Sweet and Sour Pork

Serves 3

The ever popular Cantonese sweet and sour pork has ruled Chinese restaurants and takeaways worldwide for generations. This much loved Chinese dish is rather easy to put together and requires just a handful of ingredients. The secret to this luscious sweet and sour dish is the right balance of sugar, tomato sauce and vinegar, along with perfectly crispy pork tenderloin. Get the sauce and the fried pork right, and you have conquered this beautiful dish.

For wok cooking tips and tricks, check out my blog on how to season your wok right!

Ingredients

PORK MARINADE:

250g pork tenderloin (or pork belly)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

sprinkle of five spice powder

sprinkle of white pepper powder

1 tablespoon corn-starch

¼ teaspoon baking soda

egg white for 1/2 large egg

FLOUR MIX:

50g plain flour

50g corn starch

¼ teaspoon salt

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vegetable vinegar

1/4 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons plum sauce

1 tablespoon grated ginger, juice only

1 tablespoon corn starch

3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1-3 tablespoons sugar, to taste

FOR STIR FRYING:

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, cut into large cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into large cubes (replace with large red chilies for spicy flavor)

1 green bell pepper, cut into large cube

1/2 large pineapple, cored and cut into large cubes

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 spring onion, cut into match sticks

rice bran or coconut or vegetable oil, for fryin

Recipe

1Cut the pork into half-inch cubes. Marinate it with soy sauce, five spice powder, white pepper, corn-starch, baking soda and egg white. Refrigerate overnight. Bring it back to room temperature before cooking.

2Whisk together ingredients for flour mix. Add marinated pork into the flour mix - stir well and press pork into the flour to coat all over.

3In a small saucepan or wok, on medium flame heat 1-2 inches of coconut oil (or any vegetable oil) until hot and shimmering (350ºF or 175ºC). Drop in pork, a few pieces at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden, then drain on paper towels. Fry the rest of the pork the same way and set aside for 5 minutes on paper towels.

4If you’d like your pork to be extra-crispy, deep-fry it one more time on high heat, for 1-2 minutes until crispy golden-brown all over. Drain on paper towels.

5To make sweet and sour sauce, in a small saucepan place ketchup, vinegar, chicken stock, plum sauce, ginger juice, corn starch, salt and sugar. Cook it on medium heat. Keep stirring in case it sticks to the bottom of the pan. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat and cook on low flame until slightly thick and luscious. Adjust salt and sugar at this point. Set aside

6Heat a wok on medium to high flame. Add a tablespoon of oil and swirl around. Add minced garlic and onion - fry for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.

7Add chopped peppers, and pineapple - stir-fry for about 3 minutes, and then add pork followed by sauce. Sprinkle white pepper. Stir to coat well. Garnish with spring onion greens. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Wok Cooking Tips

1Invest in a good cast iron wok if you do any amount of Chinese cooking. Woks are practically indestructible - a good wok will last you a lifetime.

2Use an oil with a high smoking point (vegetable, corn, canola, sunflower, coconut oil etc.) Always heat up the wok first, then add oil so it doesn’t disintegrate.

3Don’t double the recipe. Smaller portions are better. If you want to make more food, it’s better to not just double the quantities for a stir-fry. If you try to stir-fry too much food, you won’t get that searing heat, and you will end up steaming your ingredients rather than browning them.

4If you have ingredients that cook at different rates, do them separately and incorporate them at the end and they’ll both be perfect. For example, say you’ve got some crunchy vegetable and some slices of pork or chicken. You want the chicken to be really succulent, not dry. Begin by stir-frying your slivers of pork or chicken until they’re just right. Take them out and put them in a dish. Then cook the vegetables, and when they’re just right, you put the pork or chicken back in the pan. That way, you don’t get the situation where something is raw and something else is overcooked.

Seasoning your wok right guide: kitchen-essential-tips-tricks-hacks

For more delicious recipes, check out our upcoming hands-on cooking classes in Downtown Singapore.
Click here for more details.

Upcoming Cooking Classes