Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (2024)

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Ever wondered how you can make your very own Duck Sauce? It’s much easier than you think! It is a sweet and sour sauce that’s often used as a dip for spring rolls, crispy noodles, egg rolls, or drizzled on top of your favorite dishes. With only 5 simple ingredients, it takes just a few minutes to put this tangy sauce together.

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (1)

What is Duck Sauce?

It is a bright orange sauce with a sweet and sour flavor. It’s usually served at American Chinese restaurants, along with soy sauce. It’s traditionally made using plums, apricots, pineapples or peaches, which gives it a sweet taste. Vinegar, chili sauce and soy sauce help to make this sauce complex and flavorful.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (2)
  • Apricot Jam: Apricot jam or jelly will give your sauce an authentic taste and distinctive orange color. You can also use peach compote.
  • Sweet Chili Sauce: This adds a bit of heat to the sauce, but not too much. You can DIY this sauce by combining honey and hot sauce.
  • Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is an essential ingredient in Asian cuisine. If it’s unavailable, just use apple cider vinegar.
  • Soy Sauce: Soy sauce gives you that unmistakable umami flavor. Fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce are decent substitutes for those with soy allergies.
  • Garlic Powder: Garlic powder is best for this recipe, but minced garlic can also be utilized.

How to Make Homemade Duck Sauce

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (3)

1. Whisk together apricot jam, sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic powder.

2. Place a strainer over another bowl and pour the mixture onto the strainer.

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (4)

3. Press the mixture through the strainer using a spoon.

4. Add more sweet chili sauce to the mixture. Taste and adjust the ingredients according to your preference. Use it as a dipping sauce, serve and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

  • You can customize the sweetness and the spicy level of this sauce: One of the advantages of making your own duck sauce is your ability to customize it. You can make it as sweet and as spicy as you like. Play around with the ingredients to find the right ratio for you.
  • Strain the mixture through a strainer for a smooth texture: To get a smooth sauce, it’s best to use a sieve. This is especially true if you used minced garlic instead of garlic powder.
  • Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator: Duck sauce needs to be refrigerated. It’s best to store it in an airtight container to maintain freshness and flavor.
Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (5)

Why is it Called Duck Sauce?

This bright orange sauce is often served with Peking duck, a traditional Chinese dish. When Chinese immigrants came to the US, they modified the sauce by making it a bit sweeter to appeal more to the American palate.

What Does Duck Sauce Taste Like?

This sauce is sweet, with a fruity undertone. It’s also slightly tangy withumami flavor, thanks to the addition of soy sauce. It is only mildly spicy, but some people like to add more hot sauce for a fiery kick.

Ways to Use Chinese Duck Sauce

This sauce is the perfect dip for many snacks like egg rolls and wontons. You can also use it as a dip for chicken wings, pork chops, shrimp, or other seafood. This sauce is also great as a sweet and spicy glaze.

  • Egg Rolls (Harumaki)
  • Wontons
  • Spring Rolls
  • Chicken Wings
  • Pork Chops
  • Shrimp, Fish & Other Seafood
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Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does it Last?

Your homemade sauce has a shelf life of about three weeks. Be sure to store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

Is Duck Sauce the Same as Sweet and Sour Sauce?

No. Duck sauce is distinguished by its fruity flavor thanks to the inclusion of apricots, plums, peaches or pineapples. While sweet and sour sauce is sweet, it doesn’t have the fruity flavor of duck sauce.

What Kind of Duck Sauce Do Chinese Restaurants Use?

WY Industries Duck Sauce is one of the most widely distributed duck sauces in the US. These are the packets most often seen in Chinese takeout.

What is the Difference Between Duck Sauce and Plum Sauce?

These two sauces use similar ingredients and are often interchangeable.

Where Can I Buy Duck Sauce?

If you prefer to purchase readymade sauce, check the Asian cuisine aisle of your grocery store. It is also sold at popular online retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.

You May Also Like

  • Bulgogi Sauce
  • Unagi Sauce
  • Arby’s Horsey Sauce

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (7)

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe

If you’ve ever gotten Chinese takeout, you’ve probably seen packets of a bright orange duck sauce. This Homemade Duck Sauce is a sweet and sour sauce that’s often used as a dip for spring rolls, crispy noodles, egg rolls, or drizzled on top of your favorite dishes.

4.41 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Izzy

Calories: 82kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apricot jam
  • 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce or more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce low sodium recommended
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  • In a medium mixing bowl, add apricot jam, 1 tablespoon of sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Mix until smooth.

  • Place a strainer over another bowl and pour the mixture onto the strainer.

  • Press the mixture through the strainer using a spoon.

  • Add the rest of sweet chili sauce to the mixture until combined.

  • Taste and adjust the ingredients according to your preference.

