Mmmm, I love it when food is colorful and full of flavors. . . especially when the flavors are contradictory, like Sweet AND Sour! Just add pork to the mix and sweet and sour becomes scandalous to the taste buds and pleasing to the appetite. This recipe is one of my favorites and you’ll love it too! It’s a bit of work and more dishes than I usually dirty for one meal, but well worth it. Just look at this stack of veggies and wipe the saliva off your chin.
Sweet and Sour Pork
Step ONE (the pork):
1 pound pork
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. flour
1 egg white
pinch of salt
oil (for frying)
Cut up the pork into manageable pieces. (I used pieces roughly 1/2 inch thick and 2-3 inches long.) Heat enough oil in a pan or Wok so that it’s about 1 inch high for frying. In another bowl combine the pork and all other ingredients listed above. Once the pork is coated fairly well place the pieces into the oil and fry until pork is cooked through (slightly browned). Once this is done I place the pork in a colander in the sink so it’s out of the way and dripping off excess oils.
Step TWO (the sauce):
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstartch
1/3 cup vinegar
2/3 cup water
In a small saucepan, over medium heat, pour in the water and vinegar and whisk in the sugar and cornstarch. Continue to whisk constantly until the sauce is thickened and then remove from heat and set aside.
Step THREE (the produce):
3 Tbsp. oil (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 carrots cut into long pieces (apx 6 carrot wedges per carrot)
1/2 green pepper AND 1/2 a red pepper cut into long strips
1/2 cucumber cubed bite-sized pieces
Clean out the frying pan or Wok that your cooked your pork in (It makes dishes a little less daunting when your recycle:) Heat the oil and then saute the veggies for approximately 3-5 minutes depending on how hot you have it. You want the veggies to be slightly fried, but NOT mushy, crispy is good. Do not overcook!
The Finale! (Voila and Mmmm)
1 cup pineapple
4 Tbsp. ketchup
In a large bowl combine the pork, produce, pineapple, and ketchup. Be sure the ketchup is thoroughly mixed in and then serve hot over rice!
P.S. I hate it when recipes only use 1/2 of produce, because I never know what to do with the rest, and often veggies go to waste. SO, I’ve solved that problem with airtight freezer bags. Woohoo. I now have a tightly sealed bag in the freezer labeled “Sweet and Sour Pork veggies”, pre-cut and ready to go the next time I want some of this goodness.