a piece of cheesecloth tied shut with string or in a tea sachet. Do the same if using store-bought ground five spice powder.
- Place the spice packet in the pot with the plum sauce and continue to simmer uncovered for 25-45 minutes until the sauce is thickened to the desired consistency. Discard the spice packet. Let the sauce cool. Store in the fridge in an airtight non-reactive container. Will keep for up to 2 weeks.
- CANNING INSTRUCTIONS: Ladle the hot plum sauce into sterilized jars, seal with the lids and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours then check the seals. Will keep in a dark, cool place for at least a year.
Buddy says
Try this recipe using ornamental plums They add an amazing sweet/tart flavor to the sauce
Simone says
Hi, I used half cup of orange as there are no yams here, best plum sauce ever, thank you
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Simone, thanks so much!
John Nagle says
Do you have to peel the skin off the plums at all?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi John, no you don’t. They’ll soften as they cook and the sauce will be pureed.
Kristy says
Garnet yam, explain that? Orange zest is orange zest, I would not put sweet potatoes in with plum…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kristy, garnet yams are the reddish-brown skinned, orange-fleshed potatoes that are often labeled simply as “yams.” These sweet potatoes are traditionally added to authentic plum sauce for texture, color and flavor.
NickPheas says
Looks and tastes good. One thing I would ask, weights.
I realise that Americans measure things in cups, but it’s really wasteful to dice an onion or sweet potato to see how much is half a cup.
Michelle Salehi says
Yes. Please include weight measures. It’s honestly so much easier …Less cleanup and easier to scale
Hasan Irana says
Very good
Karen T. says
Hmm. Ok. Bit it’s still troubling. “Authentic” by the popular definition would mean that all the pasta would still be in China. No one outside of the Andes would ever have tasted chocolate, and pizza wouldn’t exist at all. It has become a term used by way too many people in hostility, to make anyone who doesn’t cook the “correct” way feel ashamed of using creativity and personal taste in a kitchen. Traditional means all the things you spoke of, without shaming anyone.
Thanks for the dialogue. I’ll definitely use more of your recipes. Authentic or not. :-)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Sure, I see where you’re coming from, Karen. And I’m appreciative that we can have an open dialogue and discuss things respectfully even though we’re not in agreement on some points. Thanks again for your feedback on the plum sauce and I hope you enjoy the other recipes you try! Kind regards, Kimberly
jiejie says
“Authentic” is honestly a pretty silly term where it comes to food, and you’re always going to find someone that says “I come from there and that’s not how we* do it”. Really what most people want when they say “authentic” is “typical of a ‘real’ (insert nationality/city/etc here) from (insert time period here).” “Real” being another word that probably includes a bunch of assumptions and generalizations about a group that can approach racism, and very selectively decides what cultural food exchange is valid and what ingredients are traditional. (Is ketchup in Japanese food a ‘traditional ingredient’???)
*we = me/my family/my friend’s grandma who was the only person I ever saw actually make it at home….
But besides all that, posting a recipe called “Typical 1950’s Chinese Plum Sauce” would be kind of boring.
Karen T. says
This is wonderfu! I didn’t have ginger (don’t really like it anyway LOL) and I made a half batch since it’s just for me. Very, very yummy. Thank you.
The only problem I have (with most of your recipes really) is your using the word ‘authentic’. Traditional, yes. But authentic makes it seem that doing it any way except this way is wrong and somehow faintly racist. Since yams are from the Caribbean, ‘authentic’ is not the right word. Food is food. Whatever tastes good is the right way to make it. Not some arbitrary insistence on only one method for all time. Sorry, but it’s one of my pet peeves.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m glad you enjoyed the sauce, Karen, thank you! There are several varieties of yams that are native to Asia but are virtually impossible to find in the west, so I’ve offered the closest substitution we have available.
Now, please take the time to look up the meaning of the term authenticity as it relates to food and culture and then juxtapose that with the definition of racism. It is anything BUT racist.
In a world-wide-web era where anything and everything can be posted online by anyone and marketed as one thing or another, there is an inevitable dilution of authenticity. Whether it’s “Hungarian goulash” that’s made in American mac-n-cheese fashion with ground beef and elbow macaroni or “Chinese black bean sauce” that substitutes Skippy peanut butter in place of fermented black soybeans and is as far from “Chinese” tradition as it gets, this dilution of authenticity is especially apparent when it comes long-held traditional dishes that are part of a culture’s heritage and identity.
