Sweet & Sour Pork (Cantonese Style)

Have you ever wondered how your local Chinese take-out produces your order so quickly? NO, it’s not that everything is pre-cooked, in fact almost everything they sell is made while you wait. The big secret is Chinese cuisine in general is cooked very quickly, sealing in the vitamins, minerals and all the flavour.

Today I’m going to show you how to make what is one of the most popular Chinese Dishes served up here in the west, Yes, it’s that all time favourite ‘Sweet & Sour Pork’. It’s so popular, it has become  the most ordered ordered Chinese Take-Away in Europe. This is an authentic  Cantonese Chinese recipe and I can assure you, will certainly not include that absolutely awful orange, gelatinous gung served up here in every single one of the many Chinese restaurants I have tried since living in Spain.

Ingredients to serve 4 people 

200 ml Vegetable Oil (Not Olive)

300g Pork fillet (tenderloin) cut into 1¾ cm strips about the size of your little finger (not the big round golf ball size things often served up in Chinese take-away’s)
(Note: I personally think fillet is too lean and prefer to use Belly pork, but that’s my preference! My Family were Pork Butchers so I was brought up to believe ‘No Fat, No Flavour’.

1 Medium Onion Sliced

1 Green Pepper de-seeded and sliced

225g Pineapple pieces (tinned is perfect)

1 Small Carrot julienne (cut into thin matchsticks)

For the batter

125g Plain Flour
1-Tablespoon Cornflour
1 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
150 – 175 mls Water
Pinch of Salt

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce 

2 Tablespoons Pineapple Juice (from the tinned pineapple)

2 Tablespoon Sugar (White or Brown)

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce (Light)

1 Tablespoon Tomato Purée

4 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

¾ Tablespoon Cornflour

 Method

For the Batter
Sift Flour; Cornflour and baking powder into a bowl add the oil and enough water to make a thick batter (about 175ml)
Pour the 150mls Oil into the Wok/Pan until quite hot. Dip strips of pork into the batter and fry in small batches until cooked golden and crispy, put to one side and keep warm.

Drain all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the Wok and return to the heat. Add the onion, green pepper, pineapple pieces and carrot, stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, remove from Wok and set aside.

For the Sauce
In a small pan heat the pineapple juice, add the sugar, soy sauce and tomato Purée, stir until the sugar has dissolved; then add the vinegar and finally blend the Cornflour with 3 tablespoons of cold water, add this and continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Now return the pork and vegetables to the wok, add sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes to heat everything thoroughly… Enjoy

PLEASE NOTE:   If your sauce is too thick just add a little water to get the consistency you prefer.

Category: Chinese, Cuisine, Main Courses, Meat, Pork, Recipes, Videos