Citrus fruit is great, and when oranges are in season I usually buy some to make marmalade. This year I wanted to do something different, so I decided to make this Spicy Asian Orange Sauce.
Inspired by Asian flavors, this sauce incorporates Chinese 5 Spice, soy sauce, red chili flakes and garlic to give it some zing! Brown sugar, white sugar and honey gives it some sweetness, and the apple cider vinegar gives it some punch.
Baste it on grilled chicken, pork ribs or ham for a delicious twist.
Recipe
Ingredients
12 medium-sized oranges
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey (I use raw local honey)
3/4 cup diced onion
2 tbls. mustard seed
1 tbls. minced garlic
1 tbls. soy sauce (dark soy but you can use any)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbls. red chili flakes (add more if you like spicy)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbls. Chinese 5 spice powder
1 tbls. orange zest (reserved to add to each jar)
Method
Peel all oranges, reserving peel*. Remove any seeds, separate oranges into sections, and add them to a large stock pot with 3 cups water of water. Simmer on low for an hour until fruit is soft. Add onions and simmer for 10 minutes or until onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, simmer for 15 minutes. Using a regular or stick blender pulse the mixture till it’s mostly smooth.
Ladle hot sauce into prepared jars, adding a pinch of the reserved orange zest to each jar and stirring well to combine. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "finger tight."
Processing: Add jars to a large stock pot with a rack on the bottom. Cover jars with hot water until the water is 2" over the top of the jars. Cover pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat and boil softly 20 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Allow jars to sit undisturbed 24 hours. Jars are sealed when button on top of lid is fully depressed. Store jars in pantry up to one year. Refrigerate jars after opening.
Yield: 5 pint jars
*Make Orange Zest with reserved peel - chop/grate orange peel using a food processor, and spread out on rimmed cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 170 degrees and dry zest in oven over several hours, stirring from time to time (time will vary depending on oven but will be at least 3-4 hours). Once dried completely, store zest in small glass mason jars and use the zest as you would any store-bought zest. Zest will keep on your pantry shelf up to one year. How to use Zest
Enjoy,
Mary
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