Vic Sin sauce

I’d completely forgotten that I must record this recipe for future years! It’s sadly a bit late for this year, as the plums are all over. The huge amount of spices produce a dipping sauce, which I hoped would be like Hoisin – hence the name – but is somehow lighter and sharper (may add more dark sugar next year!).

3 lb plums, weight when stoned (pitted)
1 lb onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 pt malt vinegar
12 oz sultanas
1 lb dark brown sugar
salt and pepper

Spices: 3 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns, 1 small dried chilli, 12 star anise, 1 stick cinnamon, 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp dried ginger. Grind very fine in a spice grinder/pestle and mortar.

1. Put everything but the sugar and vinegar into a large pan. Add half the vinegar. Simmer until soft.
2. Cool slightly, then liquidise until  very smooth.
3. Add the remaining vinegar, and the sugar. Bring to the boil slowly, then simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour into sterilised bottles and seal. Watch out – it may thicken too much to get OUT of the bottles! Not a problem – if too thick, just store in wide-necked jars. (You can always add hot water/soy sauce when serving to make a dipping sauce – which is what we’re aiming at.)

We enjoyed the sauce with some tomato 'samosas'.