Growing up, I was confused why this wasn’t the sticky red stuff we typically got whenever we picked up Chinese takeout. To me, that was the definition of a sweet and sour sauce. My mom’s riff, however, uses black soy sauce, so it was brown instead of bright red and had added umami. It was inspired by the Chinese sauce, especially because people expected every Asian restaurant to have a sweet and sour sauce, but it was made my mom’s way. Despite being confused by the color, I never questioned my mom—customers seemed to love it, and I was always proud when people would ask for an additional side of this sauce. It’s sweet and sour, as the name suggests, and it’s incredibly easy to make, too. I love that a sauce with only four ingredients can come together into such a developed flavor. – Arnold Myint