Homemade Duck Sauce – If you love duck sauce, you’ve got to try this all-natural, homemade version. It’s so simple and tasty, you may just decide to never go back to the old way!
The secret to many fabulous recipes is a killer sauce. When it comes to many Asian dishes, a good duck sauce is just the ticket.
In the past I’ve bought a convenient jar of pre-made duck sauce at the grocery store. I was never that pleased with it because it didn’t taste amazing, not to mention, it contained some dubious ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and “natural” flavorings. YUCK!
This year I thought I’d give making my own duck sauce a go. I used some fabulous homemade apricot jam hidden in my winter stores, along with fresh ginger and garlic. If you don’t have homemade jam on hand I recommend St. Dalfour’s apricot jam.
After making this sauce, the end result was sweet and sticky. It also had a more spicy and complex flavor compared the the store-bought stuff. I don’t think I’m ever going back to the old way again!
Now that you can make this awesome sauce, some common pairings with duck sauce include:
- Egg rolls
- Spring rolls
- Duck
- Chicken
- Pork
- Fish
Also, be sure to check out my recipe for Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls!
Homemade Duck Sauce
If you love duck sauce, you’ve got to try this all-natural, homemade version. It’s so simple and tasty, you may just decide to never go back to the old way!
Ingredients
- 3/4 C all-natural apricot jam
- 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 medium cloves fresh minced garlic*
- 1 tsp fresh minced ginger*
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/16 tsp cayenne powder (or to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl with a whisk until evenly combined.
- It's best if allowed to rest in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving, so that the flavors can meld. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
- Store in an airtight glass container at the back for your refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Notes
*If you're strapped for time, fresh garlic and ginger can be substituted with their frozen counterparts and are almost just as good.
Thanks for showing us how to make this favorite condiment; we will definitely be giving this one a try!
Awesome! You’ll have to let me know how it turn out.
I tried this recipe and it so awesome! So fresh ! I lived that it is not cloying sweet. I served it with homemade crab Rangoon. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Crab Rangoon sounds amazing right now!
Crab Rangoon ALWAYS sounds amazing to me.
Oooo… That’s one of my FAVORITES! I’m totally going to make it soon as well as a batch of this Duck Sauce of course!
I don’t understand the point of the asterisks if you don’t tell us what the asterisks mean. Does they mean optional ingredient?
The asterisk for the note underneath the instructions. Although freak provides the best flavor.
*If you’re strapped for time, fresh garlic and ginger can be substituted with their frozen counterparts and are almost just as good. I do provide the best
The asterisk means it can be substituted with precopped ginger or garlic. It says it a little below the recipe.
Oh I need to try this! I haven’t had a good sauce to go with my asian duck since I started eating clean and avoiding all the yuckies in the store-bought versions. It may not give the same flavour, but I have some homemade peach jam on hand I may try in there, before venturing out to buy some apricot 🙂
If you try the making this with the peach jam, you’ll have to let me know how it turns out. I’m most familiar with duck sauce being made with apricot and/or plum, but peach is so closely related that I imagine it’s just as yummy. I’m happy that this a good clean foods eating solution for you. I came up with that recipe because I had a similar dilemma as you. I had tried a jar of organic, store bout duck sauce and it was terrible. If I’m going to got to the effort of making spring rolls than I want some good sauce to dip them in!
This looks so good! I could really go for this right now 🙂 It’s so nice to see something that is really delicious, made from scratch without preservatives in it 🙂
Thanks Sara. I’ve always loved dipping things. Wether it me good old ketchup, BBQ sauce, blue cheese dressing, or duck sauce. When I started purging my refrigerator of artificial ingredients I really missed those things. The few years I’ve been surprised how many of those favorite can be easily be whipped up in my own kitchen!
Can you make some up and can it or no
I’ve never canned this recipe. That said, I’ve made this recipe with my own Apricot Jam and the ingredients you would be adding to the recipe to make the duck sauce would keep the sugar content high enough and the acidity high enough for canning. If you’re considering canning duck sauce make sure you’re starting with a food safety tested Apricot Jam recipe and that you’re not using store bought jam. I hope that helps!
Oh! My son hunts duck every winter. He will love this! Thanks so much for sharing. It looks delicious and has so many uses!
How awesome that he hunts duck! I’d love to have a fresh duck to cook up. You lucky duck!