  • Use it as a dipping sauce, serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • You can add extra sweet chili sauce if you prefer a spicier sauce.
  • Store the homemade duck sauce in an airtight container and it’ll last 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 96mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 61IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

Author: Izzy

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: Duck Sauce

Tried this recipe?Follow or tag us on Pinterest @izzycooking

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (8)

About Izzy

I'm Izzy, a food lover and photographer. Here you’ll find a collection of simple recipes that are perfect for busy people. My blog aims to help you make and enjoy delicious and healthy food at home.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenda says

    Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (9)
    Love the duck sauce have had some awesome comments. Thanks for sharing it 💖

    Reply

  2. Jennifer says

    Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (10)
    Next time I’m omitting the sweet chili sauce, and substituting crushed red pepper and sugar. This means cooking it to avoid a grainy dip, so the vinegar will go in at the very end. I also increased the soy sauce to a tablespoon, and added extra rice wine vinegar til my soul said to stop.

    Reply

    • Ann Colton says

      I use a little hot chili oil, and no grainy effect.

      Reply

  3. Susan says

    Can this be canned?

    Reply

  4. Kat says

    Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (11)
    Absolutely perfect flavor, just like I remember from the Chinese Restaurants back east. I would omit nothing. Used Bonne Maman apricot marmalade, was fabulous.

    Reply

    • Izzy says

      Hi Kat, glad that you like the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.

      Reply

  5. Terry says

    Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (12)
    Tastes great

    Reply

  6. Terry s says

    Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (13)
    Tastes great

    Reply

  7. Wanda says

    Need an option to replace the Chili sauce. I am allergic to peppers. Would this be good if I just omitted the Chili sauce?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce) (2024)

FAQs

Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe (Delicious Chinese Orange Sauce)? ›

Ingredients. It is made of plums, apricots, pineapples or peaches added to sugar, vinegar, ginger and chili peppers. It is used in more traditional Chinese cuisine in the form of plum sauce.

What is in Chinese restaurant duck sauce? ›

Ingredients. It is made of plums, apricots, pineapples or peaches added to sugar, vinegar, ginger and chili peppers. It is used in more traditional Chinese cuisine in the form of plum sauce.

What is the orange sauce at Chinese restaurants? ›

If you're from the Midwest or Eastern seaboard of the United States, duck sauce is likely an orange jelly-like substance—similar to sweet-and-sour sauce but with a fruitier flavor—that comes in packets with your Chinese takeout.

What sauce is similar to duck sauce? ›

Also called plum sauce, it got its name when restaurants in the United States started serving it with Peking Duck, which is actually traditionally served with a similar sauce, hoisin (which also has a confusing name since hoisin means “seafood,” although it's not traditionally served with that).

What is the orange sauce made of in orange chicken? ›

The orange sauce is made from a mixture of the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. This is bubbled up in the wok until slightly thickened. The chicken is then added back in, and tossed in the sauce until fully coated.

Does duck sauce have orange in it? ›

I must confess that until I decided to make homemade Orange Sauce, aka Duck Sauce, I'd always assumed it was made with oranges. But it turns out it's called Orange Sauce because of the color of the sauce rather than the ingredients.

Is hoisin sauce the same as duck sauce? ›

They are two different kinds of sauces. Hoisin contains soya sauce, while duck sauce includes a mix of fruits. However, they both taste sweet, and you can use them to substitute for each other. Hoisin sauce is a bit saltier than duck sauce but equally delicious.

What is the most popular sauce for Chinese food? ›

Soy sauce (jiàng yóu, 酱油), the most common of Chinese sauces, sounds simple, and for the most part, it is. However, there are many types, each unique to different Asian cuisines (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.).

What is the mother sauce of Chinese? ›

Sweet Soy Sauce (Chinese Mother Sauce #3)

What do Chinese people call duck sauce? ›

Based on its Chinese name, this duck sauce also seems to be plum sauce. Interestingly, the book also mentioned, “Plum Sauce (hoy seen jeung) Nice to serve on plate with mustard.

Is Chinese duck sauce the same as plum sauce? ›

Plum Sauce, sometimes called "Duck Sauce," is a sweet and tangy condiment with the lively flavors of plums and ginger. It's often served with fried wontons and other appetizers.

What is the sauce that comes with duck? ›

“Duck sauce” is really plum sauce. It is made with plums and is sweet with a tangy flavor. In Chinese, this sauce is named “sour plum sauce”.

What is mandarin orange sauce made of? ›

Preparation. Combine mandarin orange juice, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and chili flakes in a sauce pot.

How do I thicken my orange chicken sauce? ›

To thicken the sauce, pour it into a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a cornstarch slurry. Once the sauce starts to bubble in the pan on the stovetop, add the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine.

What is the difference between General Tso and orange chicken? ›

What is the difference between orange chicken and General Tso? Orange chicken is crispy fried with a fruity, sweet, and tangy sauce that's caramelized into a glaze. General Tso is stir-fried in a sweet, sour, and spicy umami sauce.

Is Chinese duck sauce the same as sweet and sour? ›

It's not quite the same as sweet and sour sauce, but the flavors are pretty similar. I would say that duck sauce is more for dipping and sweet and sour sauce is used more for coating and glazing, as in sweet and sour pork or sweet and sour chicken. The ingredients differ slightly too.

What is duck served in Chinese restaurant? ›

Peking duck is a dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook.

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