This recipe is for a lovely homemade sweet and sour sauce mixed with a selection of vegetables and served with rice or noodles. It’s a quick, simple and healthy meal and can be modified in a multitude of ways to suit your preferences.
Ingredients to make Sweet and Sour Vegetables
Vegetables for this dish
The selection of vegetables used is also completely open to personal taste and what you have available.
This recipe uses an onion, two cloves of garlic and then around 800 grams of vegetables made up of carrot, broccoli, baby corn, yellow pepper and vine tomatoes.
An alternative selection could include cauliflower, baby spinach, mushrooms, mangetout, beansprouts or whatever you like. If you get tinned pineapple in their own juice there should be enough juice along with the pineapple to add to this recipe.
The Sweet and Sour Sauce is made with the following ingredients
- Pineapple juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Tomato puree
- Maple syrup
- Tamari
The pineapple juice provides some lovely flavour along with some sweetness. The maple syrup provides additional sweetness. The apply cider vinegar provides the sour flavour.
Arrowroot powder as a thickener
If you like like spice, this recipe works well with a fresh chili, or with a teaspoon of chili powder. Arrowroot powder is used in this recipe to thicken the sauce.
Arrowroot is a nutritious starch containing relatively high amounts of various minerals, that forms a jelly like structure when it is heated, so it is often used as a thickener. Its also tasteless and doesn’t contain gluten, which some people like to avoid. Its available in most health food shops.
Cornstarch can also be used instead as a thickener. Alternatively you can leave both out and the sauce will still taste great, it will just be more runny.
Rice or noodles
This recipe tastes great served with rice or noodles. We like to use brown rice as its more nutritious than white, however it does take a while to cook. If you are using brown rice, its advisable to get that cooking in advance so that its ready in time.
How to make this dish
This dish is really easy to make and involves three main simple steps, cooking the veg, preparing the sauce and preparing the rice or noodles.
Cooking the veg
FIrs you add a tablespoon of oil to a wok or a pan on a medium high heat. Then add the onions and garlic and cook for around two minutes.
Next add the rest of the veg and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes stirring the veg around regularly. Then turn the heat down.
Making the sauce
To make the sauce you simply mix all the sauce ingredients in a pot and then bring to a boil. Turn down to a gentle simmer and add the arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce.
Once the sauce thickens, you can pour it over the veggies. Cook for another few minutes and the sweet and sour vegetables are ready.
Noodles or rice
Cook the noodles or rice according to the packet instructions.
Some similar recipes to try from the Fit Dish
If you like this type of dish, check out the below. I also recommend trying this sweet and sour dish combined with tofu cooked as per the Crispy Chilli Tofu recipe below.
Takeaway Style Crispy Chilli Tofu
Vegan Chinese Jackfruit Stir Fry
Sticky Tempeh with Vegetables and Rice
Sweet and Sour Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp oil
800 grams of vegetables, made up of:
- 300 g broccoli a small head, cut into florets
- 160 g carrot 1 large, chopped
- 1 yellow pepper
- 8 vine tomatoes
- 12 baby corn
- 4 pineapple rings
For the sauce:
- 150 ml pineapple juice
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp tomato puree
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables by chopping and peeling everything (if required)
- Add a tablespoon of oil to a pan along with the garlic and onion. Cook for two minutes.
- Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan along. Keep on a relatively high heat, stirring regularly for another five minutes. Turn down the heat if the sauce is not ready.
- In a separate pot, add the pineapple juice, tomato puree, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and tamari. Turn on a high heat and stir regularly.
- Once sauce starts to bubble turn down to a low/medium heat and sprinkle in the arrowroot powder. Stir in well.
- One sauce has thickened, pour over the vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat with the sauce bubbling gently. Stir regularly.
- Remove from the heat and serve with rice or noodles