Thank you!! I’ve been searching for a good duck sauce recipe for years! I have so many Asian recipes that could use this.
Yeah! I don’t think this one will disappoint. My whole family couldn’t get enough of this stuff!
I’ve always loved duck sauce in principle, but the store bought versions are so sweet and not at all complex in their flavor. By contrast, yours sounds spicy as well as sweet and with just the right amount of other flavors besides the jam. Definitely have to try it.
I know! The store bought stuff is so blah. I first got the idea to make my own when I got some truly noteworthy duck sauce at a little, local, all-natural Chinese restaurant. It was an aha moment where I realized that this stuff can be made homemade and be really good.
Hooray for homemade!! Pinning for later!
Thanks for pinning! 🙂
Cool! I have always bought from the store as well and felt it was “meh” – I am looking forward to trying it homemade! Pinned!
Boo for store bought duck sauce! Thanks for pinning!
mamma mia! this is pure #foodporn. Can’t wait to taste it, probably with eggrolls!
Haha! Thanks Claudia! Enjoy those egg rolls!
I love Asian Food! And I definitely like to make it from home when I get the chance! This looks yummy!
Thanks Sharee! You’ll have to let me know how you like it!
I have been looking for a good duck sauce recipe and this one looks amazing! I love all of your recipes you share!
Thanks Heather! That’s so sweet. I’m blushing over here!
THIS WAS DELICIOUS! Only had peach-apricot jam and powdered ginger. It was excellent!! Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for letting me know!
Definitely watch the cayenne pepper. I used 1/16 tsp and it was way too much for me. I suggest adding a pinch and taste to your liking.
Thanks for the feed back Renee!
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! When you list chili powder, do you mean the same kind I would put in taco seasoning, or is this an Asian chili powder? Thanks!
I used the taco seasoning one. If you choose to use Asian chili powder I would consider omitting the cayenne, as I believe Asian chili powder has more of a kick. I hope that helps!
Can I use Orange Marmalade instead of Apricot Jam?
I wouldn’t recommend orange marmalade, but plum or peach jam should do the trick if you need a substitute!
We made this tonight and it was fantastic!! How much is a serving size? I see it’s 99 calories per serving but can’t find how much that is. Thanks!
Happy to hear that you found this delish! A serving is one sixth of the recipe, or approximately 2 1/2 Tbsp.
I put just a wee bit of orange rind, about. An 1/8 tsp. I ran the idea past a chinese friend who approved. Orange can be over powering and totally take over, be very cautious. . I also brought it up to simmer and shut off the heat to let all the goodness meld slowly. My spice heat was sriracha. This one will be a staple. Thank you!!!!
The orange rind sounds like a lovely addition. I’m going to give it a try the next time a make duck sauce. Thanks for sharing!
Oh goodness me!!! I LOVE duck sauce so much!! Every time we have Chinese I am the one grabbing as many packets possible and putting all over my rice!! I’ve NEVER known what it was made of (I actually THOUGHT was made from duck!! Lol) excuse my ignorance lol, I am DEFINITELY going to try this!! I just literally bought a jar at Kroger the other day because it was on clearance and that was the FIRST time I had ever seen duck sauce in a grocery store, where I am from, you don’t see a lot of different foods from all over like you would in big cities!! Thank you for this recipe!!
Haha! I can relate to the “grabbing packs of sauce from the Chinese restaurant” phenomena. Growing up my grandparents were the ones that introduced me to the wonderful world of Chinese food and the entire butter section of their refrigerator was filled with various packet of soy sauce, duck sauce and spicy mustard! I live close to a big city and I still find it hard to find a decent jar of premade duck sauce, so this recipe was my solution. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I have!
I was in the grocery store and couldn’t bring myself to buy the duck sauce I found there. Too many artificial ingredients! I searched online and found this recipe and was thrilled that I actually had all of the ingredients at home. I have to tell you that this sauce was a major hit. My husband and I have been married for 33 years and it’s the first time I ever saw him eat duck sauce. He doesn’t like sweet sauces but this one made him a believer. Thank you for a fabulous recipe that needed no tweaks!!!
Lori- Thanks for taking the time to come back to tell me how much you enjoyed this recipe! Happy dipping!
Added to bookmarks.
The recipe is well balanced great souce. It is also good foundation to start. I’m going to try apple, plum, peach gems/spreads. Next time I’m going to use unsweetened apricot gem.
