Rons Sweet 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:

• Add the marinade ingredients to the pork, and mix everything together until there is no visible liquid. Set aside for 30 minutes.
• Next, make the sauce. Add 1 teaspoon of oil, ginger slices, and star anise to a small saucepan over medium heat, and cook until the ginger starts to caramelize (about 1 minute). Next, add the ketchup. When that starts to sizzle, stir constantly until the ketchup starts to caramelize (about 2 minutes). Take care not to burn the aromatics and ketchup--this step is essential to give the sauce a deeper, more complex flavor.
• Next, add the white vinegar, sugar, and the juice from the canned pineapple. Stir until the mixture starts to simmer, and the sugar is dissolved. Turn to the lowest heat and let the sauce simmer and reduce until the sauce just starts to coat a spoon (about 30 minutes). The sauce needs this time for the flavors to meld. The sauce can be cooled and stored at this time, and you can double or triple the amount and store the sauce away in the refrigerator for future meals.
• Heat 3 cups of oil to 350F in a small pot for frying. Using a small pot and frying in batches leaves you with less leftover oil to deal with. Always let the oil cool completely and use a fine mesh strainer to strain the oil before storing in the refrigerator.
• Mix together the dredging ingredients (flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper) in a shallow dish. Dredge the pork pieces in the flour mixture, dip into the egg, and then dredge with the flour again.
• Fry the pieces in batches for about 2 to 3 minutes, or when they just start to get golden brown. Remove them from the oil and transfer to a sheet pan with a slotted spoon or spider.
• Once you're ready to combine everything, refry the pork in batches to crisp up the coating. That's right, they're going to fry for a second time--this prevents the pork from getting too soggy when added to the sauce.
• To a clean wok, add 1 tablespoon oil, the bell peppers, and onions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, and add the sauce and the pineapple. Bring the mixture to a simmer to further thicken the sauce. At this time, you will likely need to add some cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce further. Add half first and stir for 15 seconds; then decide if you need more. Remember the sauce will thicken more as it cools in the plate, so add only as much as you need.
• I have to add another note to this recipe that this sauce is very sweet and very pungent! So at this point, you must taste the sauce and add water to it if it is too strong and by that, I mean too sweet or too sour. Once you have it adjusted to your taste and the desired thickness, especially if you added more water, then go ahead to the next step and add the pork.
• Next, add your crispy pork to the sauce, and toss until the pieces are well-coated. Serve immediately!

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.

AUTHENTIC SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Steps:

• Pound pork to 1/3-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Slice into 1 1/2-inch strips.
• Combine pork strips, rice wine, 1/3 teaspoon salt, and monosodium glutamate in a bowl. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Mix remaining 1/3 teaspoon salt, chicken stock, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in a bowl to make sauce.
• Beat eggs with remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Add pork strips; stir to coat.
• Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan to 280 degrees F (140 degrees C). Add pork strips one at a time to the hot oil. Cook until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon.
• Heat oil to 340 degrees F (170 degrees C). Return pork to the hot oil. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate with the slotted spoon.
• Drain all but 2 tablespoons oil from the wok. Cook and stir garlic and ginger in the hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sauce and spring onions; cook and stir until sauce begins to thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour sauce over the pork on the serving plate.