Sweet and Sour Pork (China)
Crispy fried pork in a sweet and tangy sauce, with just enough vegetables to feel a little healthy. It may be jam packed with ingredients, but it's a great foray into Chinese cooking and it makes enough for leftovers!
Equipment
- Large Wok (Optional)
- Normal Kitchen Utensils
Ingredients
- 2 Lbs Pork Chops, Tenderloin or Shoulder
- 1/4 C + 1 Tbsp Water
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Soy Sauce
- 3 1/4 C Vegetable Oil
- 4 1/4 Inch Rounds of Ginger Root
- 2 Pods Star Anise
- 1/2 C Ketchup
- 3 C White Vinegar
- 1 C White Sugar
- 1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 C + 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Green Bell Pepper
- 1 Red, Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper
- 1 Medium White Onion
- 1 16-20 Oz. Can Pineapple Chunks Including the Juice
Instructions
- Note: This recipe is basically two parts: 1) prepping everything to stir-fry and 2) stir-frying everything together. The prep before the stir-fry is the more involved part of this recipe, but it can be done in advance if you would like. Be sure to store/refrigerate ingredients properly if you plan to prep them more than half an hour in advance.
- Prep Everything for the Stir-Fry
- Cut the pork into bite-size chunks and add to a container to marinate. Mix thoroughly with 1/4 C of the water, the soy sauce, the sesame oil, the garlic powder and the onion powder. Marinate for 30 minutes.2 Lbs Pork Chops, Tenderloin or Shoulder, 1/4 C + 1 Tbsp Water, 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder, 1/2 tsp Onion Powder, 1 tsp Sesame Oil, 2 tsp Soy Sauce
- While the pork marinates, rinse and seed the bell peppers. Cut into 1-inch squares. Peel the onion and cut it into 1-inch squares, similar to the bell peppers.1 Green Bell Pepper, 1 Red, Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper, 1 Medium White Onion
- Begin the sauce in a medium sauce pan. Heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil with the ginger and star anise. Medium heat. Sauté about a minute, until the ginger begins to darken, before adding the ketchup.3 1/4 C Vegetable Oil, 4 1/4 Inch Rounds of Ginger Root, 2 Pods Star Anise, 1/2 C Ketchup
- Stir the ketchup constantly for 1-2 minutes until it begins to darken slightly. Add the vinegar and sugar, and drain the juice of the canned pineapples into the sauce. Set the pineapple chunks aside for later.3 C White Vinegar, 1 C White Sugar, 1 16-20 Oz. Can Pineapple Chunks
- Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 35-40 minutes. The sauce should reduce and thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Once the pork pieces finish marinating, heat 3 C of vegetable oil to 350 degrees for frying.
- Set out two lidded tupperware dishes and a large bowl for dredging. Mix the flour, 3/4 C cornstarch, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in the bowl. Pour 1/3 of the flour mixture into one tupperware, and beat one of the eggs into the second tupperware.1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour, 3/4 C + 1 Tbsp Cornstarch, Salt and Pepper to Taste, 3 Eggs
- Working in batches, add a reasonable amount of pork pieces to the tupperware with the flour mixture (give enough room to where the pieces aren't touching when you lay them in). Close the lid of the tupperware and shake it to coat the pork in the flour. Add the floured pieces to the egg tupperware, close it and shake to coat in the egg mixture. Add them back to the flour tupperware and give them one more shake.
- Add the coated pork pieces to the hot oil and fry 3-4 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the coating is beginning to turn golden. Set aside on a drying rack or paper towel lined plate to drain.
- As you dredge the pork pieces, the flour mixture in the tupperware will begin to clump. Adding more of the flour mixture through the dredging process will help mitigate that clumping. After the first third of the pork pieces is dredged, add another third of the flour. Beat another egg into the egg tupperware as well. Repeat this step when you get to the final third of the pork pieces. Note: if you don't have lidded tupperware dishes available, you can use two wide bowls and dredge the pork the old fashioned way (flipping it around in the flour and egg mixture with forks or your hands).
- The Stir-Fry
- Note: If you stir-fry more than 30 minutes after frying the pork, consider frying the pork 2-3 minutes the first time, and then frying a second time for another 1-2 minutes right before stir-frying. This will keep it nice and crispy.
- Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 Tbsp water with a fork in a small bowl. Be sure to break up the clumps.
- I recommend stir-frying this dish in thirds. Repeat the below steps three times.
- Add 1 Tbsp of the vegetable oil to a ripping hot wok or tall-edged pan. Add a third of the peppers and onions and cook for 1 minute – until the onions just begin to get a little translucent.
- Add a third of the sauce and pineapple chunks and bring to a boil. Stir in a third of the cornstarch/water slurry. The sauce should thicken right away.
- Test the sauce for salt. If it is too thick or sweet, consider adding 1 Tbsp of additional water at a time to relax the flavors a bit.
- Add a third of the pork pieces and toss to coat them in the sauce. Cook another minute before cutting the heat.
- Serve the pork right away over white or fried rice.
I will admit, this recipe is rather involved. But it makes a lot of food and that earns a lot of points with me.