My Oh So Little Twist On Sweet And Sour Pork Recipes

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Steps:

• Blend cornstarch and soy sauce in small bowl; stir in pork until well coated.
• Brown pork in hot oil in Dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in 1/4 cup water. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir carrots, onion, bell pepper and sweet & sour sauce into pork mixture. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes longer, stirring frequently.
• Add pineapple chunks; cook and stir only until pineapple is heated through.

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Steps:

• Mix Pork with Marinade. Marinade 18 to 24 hours. (See Note 1 for marinating time for other cuts)
• Rack & warm oven: Preheat oven to 80°C/175°F and place rack on tray - to keep pork warm.
• Sauce: Place all Sauce ingredients EXCEPT water in a large jug or small bowl. Mix until combined, then mix in water.
• Be Stir Fry Ready: Have all ingredients lined up, ready to toss in. After Fry #2, things move quickly.
• Coating #1: Mix 5 tablespoons cornflour into the pork and leave for 5 minutes. At first, it will be white from the cornflour, but after a while it will sweat and make the cornflour (mostly / partially) wet, and will be sticky (this is key for coating to stick).
• Coating #2: Spread 1/2 cup cornflour in a shallow bowl. Coat pork, shaking off excess, and pile onto a plate.
• Reserve cornflour in case you need to dust again just prior to frying. Pork should be at least half white when you put it into the oil (if not, just sprinkle with reserved cornflour).
• Heat oil: Pour enough oil into a large saucepan or small pot so it's 2.5cm / 1" deep. Heat to 180°C/350°F (or until pork immediately starts sizzling when you dip it in).
• Fry #1: Cook pork in batches, being sure not to crowd the pot, for 3 minutes until golden. Drain on rack. This step is just to cook the pork. It takes me 4 batches.
• Fry #2: Turn the stove up slightly and heat oil to 200°C/390°F. Starting with the coolest pork, add half the pork (you can crowd the pot) and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, or until pork is deep golden brown and crispy. Transfer to rack, repeat with remaining pork - I do 2 batches.
• Keep warm in oven.
• Heat oil in a very large skillet over high heat.
• Add garlic, ginger and onion, stir for 1 1/2 minutes. Add capsicum and stir for 2 minutes.
• Add Sauce & pinapple, then let it come to a rapid simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes until it thickens - when you drag the spoon across the base, a path should briefly appear (see video at 1 min 53 s).
• 10 second toss: Add pork, then QUICKLY toss to coat - aim for 10 seconds!
• Serve asap! Pour onto serving plate, serve immediately! Will stay crispy for around 5 minutes then starts softening but still has a solid coating. This is just the reality of Sweet and Sour Pork, even at restaurants!

MY OH SO LITTLE TWIST ON SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Steps:

• Blend cornflour with water in a medium-sized bowl until dissolved. Add pork, egg yolks, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt and mix well. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
• Make the sweet and sour sauce. Remove core from pineapple and finely slice into pieces. Using a vegetable peeler, finely slice carrot lengthways into ribbons. Cut cucumber in half lengthways, slice on the diagonal and set aside, together with the pineapple and carrot.
• Place vinegar, wine or sherry, sugar and extra salt in a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and stir over high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, add garlic and ginger, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add reserved pineapple, carrot, cucumber, pepper and tomato and simmer for a further 3 minutes or until pineapple is tender and tomato has broken down slightly. Stir in soy sauce, remove from stove and set aside.
• Make the pork. Combine plain flour and extra cornflour. Add to the marinated pork and mix well. Heat vegetable oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Deep-fry pork in batches over high heat for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium and fry for another 2 minutes, or until pork is almost cooked through.
• Remove from wok and drain on kitchen paper. Gently reheat Sweet and Sour Sauce. Finally, return all pork to the hot wok and deep-fry for a further 3 minutes, or until lightly browned, crispy and cooked through. Remove from wok and drain well on kitchen paper.
• Arrange pork on a platter and serve immediately with a bowl of warm Sweet and Sour Sauce.

HOMEMADE SWEET-AND-SOUR PORK

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup and soy sauce. Pour half into a large resealable plastic bag; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Set remaining marinade aside., Drain and discard marinade from pork. In a large skillet, cook pork in oil for 3 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, green pepper, garlic and ginger; saute until pork is tender. Add reserved marinade. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the pineapple. Serve with rice if desired. Freeze option: Cool pork mixture. Freeze in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through slowly in a covered skillet, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary. Serve over rice.

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Steps:

• Prepare the pork: Combine the pork with all the marinade ingredients, mixing well. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Make the sweet and sour sauce: Heat the oil, ginger and garlic in a medium saucepan over low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute, stirring. Add the rice vinegar, pineapple juice, honey, hawthorn berries, sambal oelek and five-spice powder; stir to combine while bringing to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids; return to the saucepan.
• Reduce the sauce to about 1 ¾ cups over medium-high heat, uncovered, about 5 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt, adding more as desired.
• In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water. Bring the sauce up to a boil again, then stir in the cornstarch slurry. Stir as it thickens and bubbles, about 1 minute, then remove from heat. (Note: This sauce recipe may produce more than needed for your pork stir-fry; use as much as you desire and the rest can be saved for another use, such as a dipping sauce for crab rangoon.)
• Prepare to deep-fry: In a large wok (or deep skillet), heat the quart of oil to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the batter; add ½ cup water and whisk to combine. Drain any excess liquid from the marinated pork and discard. Working quickly in two batches, carefully dip each piece of pork into the batter one at a time, shaking off any excess, and drop into the oil. Fry the first batch of pork until golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer the fried pork to a wire rack-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the remaining pork, mixing the batter thoroughly before coating the meat. After frying, carefully discard the oil, reserving 1 tablespoon.
• Return the reserved 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok or pan and heat over high. Once the oil is popping, about 1 minute, add the bell pepper, onion, pineapple and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly charred in spots.
• Scrape the vegetables into a large bowl and toss with the fried pork and enough sweet and sour sauce to coat (about 1 to 1 ½ cups). Arrange on a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.

EASY SWEET AND SOUR PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Use a sharp knife to make 1/8-inch deep cuts, spaced 1/2 inch apart, into the fatty side of the pork belly. Turn and repeat the cuts, crossing the first set at a 45-degree angle. Transfer into a shallow baking dish that's just large enough to fit the meat.
• Mix salt, brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper for dry rub in a small bowl. Apply it generously to both sides of the meat, sprinkling it on and then pressing it in. Press the sides of the pork belly into the dish to pick up any additional dry rub. End with the fatty side of the pork facing up. Cover the baking dish with foil and place it onto a sheet pan.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until tender when tested with the tip of a knife, about 3 1/2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove from the refrigerator and transfer meat to a cutting board. Cut pork belly into ½-inch slices.
• Prepare glaze: Spoon 2 teaspoons rendered pork fat from the top of the drippings and heat it in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce reduces by about half, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Cook pork belly slices in a dry, nonstick pan over medium-high heat until surface is browned a bit, about 2 minutes per side. Add a couple tablespoons of the pork belly "jelly" from the baking dish and the sweet and sour sauce. Cook until sauce reduces down to a glaze, 2 to 3 more minutes.
• Remove from the heat and serve.