Chinese Five-Spice Plum Sauce
Plum Sauce is a traditional complement for grilled meats in Asian cuisine and is a wonderful pairing with duck, pork, chicken or salmon. This sauce is delightfully complex and balances all the flavors on the palate. Think of this as an über powerful Asian BBQ sauce.
Use it as a dipping sauce for everything from wontons, egg rolls, spring rolls, dumplings, roasted duck, fish, chicken, shrimp, or with noodles and rice. Use it to baste your meats before grilling. Use it as a glaze for baked poultry and pork.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 pounds plums
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large shallot, chopped fine
- 3 Tablespoons grated ginger
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons chile bean paste
- 1 Tablespoon Chinese Five Spice
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Freeze the plums several hours or overnight to make pitting easier. First, using a sharp knife and a lot of care, score the flesh of the plum all the way to the pit around the entire plum. Then pull the plum apart and pop out the pit.
- Transfer the fruit to a large Dutch oven and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until the fruit is fully softened.
- Add the remaining ingredients and simmer gently for about a half hour, allowing the ginger and shallot to fully soften and release their flavor. Cool slightly, then blend until smooth using a countertop or immersion blender.
- This sauce stores well in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for several weeks.