(If you want to get technical about the presence of racism in food, one you could argue it lies in many similar examples of the two I gave – in a person imposing their own cultural influence onto the traditional foods of another culture. But that’s something I would chalk more up to ignorance than anything else.)
To quote another food writer, in the realm of world cuisine, striving for food authenticity is at its very heart “the willingness to center and value another culture’s traditions.”
Now contrast that with the definition of a “racist” which is “a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.” Those are stark opposites.
I agree with you that the most important thing is making something YOU enjoy eating and that you can enjoy together as a family. And if that means breaking with cultural traditions by substituting one ingredient for another, adding your own twist, or turning it completely upside down on its head, I have no problem with that whatsoever. I do it all the time at home.
But let’s be clear that the term “authentic” has nothing to do with claiming that one way is “better” or “superior” than another, or even that it’s the “only right” way of doing things. It has to do with a genuine attempt at trying to preserve, capture and represent a dish in a way that is true to its cultural heritage. In my deep love and appreciation for other people and cultures, that authenticity is what I strive for in many of the dishes that I share on my website.
Jane Waddell says
So, how do you know this recipe is safe to can? I see a mixture of high acid and low acid foods. Did you test the pH?
LMHS says
If you feel this, or any, water bath canned item is unsafe, you can always can it under pressure in a pressure canner. I often can a few 4 oz jars in my stovetop pressure saucepan. These are things that I would have water bath canned in the past. I no longer have a large stock pot so canning under pressure works for me. I would pressure can this for 8 minutes at 5lbs pressure with a natural release.
Charlotte says
Looks wonderful! Is it 2 pounds of plums before or after pitting?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Charlotte! That’s before pitting.
Charlotte says
After I posted I realised the stones in our plums are tiny and it wouldn’t make much of a difference, so I went ahead and made it and it is *delicious*.
Thank you for the recipe!
If anyone else wants to make a vegan version: I used maple syrup in stead of the honey and it still tastes amazing.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Charlotte, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Abbi says
If you don’t have a cheese cloth, do you just put the Chinese Five Spice into the sauce? Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Abbi, yes, you would put the 1 teaspoon of ground Chinese five spice into the sauce.
Linda Shallow says
I was disappointed I did not like the flavor, texture or especially the color which was more like a brown probably due to the soy sauce. I put the mixture through a strainer which helped. I think all of the items like ginger etc that had roughage made it very grainy without straining.
Liesbeth says
This sauce tastes so good! I had lots of plums this year, and already made plum marmelade, plum syrup, plum sauce, plumbrillo and plum clafoutis. Today I made this delicious Chinese Plum sauce in double quantity and it turned out very well. I went to the store to buy more bottles. I used the spice mixture plus a little chili flakes. I won’t be buying other ketchup or curry sauce this year, for this one is the best! Tomorrow I wil make another batch, so I’ll have a give away bottle for friends. I’m a vegetarian, so I won’t be eating it with duck, but I guess it goes well with tofu, fried potatoes and a lot of other vegetarian dishes. Thanks for the recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Liesbeth, thank you! Your friends are very lucky and I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to get a bottle of this :) And yes, this sauce is very versatile for a number of vegetarian dishes. Happy cooking!
Miss Food Fairy says
Oh WOW! I’m in love! thank you for sharing this amazing plum sauce! I made a heap of plum jam last week, not I’ll add some extra ingredients to turn it into an Asian plum sauce. It will go perfect with my pork tonight :) x
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Great idea, enjoy that pork! :)
carol pruitt says
I am wondering what happens to the skins off the plums. Does it get processed by the immersion blender or do you sieve it out with other solids? I dont see any in the finished sauce. Please advise. Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Carol, correct, they get processed with the blender. They blend up perfectly and the result is a very smooth sauce.
Dan says
Looks intriguing. In your recipe you have “1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
OR 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder” This does not reference the other spices in any manner does it? IT is just that the last two colored bullets are blue. Specifically is it ONLY Fennel or 5 spice.
Many Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Dan, I can see how that’s confusing. The “or the 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice” is instead of the “Spice Mixture”. So the Chinese Five Spice can be substituted in place of the list of spices under the “For The Spice Mixture” section of the list of ingredients. I hope that provides better clarification.