You’ll have to come back and tell me how the duck sauce turned out with the other spreads!
OMG! Just made this and it is amazing. I will never buy store bought again. THANK YOU!
I’m so happy you like this! Boo! for store bought!
Hi
I have a suggestion from the duck sauce I grew up with from our local Chinese restaurant. Substitute apple sauce for the jam. You may like it as well.
Applesauce!… That’s a new one… It sounds like a good way to lighten-up this recipe, but I’d curious about what the texture would be like…
I minced the garlic and ginger really fine but didn’t care for the burst of garlic or ginger when I bit down on it so I gave it a whirl with my stick blender. Also added a couple more tablespoons of jam. I think my clove of garlic was a little large even though I only used half. I let it set for several hours and it was perfect with my homemade crab rangoons, and snacked on the crispy noodles and sauce while I was finishing up the chicken chow mein. This recipe is definitely a keeper, so much more flavor then the insipid store sauces. It probably helps that I love apricot jam!
I love this recipe. I have started making and freezing egg rolls for my family. We love them with lots of meals and sometimes we just have egg rolls. Always with a version of this duck sauce, just as written. I have to admit that I sometimes use a different jam. I have made this with apricot jam, peach mango jam, chutney and marmalade. I have also used the substation of frozen mangoes or frozen peaches for a portion. I also substituted reconstituted dried mangoes for jam, another time. Everything else, just as described. The only one I don’t really recommend is the orange marmalade, just not very good. Homemade duck sauce is a total wow! Kicks it up a notch. We use our own duck sauce even when we rarely get take out, it is that good.
This sauce is waaay too sour! I would only use 2 teaspoons instead of the 4 Tablespoons called for!
Same! Way too much vinegar for my taste 🙁
Hi can you canned this recipe.
Excellent recipe with really normal, easy-to-find ingredients. I just made it and it’s just excellent and tastes just the way it should. I used cloudberry jam (from Ikea) because that happens to be what I had on hand (and i wanted to use it up), and it was great!! Maybe because of the jam i used, but next time i would probably do 3 TB rice vinegar. Not a critique, just a note to myself.
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it Donna!
Thanks so much for the recipe even though I had to make my own jam first! As a low-carb-er, I made an apricot freezer jam from dried apricots so that I could use alternative sweeteners (so sorry not your jam recipe). As someone with sulphur allergies, I had to change out the water many times when soaking the dried apricot pieces. I’ve made this with jam I made from frozen peaches as well. I would think your recipe works with any stone fruit jam though water content would vary should pectin be involved and the looseness of the jam altered. I replaced some of the hot spices with an Asian 5-spice blend. In the low-carb world, a version of your duck sauce is just the thing for the dish called “egg roll in a bowl”. I’ve gotten “thumbs up” from many folks for your flavorful duck sauce. Thanks again.
I couldn’t make your recipe exactly since I came here in a pinch but I used your measurements I had available: passion fruit jam, ACV, fresh ginger fresh garlic red pepper flakes onion powder and Garlic powder and soy sauce
I wasn’t hugely impressed when I first put this together – but after a few days in the fridge the flavors had really blended and WOW! Count me among those who will no longer be buying prepared duck sauce. Thanks.
I made this duck sauce tonight with my homemade egg rolls and it was so delicious will be making again
Great recipe! I make it with no-sugar-added apricot preserves, use powdered garlic and ginger, and add a tablespoon of Splenda as I’m used to the sweet stuff.
Oh my goodness, I am beyond thrilled that I found this recipe. I had no idea it was this simple! I can’t wait to make it. I wish I had this on hand tonight for my homemade dumplings and egg rolls. So excited to quadruple the recipe!
I had planned to make this for eggroll bowls. I was setting out ingredients to get started cooking…and I had forgotten apricot jam! But I had peach jam on hand, which worked quite well! This is a good balance of flavors, sweet, but not over sweet as a lot can be.
love how easy this recipe is yet looks so amazing!
Absolutely delicious and quick. Loved it 🙂
It tastes OK to me but my wife thinks too much vinegar.
As an American that grew up with a Chinese food restaurant seemingly on every block, moving to the UK as an adult has been a shock to the system with the loss of so many staple favorites, duck sauce being one of them. This recipe is spicier/tangier than the packet one, and thus much more flavorful. It not only returns a joy from home, it gives it a more grown-up appeal to my palette and I couldn’t be more pleased with this; thank you xx