Sweet and Sour Pork (Chinese-style) at Spatula, Spoon and Saturday
Josh totally has a thing for sweet and sour pork. I don’t know why. I’m not really a big fan of this dish. However, I just bought The Food China: A Journey for Food Lovers* and I have been trying a few recipes from it. And, well, I have a nice piece of pork in the freezer and it’s about time it gets cooked!
The reason I say Chinese-style is to distinguish between the usual Chinese sweet and sour and the Thai sweet and sour that I grew up with. They aren’t really quite the same. They are both sweet and they are both sour but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. I’m sad to admit I don’t really know how to do the Thai version. Yet.
So what you’ll need for 2-3 people:
Sweet and sour sauce
- 1/2 Spanish onion, sliced
- 1/2 red capsicum, cut into strips
- 1/2 yellow capsicum, cut into strips
- 1/2 cup of canned pineapple pieces**
- 1 tbsp ginger, chopped
- 1/3 cup of Chinese rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup of sugar (I kid you not)
- 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp of corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp water
Heat some oil and add onion, ginger, red and yellow capsicum strips. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until softened. Mix the sugar, vinegar and ketchup. Add the premixed sauce to the vegetables. Add pineapple pieces, if using. Simmer on low while you fry the pork (this should be about 10 minutes).
Battered Pork
- 200g of pork, cut into 2cm cubes
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp of ginger, grated
(deep frying the pork pieces)
Add soy sauce and ginger the pork pieces and marinade for 5 minutes. Beat the egg and flours together. Coat the pork pieces with the batter. Deep fry in hot oil, in batches, until golden. Drain and place on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
(this is the consistency to aim for after adding corn flour mixture)
Once the pork and the sauce are ready, add 1 tbsp of corn flour mixture to the sauce to thicken. Add more if necessary but ensure you only add a little bit at the time. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a bit of water. Add the pork pieces to coat and stir for 1 more minute. Sprinkle with fresh coriander. Serve.
(Mix the sauce and the pork together)
* When I say just, I mean a month or so ago. My blogging is about a week or two behind my eating.
** I didn’t put any in because the recipe in the book doesn’t say nothin’ about no pineapple! But my esteemed sweet and sour eating husband has informed me that in no uncertain terms, sweet and sour pork must have pineapple in it. How am I supposed to know that?!? I have never ordered sweet and sour pork!
