Chinese Dipping sauces

I am a big fan of chinese dipping sauces. I love them with my schnitzels, with steak (yeah, I know), with grilled chicken etc or add them to stir fries and sauces. I even put them on my sandwiches and have them with chips... you get the picture.

There is just one problem with it: The store bought sauces are filled with all types of  stabalizers and what have you not. So I started experimenting with making them at home. Have fun making them too:

Sweet Chili Sauce

Sweet and a little spicy. A staple in my house. This recipe is very quick and simple to make.Only twist to the store bought sauce is the addition cilantro, which kicks the whole thing up a notch.

Yield: 2 cups

2-4 tablespoons hot ground chili paste or chilli flakes (according to taste)

2-4 teaspoons minced garlic (again according to taste)

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Combine everything, except the cilantro, in a small sauce pan and mix. Once blended, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cliantro.

Sweet and sour plum sauce

1 can crushed pineapple in syrup

1 c. sugar

1 c. and 2 tbsp water

1 c. vinegar

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. plum jam

Heat pineapple with syrup, sugar, 1 cup water, vinegar and soy sauce to boiling. Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water, stir into pineapple mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature, stir in plum jam. Cover and refrigerate. Makes 6 cups.

Hoisin Sauce

1.5 cups soy sauce

1 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp of honey

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp hot sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp of white pepper

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Makes 4 servings