Mom's Sweet and Sour Sauce

People, I am on a ROLL. Two posts in consecutive days! Special! I'm sitting here at home in the pouring rain, bored silly, foot to sore to go anywhere, so naturally the cooking impulse has taken me. On a cold, dreary day like today, I decided I'd whip up a batch of my mom's sweet and sour sauce.

This sauce is soooo good I cook something as an excuse to slather it on. Mom always cooks ribs in this sauce - so rich and tangy and flavourful. It's great for meatballs, too. Mainly, though, I have a jar of this stuff in the fridge at all times; just a spoonful will add a big flavour punch to most everything - sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, goulash, even tomato soup.

It is ridiculously easy to make, too. Mix together some ketchup, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder and ginger, simmer it for about 20 minutes, and then thicken it with a bit of cornstarch and soy sauce. Pour it in a bottle and store it in the fridge for weeks. Simple, cheap, and better than any store bought sauce, that's for sure.

MOM'S SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE

1 cup white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water (optional, depends on how thick you want the sauce)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
garlic powder to taste (I use about 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch


1. Add first 7 ingredients to a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes.

2. Mix together soy sauce and cornstarch. Add some of the hot liquid as needed to make a paste, then stir into sauce. Cook until thickened (should happen almost immediately).

3. Bottle and enjoy!