Reduction: Watch the sauce change as liquid cooks away. Examples include Sweet and sour spare ribs, Cola chicken wings, Blistered green peppers. Open a full recipe for ingredients and the complete method.
Check the thickest meat away from bone with a food thermometer for at least 63°C; the ribs also need a 3-minute rest after cooking. Once cooked, reduce over medium heat while turning until the glaze coats the ribs, then stop before the sugar burns.
Doneness has been checked and the shiny glaze clings to the ribs.
After checking doneness, remove the ginger and reduce the sauce over medium-low heat, turning frequently. Stop when it lightly coats the wings rather than cooking to hard threads or burnt sugar. Plate and cool slightly before eating.
The wings are glossy with a clinging glaze that is not burnt.
Once peppers soften and blister, carefully add the sauce around the pan edge, raise the heat slightly and start a 30 sec check while tossing. Stop when sugar dissolves and sauce lightly coats, before it turns into burnt caramel.
Peppers are glazed without burnt sauce.
Add both pastes and stir over low heat until slightly thickened and fragrant, avoiding scorched sauce at the base. Transfer to a clean heatproof bowl.
The sauce is slightly thick and glossy with evenly coated pork.
Check the thickest pork for at least 63°C, remove whole spices and reduce over medium heat until sauce coats the meat. Dilute overly salty sauce with water rather than masking it with sugar. Off the heat, set a 3 min rest reminder and serve after it is complete.
The pork is tender with a clinging unburnt sauce and has rested.
Remove bay, star anise and large aromatics with tongs. Uncover and toss over medium-high with a 2 min check. Stop when the sauce lightly clings to wings; do not reduce the sugary sauce dry.
Wings are glossy and the sauce is thickened but still flows.
Check the thickest pork reaches at least 63°C; if chilled precooked eggs were added, heat the dish through to 74°C. Remove bay and star anise and reduce uncovered until sauce clings. Mix in salt, retaining some fluid sauce rather than boiling dry.
Pork is glossy with softened fat and thickened but fluid sauce.
Plate cooked prawns and reduce their sauce over medium-low heat until it lightly coats a spoon, stirring and stopping before it becomes hard caramel. Spoon it evenly over the prawns.
Red-shelled prawns with opaque flesh and an even thin sweet-salty glaze.
Once doneness is verified, reduce over medium-low heat until sauce lightly coats the fish. Add any scallion and coriander, heat through, then turn off heat and plate, watching for bones.
An intact cooked fish coated in brown-red sauce with ginger, garlic and optional green herbs.
Bring a little guidance along. Open EagerCook for the cooking experience.
