River Road Cookbook Sweet And Sour Pork Recipes

Steps:

• Beat the egg and incorporate the 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a medium bowl (one that will accommodate the pork).
• Add the pork and coat the pieces with the egg/cornstarch batter.
• Deep fry in 375 degree Fahrenheit oil in batches to keep the oil up to temperature, until light brown.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Cut peppers into 1/4-inch slivers. Cut slivers in half.
• Drain pineapple. If using sliced pineapples, cut them into tidbits.
• Put the sugar, vinegars, salt and water, or pineapple juice, in a large saucepan (3 to 4 quarts).
• Bring to a boil.
• Add the sliced peppers and boil one minute.
• Mix the 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/2 cup water together.
• Stir the cornstarch/water mixture into the vinegar mixture.
• Simmer about two minues, stirring constantly, until thickened and translucent.
• Add the drained pineapple tidbits and the pork.
• Stir until heated through.
• Serve with steamed rice.

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.