Apricot or plum jam loosened with water, sharpened with rice vinegar and salted with soy, then carried by ginger, garlic, five spice and chili. The closest stand-in you can build from a normal cupboard in five minutes.
1/3cupapricot or plum jamnot a jelly, and nothing with citrus peel
1tablespoonwater
2teaspoonsrice vinegarplus more to taste
2splashes soy sauceabout 2 teaspoons, or tamari to keep it gluten-free
The Aromatics
1teaspoonfresh gingerfinely grated
1clovegarlicfinely grated
1/4teaspoonChinese five spice powder
1/4teaspoonred pepper flakesor a pinch of ground chili
1pinchfine saltonly if the jam was unsweetened
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
Warm and Whisk
First, warm the jam with the water in a small pan over low heat for about 2 minutes, just until it loosens enough to pour. Do not let it bubble or it will reduce and turn sticky.
Next, take the pan off the heat and whisk in the rice vinegar and the soy sauce. Adding the acid off the heat keeps it sharp rather than cooking it away.
Balance and Rest
Then stir in the grated ginger, grated garlic, five spice and red pepper flakes, and leave it to sit for 5 minutes so the raw aromatics soften into the fruit.
Finally, taste it with a piece of whatever you are serving in your hand. Add vinegar if it is cloying, soy if it tastes thin, and salt only if the jam was unsweetened. Pour it into a clean jar once it is cool.
Notes
Which jam: apricot is closer than you would expect, because commercial plum sauce often contains apricot anyway. Plum, damson and greengage all work. Avoid anything with citrus peel in it.Balance: taste it against the food, not off the spoon. A dipping sauce always reads sharper on its own than it does on a fried wonton.Gluten-free: use tamari in place of the soy sauce. Do not reach for hoisin here, as almost all commercial hoisin contains wheat.From fresh plums: halve and stone about 6, simmer with a splash of water until they collapse, then use that in place of the jam and skip the extra water.Storage: 3 weeks in a clean sealed jar in the refrigerator, or 6 months frozen in an ice cube tray. It firms up cold, so let it come back to room temperature before serving.Nutrition values are an estimate.