Crisp-fried pork with sweet and sour sauce
Instructions:
- Almost a clich. in the world of Chinese restaurants, but there’s no denying that many westerners love this dish. I have tried to reduce its richness by using lean pork and, instead of coating the pork with batter, the marinated pork is dipped in a dry flour mixture. After coating with batter or flour, it is fried twice for optimum crispness.
- 500 g (1 lb) pork fillet or other lean, boneless pork;
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce;
- 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry;
- ½ teaspoon salt;
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper;
- ½ teaspoon five-spice powder;
- 1 egg yolk, beaten;
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil;
- 2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch);
- peanut oil for deep-frying;
- 3 tablespoons plain flour;
- 3 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch), extra;
- 1 small white onion;
- 1 clove garlic, crushed;
- 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger;
- 1 small red capsicum, diced;
- 1 cup diced fresh pineapple or canned pineapple pieces;
- 3 tablespoons diced water chestnuts (optional).
- Sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce;
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry;
- 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup;
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar;
- 2 tablespoons white sugar;
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) water or pineapple juice;
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch);
- 1 tablespoon water;
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil.
- Trim any fat from the pork. Pound the pork all over with the blunt edge of a chopper to tenderise. Cut into 2 cm (¾ in) slices, and the slices into 2 cm (¾ in) cubes. Put the pork into a bowl with the soy sauce, rice wine, salt, pepper and five-spice powder. Mix well. Combine the beaten egg yolk, sesame oil and 2 teaspoons cornflour, pour over the pork and stir to coat the meat. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes or refrigerate for longer.
- Heat a wok, add about 500 ml (16 fl oz/2 cups) oil for deep-frying and heat. Combine the plain flour and cornflour in a bag and shake the pieces of pork until they are coated with the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour and fry the pork in batches for 2 minutes per batch, stirring constantly to keep the pieces from sticking together. Lift out on a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper.
- To make the Sauce, stir together in a small non-reactive saucepan the soy sauce, rice wine, tomato ketchup, vinegar, sugar and water or pineapple juice. Bring to the boil, stirring. Mix the cornflour with cold water until smooth, and stir into the sauce mixture with the sesame oil. Let it boil for 1 minute or until the sauce is thick and clear. Do this ahead if it’s more convenient.
- Peel the onion and cut into quarters, then cut each quarter in half crossways and separate the layers. Heat a wok, add 2 tablespoons peanut oil and stir-fry the onion, garlic, ginger and red capsicum for 2 minutes on high heat. Add to the sauce with the pineapple and water chestnuts and heat through.
- Reheat the oil and fry the pork for a second time on high heat, for 1 minute. Transfer the pork to a serving dish. Spoon over the sauce and serve at once, with steamed rice.
- Note: For those who want a sweet and sour pork as they remember it from their favourite restaurant, coat the pork with batter, made by mixing 1 cup plain flour with 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon peanut oil. Allow batter to stand for 30 minutes. Just before using, fold in the stiffly beaten white of one egg. Dust the pork lightly with cornflour (cornstarch) and shake off any excess. Dip the pork in batter.
- Make sure the oil is hot enough before frying the pork in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan. Drain on absorbent paper. Bring the oil to high heat before the second frying, which should only take 1 minute.