SWEET & SOUR PORK

Sweet & Sour Pork

SWEET & SOUR PORK

#SIAintheKitchen

I grew up eating really crappy Canadian-Chinese food. You know what I’m talking about: beef and broccoli, house special chow mein, wonton soup, house special fried rice… Everything I mentioned there was literally what we’d order on a weekly basis. It was cheap, it was cheerful, they had delivery - can’t really go wrong. The same restaurant still exists to this day that we’d regularly order from, New Lakeview, and I’ve revisited it and my god, is it ever awful. Bland, tasteless cornstarch-thickened sauces…it was not good. But every now and then I do crave a little Manchu Wok so I decided to make some sweet and sour pork.

Now, I haven’t made sweet and sour pork since I had first started cooking, I would say around the age of 12 or 13. But honestly, the recipe hasn’t changed too much. This time, I made sure to marinate the pork beforehand and to use fresh pineapple instead of canned. Everything is actually quite similar but I now omit using green bell peppers because I really hate them. Honestly, it is so simple and easy to make and I probably will make this again…in another 15 years or so.

SWEET & SOUR PORK - serves 4

  • 1 lb stir fry pork (should already be cut up)

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup shaoxing wine

  • 2 cups cornstarch

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil

  • 3 shallots, sliced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 3 assorted bell peppers, diced

  • 1 (16 oz) can of cut baby corn, drained

  • 2/3 cup fresh pineapple, diced

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

  • 1/2 cup ketchup

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup shaoxing wine

  • 1 tbsp cornstarch

  1. In a small bowl, marinate the pork, shaoxing wine and soy sauce. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.

  2. In another small bowl, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, shaoxing wine and cornstarch.

  3. In a large wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Coat the marinated pork pieces in cornstarch and fry up in the wok until fully-cooked about 6 minutes.

  4. Add in the shallots, garlic, baby corn and bell peppers and stir fry for 3 minutes until the pepper are slightly softened but still retain their crunch.

  5. Add in the sweet and sour sauce and pineapples and stir fry until the sauce is thickened. Serve with white rice.

CHINESE, MEATStephanie Siasweet and sour pork, sweet and sour sauce, Chinese recipes, Chinese cooking, weeknight dinner, weeknight meal, quick recipe, easy recipe, Canadian Chinese recipes, sia in the kitchen, siainthekitchenComment