Culture

My SO repeatedly went out for takeaway over the summer break when he was too tired to cook from work. The ridiculous thing is that every time he would get exactly the same thing, from the same place: Sweet and Sour Pork. Seriously, the restaurant probably knows it’s him by his voice when he rings to place his order. 

Hoping to make him more self-sufficient, save him from heart disease from too much grease, and add more vegetables to the meal, I made this recipe for him. It’s really easy to make from scratch and, for how much you make, it’s so much cheaper than ordering out.

What you need:

• 500-800g pork tenderloin or sirloin
• 1 onion, thin sliced
• 1 carrot, thin sliced
• 1 red pepper, thin sliced
• 1 can of pineapple chunks in juice (save the juice)

Batter

• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup Asian Cooking Wine
• Pinch of Salt
• 8 tablespoons cornstarch

Sweet & Sour Sauce

• Juice from can of pineapple 
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt 
• 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce
• 4 tablespoons of vinegar
• 1 Tablespoons corn-starch

Here's how:

1. Cut meat into thin slices around 1 inch long and 0.8cm thick.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the batter ingredients until smooth, then soak pork pieces in batter, coating each piece. Leave to sit while you make the sweet and sour sauce.
3. In a separate bowl, make the sauce by whisking all the sauce ingredients together until smooth.
4. In a large wok on low heat, heat oil and shallow fry pork, placing pork in the oil one piece at a time, and frying them in small batches, so that they don’t cook and stick together. Take pork pieces out of oil once the outside is golden and crisp.
5. Once all the pork done, drain some oil from the wok, leaving enough to stir fry onion, carrot and pepper.
6. Once veggies are cooked, add sweet and sour sauce to the wok (and, if desired, the pineapple chunks). Stir to thicken and ensure there are no clumps of cornflour
7. Once sauce has thickened, add fried pork pieces to coat them in sauce and to reach desired temperature.
8. Serve with rice.