I absolutely do not like wasting food. It’s something that my parents instilled upon me growing up and I appreciate them for doing that. I’m not going to talk about how there are many hungry people in third world countries or on our local streets because you can see and have heard about those things for yourself before. Aside from my parents’ teachings about not wasting food, I personally don’t like wasting food because it destroys the integrity of the food itself. Often we buy produce and other goods at the markets and grocery stores and end up throwing them away because they were over ripe; the expiration date passed; we bought excessive amounts because they were on sale, or we simply forgot about having them because they’ve been buried at the far back corner of the fridge waiting to be used. When I see this happen, more particularly food getting thrown out, I don’t just see the food itself but also the hard work and care that someone invested upon a single grain, fruit, etc. I know it happens, but it’s just a shame when you know that you could have used it. A small tip when shopping for food would be planning ahead. This means when you go to the store/market you have a pre-set idea of dishes you want to make for the following week or two weeks. By doing this, you know what you’re going to make for the week and you’re not buying excessive amounts of produce you won’t end up using which will ultimately save you some money.

I came up with this recipe because of this attitude. I wanted to give respect to the produce that I bought, really get my money’s worth and well exercise my creative licence a bit. What else would I do with 2 boxes of mangoes?

Recipe: Yield 1 large mason jar (~21 oz)

Equipment:

• 1 medium size pot
• wooden spoon
• hand blender
• 1 large mason jar
• measuring cups and spoons
• cutting board

Ingredients:

• 7-8 ripe mangoes (I had some Ataulfo mangoes; for the purée and the 7-8 will definitely make more than a cup)
• 1 cup mango purée
• 1/2 cup mangoes (cubed)
• 2-3 mango seeds (the middle part when the flesh are cut out from both sides of the mango)
• 2 1/2 tbs. butter
• thumb size ginger (peeled and smashed)
• 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed)
• 2 cups ginger ale
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbs. sugar cane vinegar (apple cider will do as well)
• 5 tbs. worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs. sriracha sauce (you may add more if you want it to be spicier)
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• salt and pepper
• pinch of cinnamon
• 3 tbs. brown sugar

Procedure:

1. In a hot medium size pot, add in the butter and once melted sauté the garlic and ginger.
2. Let the ginger and garlic caramelize a little bit before adding in the mango seeds and cubes.
3. Add some salt and pepper into the pot.
4. Let the flesh around mango seeds caramelize and cubes a bit before adding the cinnamon.
5. In a bowl combine the ginger ale and mango purée.
6. Once everything in pot is caramelized, deglaze the pot with the ginger ale and mango purée  mixture.
7. Simmer for a few minutes (~3-4 min.)
8. Add in the sugar cane vinegar, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, sriracha (or chilli powder/cayenne powder/chipotle powder)
9. Simmer again for ~5 min.
10. Add the ketchup and brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolved.
11. Simmer again for ~5 min.
12. After simmered, take out the mango seeds and ginger.
13. When they are taken out, use your hand blender and blend the sauce together while crushing the mango cubes at the same time.
14. Pour in your sauce into a clean large mason jar.
15. Let the sauce come to room temperature before sealing it with the cap.

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