Mumbo Sauce - D.C.'s Famous Sweet & Sour Sauce

Rating: 4 stars
7 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 1
  • 4 star values: 5
  • 3 star values: 1
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0

Apparently, this sweet-and-sour condiment came to Washington D.C. via Chicago, where it somehow became a staple in Chinese take-out restaurants served as a condiment with fried chicken wings, among other things. This is my version.

By Chef John

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Recipe Summary

prep:
10 mins
cook:
10 mins
additional:
10 mins
total:
30 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
4 cups
Nutrition Info
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Ingredients

8
Original recipe yields 8 servings
The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

Directions

  • Place tomato paste, ketchup, sugar in a saucepan. Pour in pineapple juice, white vinegar, lemon juice, and honey into the pan. Add soy sauce, grated ginger, and cayenne pepper. Whisk together thoroughly. Place pan over medium-high heat. As soon as mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

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  • Remove pan from heat; allow to cool about 10 minutes or so. Pour sauce through a fine strainer to eliminate solids.

Chef's Note:

All ingredient amounts are "to taste," so feel free to experiment.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
157 calories; protein 1.9g; carbohydrates 40.5g; fat 0.3g; sodium 617.8mg. Full Nutrition
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Reviews (6)

Read More Reviews

Most helpful positive review

Garrett Williams
Rating: 4 stars
02/10/2018
Delicious. Might have use a little less vinegar but I like this version. Reminds me of when I was in school in DC! Read More
Helpful
(4)

Most helpful critical review

Gin Hearn
Rating: 3 stars
07/29/2018
The recipe as written is sickly sweet and to me, too hot, but I realize that both are subjective. My biggest gripe is that it is out of balance and has no depth of flavor. I would rate it just ok. It needs help. It was a good base to start with and by the time I got done tweaking it was good. However, it bore very little resemblance to the original recipe. If I was ever to make it again, I would use brown sugar because it adds depth and makes a better barbeque style sauce. I didn't use the entire teaspoon of Cayenne to begin with because we don't like things really hot and that would have been fiery (I used 1/2), but it needed depth so I added cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, ground mustard and garam marsala. I also added some extra white vinegar and fresh lemon peel for some brightness and to balance out all the sweetness. It turned out good in the long run, but it took a bit to get it there. As is the sauce tastes really sweet and hot, but lacks any real depth of flavor and has absolutely no balance. It needs some smokiness that the paprika brings and some balance in acidity and sweetness. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Sorry I didn't care for it much. (P.S. This says I've made it twice -i've only made it once). Read More
Helpful
(3)
7 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 1
  • 4 star values: 5
  • 3 star values: 1
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
Garrett Williams
Rating: 4 stars
02/10/2018
Delicious. Might have use a little less vinegar but I like this version. Reminds me of when I was in school in DC! Read More
Helpful
(4)
Gin Hearn
Rating: 3 stars
07/29/2018
The recipe as written is sickly sweet and to me, too hot, but I realize that both are subjective. My biggest gripe is that it is out of balance and has no depth of flavor. I would rate it just ok. It needs help. It was a good base to start with and by the time I got done tweaking it was good. However, it bore very little resemblance to the original recipe. If I was ever to make it again, I would use brown sugar because it adds depth and makes a better barbeque style sauce. I didn't use the entire teaspoon of Cayenne to begin with because we don't like things really hot and that would have been fiery (I used 1/2), but it needed depth so I added cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, ground mustard and garam marsala. I also added some extra white vinegar and fresh lemon peel for some brightness and to balance out all the sweetness. It turned out good in the long run, but it took a bit to get it there. As is the sauce tastes really sweet and hot, but lacks any real depth of flavor and has absolutely no balance. It needs some smokiness that the paprika brings and some balance in acidity and sweetness. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Sorry I didn't care for it much. (P.S. This says I've made it twice -i've only made it once). Read More
Helpful
(3)
Ms. Dee Dee
Rating: 4 stars
05/22/2019
Good for BBQ burger and Links Read More
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westsidesaint
Rating: 4 stars
06/24/2019
I followed recipe exactly. Slightly sweet with a little heat. Texture is on the thinner side over all great! Read More
Estes618
Rating: 4 stars
01/04/2019
If you like spicy this recipe is perfect... if not you could afford to cut down on the cayenne a bit Read More
Kamilah Sayyidi
Rating: 4 stars
04/23/2020
It’s okay, but it needed hot sauce, no way around this ingredient. Cayenne pepper and vinegar ain’t going to cut it. Read More
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