I had a desire for some Chinese food the other day, so I made some sweet and sour pork. Chinese is one of those foods that seem to have a million ingredients in them, but as you make it you realize that it was not that bad after all, plus the benefits of making it yourself, is that you keep all of the preseratives out of the equation. Now if you dont want to make the sauce you can buy a bottled sweet and sour sauce instead.
For this recipe we need:
- 1# pork, I used the country ribs and cut them into 1″ chunks
- 3 ribs of celery, sliced
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced thin
- 2 green peppers, cut in half, seeded and sliced
- 1/2 c cornstarch
- 4 T. flour
- 2 t. sugar
- 1/2t. baking soda
- 6 T. water
- 2 eggs, beaten
- oil for frying
- 6 T. brown sugar
- 4 T. cornstarch
- 1 t. chicken base or bouillon
- 1 c water
- 6 T rice wine vinegar
- 4 T. ketchup
- 4 t.soy sauce
- 6 T pineapple juice
In a bowl combine the 1/2 c cornstarch, flour, sugar, baking soda, 6 T water, and egg mix well and then add your cut up pork. Meanwhile, heat the oil for frying, you can use a deep fryer or a skillet, just make sure that it is 2-3 inches deep. Fry battered pieces a little at a time, never crowding the pan, so they cook quickly and evenly, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes at a time. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Continue cooking in batches until it is all done.
In a saucepan combine brown sugar, 4T cornstarch, 1 c water, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and pineapple juice, cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, about 5 minutes and then just keep warm.
Heat 2 T oil in a wok or skillet or even an electric frying pan. Add carrots, and cook for a minute, and then add your green pepper, celery and onion and cook this for about 3 minutes next add your cooked pork back in and heat up and then pour your warmed sweet and sour sauce into the pan and mix it all up, and serve over a bed of rice.
Serves 4
This is a dish that you could serve on a platter and pass, because it is so pretty. You can also add 2 cups of drained pineapple chunks in with vegetables, I did not because my husband does not like cooked pineapple.
If you have a gluten sensitivity you could use just cornstarch in your breading process and eliminate the flour, just double the amount.
Natilie Cavnar is a cooking fanatic who loves to try new recipes, and create some of her own, ask her what you want at thenormalchef@gmail.com.
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