Chinese Sweet And Pungent Pork Recipes

ASIAN SWEET-AND-SOUR PORK

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, salt, ginger and pepper. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Stir juice and vinegar into cornstarch mixture until smooth; set aside., In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry pork in 3 teaspoons oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. In the same pan, stir-fry peppers and onion in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Stir in the pork, pineapple and jelly. , Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice if desired.

SWEET AND PUNGENT PORK

Steps:

• Brown pork on all sides in hot oil. Add chicken broth; cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Add green pepper and pineapple and simmer 10 minutes longer. Mix remaining ingredients, except rice. Add slowly to pork mixture, stirring until thickened. Serve on 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.

HONG KONG SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Steps:

• Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, 2 teaspoons potato starch, sesame oil, and black pepper in a large bowl. Mix the pork into the marinade and turn until all the pork is covered. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the water, vinegar, ketchup, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, 2 teaspoons potato starch, and red food coloring in a separate bowl. Set aside.
• Dip the pork pieces in the beaten egg, then dredge in the 1 cup potato starch. Use your hand to press the starch onto the pork, assuring a consistent coating.
• Heat the peanut oil in a wok over medium-high heat to a temperature of 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Fry the pork pieces in the hot oil until crisp and light brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pork from the oil and drain, keeping the oil hot. Return the drained pork pieces to the hot oil for 30 seconds more. Remove and drain again. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the wok.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of reserved oil in the wok over medium heat. Cook the green bell pepper, cayenne pepper, pineapple, garlic, and green onion in the heated oil for about 5 minutes. Add the sauce and stir until it thickens. Stir in the pork and toss until the pork is coated with sauce. Remove from heat and serve.

CHINESE SWEET AND PUNGENT PORK

Steps:

• Beat the egg; mix flour, salt, and water with it to form thin batter.
• Pour over pork, mix to coat the pieces, then fry them, piece by piece, in deep, hot oil till browned.
• Drain.
• Mix pineapple, green pepper, vinegar, sugar, 3/4 cup water, and molasses.
• Stir until it boils; add tomato.
• Mix cornstarch with the 1/4 cup water and stir into the sauce.
• Cook till thickened.
• Add pork, stir to mix well, and serve at once.