Yesterday’s article covered the basic white sauce—bechamel—and various ways to prepare it to add variety to our dishes. Essentially it combines butter, flour, and milk to produce a cooked sauce.
However, you can produce a lot of other sauce options by changing out the liquid. Instead of using milk, try water, fruit juice, or broth.
Teriyaki Sauce
Begin with a thin white sauce (1 tablespoon each butter and flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 cup water) and then stir in the following:
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons vinegar
¾ teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cook and stir until smooth.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup ketchup
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, sauté the onion in oil. Add the pineapple juice and vinegar. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and garlic, and then add to the saucepan. Stir in the ketchup. Cook and stir until smooth.
Lemon Chicken Sauce
¾ cup lemon juice
¼ cup vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the lemon juice and vinegar. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and garlic powder and then add it to the juice mixture. Cook and stir until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds.
Substitute orange juice for the lemon juice to make Orange Chicken.
Stir-fry
Sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons chili oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
Combine water and cornstarch and stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Add
this to the other ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring
to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened.
Apple Cider Syrup
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a small bowl and then stir into the melted butter. Add the apple and lemon juices. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Fruit Pie and Dessert Filling
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups fruit
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the melted butter. Immediately add the water and lemon juice and stir until thickened. Stir in the fruit and continue to cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
Note that this recipe will make about 1 pint of fruit pie filling. To fill a pie, you will probably want to double or triple this recipe. Also note that most commercial pie fillings, especially blueberry and cherry, have food coloring added to the liquid.
Bacon Syrup
2 tablespoons bacon grease
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup water
2 cups brown sugar
Melt bacon grease in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Combine the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the bacon grease until smooth. Add the water and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Vanilla Syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Dash salt
Dash nutmeg
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the butter. Add the water, salt, and nutmeg and cook over low heat until thickened and clear. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
