This is not an April Fool’s Day prank! Caramel is a wonderful base for classic sweet and sour sauce. Hoisin Caramel Lime Glaze is a sweet, tangy and tart sauce that is a nice change of pace from traditional BBQ sauce. We painted our Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts with this glaze and the results were delicious!
Sugar and water are boiled until amber colored and a generous dollop of rice wine vinegar is added to the sauce, making the sweet and sour sauce base. The glaze is rounded out with with a generous dollop of hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, lime juice, toasted sesame oil and a smidgen of soy sauce. Slices of fresh ginger are added to lightly perfume the sauce. Hoisin Caramel Glaze pairs well with poultry and pork. Try this sauce on pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes or on a pineapple, bell pepper and chicken kabob.
Hoisin Caramel Lime Glaze
Makes about 1 1/4 cups
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 inch knob of fresh ginger, sliced in 5 pieces
1. In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan add the sugar and the water. Turn the heat to high. Cook the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves and begins to turn tan. Reduce the heat to low and watch the sugar mixture carefully. When the mixture begins to turn dark tan at the edges of the sauce pan, remove the pan from the heat and swirl the pan to stir the caramel. Add the rice wine vinegar. The mixture will bubble. Stir the vinegar and sugar mixture until blended. Some clumps of caramel are okay.
2. Return the sauce to the stovetop and bring the heat to medium low. Cook, stirring frequently, until any hard pieces of caramel dissolve. Add the hoisin sauce, garlic chili sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger pieces. Stir to blend. Reduce the heat to low. Cook the glaze, stirring frequently, until the mixture is reduced in volume by 1/3. Remove the Hoisin Caramel Lime Glaze from the stovetop and cool in the pan.
To use the glaze on Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts, cook the chicken as directed in the recipe. Remove the chicken from the oven and generously paint with the cooled glazed. Return the chicken to the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes until the glaze bubbles. Remove the chicken from the oven. Paint with a second coat of glaze. Serve the chicken with additional glaze as a side sauce.
Recipe © Sally James Mathis
Photography ©Taylor Mathis
I must admit I have never thought of caramel as a base for a sauce on meat. It does look delicious though. I think that if I told my boys the sauce was made with caramel they eat it up…..Hey, can you make a sauce for asparagus with caramel in it…..maybe my youngest wouldn’t complain as much when he gets a little asparagus on his plate.
Oh.My.Goodness. This sounds and looks absolutely amazing. I will have to try this technique!