Authentic Chinese Plum Sauce (Duck Sauce)

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Chinese plum sauce, also called duck 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. This authentic plum sauce recipe is sure to become a favorite!

It is believed that the Chinese were the first to cultivate plums and plums have an important place in traditional Chinese culture.  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?  

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.  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.  Multiple layers of flavor come together to create a truly sensational sauce that will dazzle your taste buds!

Duck Sauce Key Ingredients

A variety of Chinese spices are used including cinnamon, star anise, cloves, sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. These give the duck sauce an incredible flavor profile. I’m also using an ingredient that is included in traditional Chinese plum sauce: Sweet potato. It contributes flavor, color, and a rich, smooth texture. Once you’ve gathered the spices and ingredients you need, this sauce is easy to prepare, makes enough to give some away or to can for long-term storage.

Which Plums Should I Use?

You can use any plums you have available for this sauce.  Some variations of this sauce are even made with peaches, apricots or pineapple.  You can also use traditional Chinese salted plums that come dried or in jars packed in brine.  You can find them online or in Asian grocery stores but given their source and list of ingredients I do not recommend them.  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, Plum Jam, French Almond Plum Cake, German Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen), and homemade Fruit Leather!

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).  

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.

How To Can Plum Sauce

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.

Enjoy!

How to Use Duck 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

For more phenomenal homemade Asian sauces be sure to try my:

• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Yum Yum Sauce
• Eel Sauce
• Hoisin Sauce
• Black Bean Sauce
• Kecap Manis
• Sweet Chili Sauce
• Ponzu Sauce
• Char Siu Sauce
• Ginger Sauce

Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 12, 2017