Simple Sweet & Sour Sauce

Simple Sweet & Sour Sauce

This sauce can perk up almost any Asian-style stuffed vege­table. Ladle it over rice, bar­ley, mil­let, or cous­cous; add steamed or sautéed vege­tables, and you’ll have a nice light meal. If you want the sauce sweeter, add a little sugar. Pear or pine­apple juice can re­place the apple juice.

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Serves 4
Total time: 10 minutes

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1 cup unsweetened apple juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water

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In a small non­react­ive sauce­pan, com­bine the apple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and the sugar, if using, and bring to a boil. Stir the dis­solved corn­starch into the boil­ing sauce. Re­duce the heat and stir for about 1 minute, until the sauce thick­ens and be­comes clear. Serve hot.

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PER 2.5-OUNCE SERVING: 39 CALORIES, 0.4 G PRO­TEIN, 0.1 G FAT, 9.1 G CARBO­HYDRATES, 0 G SATUR­ATED FATTY ACIDS, 0 MG CHOL­ESTER­OL, 200.5 MG SODIUM, 0.1 G TOTAL DIET­ARY FIBER