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Spicy Asian Plum Sauce

Source of Recipe

From "The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving"


Recipe Introduction

"Made with slightly sweetened plums that are spiced with warm notes of cinnamon and cloves and heated with chili peppers, this sauce is redolent of Asian cuisine and much better than store-bought."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 4 pounds black or red plums, pitted and coarsely chopped
â—¦ 1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
â—¦ ½ cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
â—¦ ¼ cup lite soy sauce
â—¦ 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
â—¦ 1 medium onion, chopped
â—¦ 3 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, or more to taste
â—¦ ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
â—¦ ½ teaspoon freshly ground Szechuan peppercorns or black peppercorns
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
â—¦ â…› teaspoon ground cloves
â—¦ 2 star anise


Recipe

Bring first seven ingredients to a boil in a 4-quart stainless steel or enameled Dutch oven over medium heat; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 20 minutes or until plums and onion are very soft.

Stir in salt and remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until plums disintegrate and mixture thickens. Remove and discard star anise.

Process plum mixture, in batches, in a food processor. Pour each batch of purée into a bowl. Pour purée into Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat.

Ladle hot sauce into a hot jar, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band, and adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Process jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
Turn off heat; remove lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Makes about four 1-pint jars