Last year I made a small batch of Asian plum sauce from fruit from my parents’ orchard to see if I’d use it. It was great with egg rolls and as a sauce in stir fry. I made a bigger batch this year and wrote down my ingredients so I can recreate it. This year I used Brooks plums, which are a sweeter, free stone fruit. Any plums would work, though depending on tartness, vinegar amount may need to be adjusted and/or honey added. This recipe yielded 24 cups of sauce, so be prepared to can or freeze it. The bucket I used holds 9 quarts, which is just over 2 gallons of fruit. I didn’t weigh the fruit. I don’t peel my plums first, instead using an immersion blender to pulverize them & then running the sauce through a chinois/sieve. Coconut aminos can be used in place of soy sauce and Chinese Five Spice can be used in place of fennel, cinnamon, and cloves. Traditional recipes call for star anise plus fennel seed. I couldn’t find a local source for star anise so I doubled the fennel.

2 gallons plums, washed & stones removed
1 1/2 cups soy sauce or gluten free tamari
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 medium onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, smashed
2 Tbs ground ginger
2 tsp red pepper flakes or red chili sauce
2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer until the fruit is thoroughly cooked and broken down. Using an immersion blender (or batches can be run through a blender or food processor), purée the sauce until smooth. Strain sauce through a fine mesh sieve to make it more smooth, if desired. Return sauce to stockpot and simmer on low until sauce is reduced and at desired thickness. Pour sauce into jars for canning or containers for freezing.