Description
This homemade plum sauce pairs beautifully with roasted duck, offering a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and aromatic flavors. Made with fresh dark red plums simmered with aromatic spices, red wine, and stock, this sauce can be prepared while your duck roasts and easily reheated or frozen for convenience.
Ingredients
Fruit and Vegetables
- 1 lb dark red plums, halved and stoned
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
Pantry Staples
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional)
- fine sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Liquids
- 1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
- ¾ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon cold water (for cornstarch slurry, optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the plums and onion: Halve and stone the dark red plums, then slice the halves. Finely chop the small onion to ensure it cooks evenly and releases its sweetness during sautéing.
- Sauté the onion: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally until translucent but not browned, to develop a sweet base flavor for the sauce.
- Caramelize sugar and combine ingredients: Add ½ cup brown sugar to the saucepan and stir continuously for about 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves and caramelizes slightly. Then add the sliced plums, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, ¾ cup red wine, and 1 cup chicken stock. Stir to combine all ingredients well.
- Simmer the plum sauce: Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Let it cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the plums soften but do not turn mushy, and the sauce thickens slightly, concentrating the flavors and reducing the liquid.
- Optional thickening: If you prefer your sauce thicker, mix 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water to create a slurry. Slowly whisk this into the simmering sauce until desired consistency is reached. Be careful not to over-thicken; the sauce should remain pourable.
- Season and serve: Season the sauce with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately alongside roasted duck, or allow to cool and reheat later. This sauce also freezes well for future use.
Notes
- You can prepare this sauce while the duck is roasting, and it can be served warm or reheated without losing flavor.
- If the sauce cools and thickens too much, simply reheat gently and stir in a splash of stock or water to loosen.
- For a vegetarian version, substitute chicken stock with vegetable stock.
- This plum sauce freezes well; store in an airtight container and thaw when needed.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese-inspired
