This is Ching-He Huang’s super quick and healthier version of the Chinese takeaway favourite sweet and sour pork, from Ching’s Chinese Food in Minutes book.
Ingredients
- 1 egg beaten
- 1tbsp cornflour
- 250 (9oz) pork fillet, cut into 5mm (¼") slices
- Groundnut oil for deep-frying
- 1tbsp freshly grated root ginger
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
- 1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
- 1 x 227g tin of pineapple chunks, sliced and juice retained
- 1tbsp light soy sauce
- 1tbsp clear rice vinegar or cider vinegar
- ½ tsp brown sugar (optional)
- 1tsp cornflour blended with 1tbsp cold water
- Sea salt and ground white pepper
- Egg-fried rice to serve
Method
Put the egg and cornflour into a bowl and mix to create a batter. Place the pork slices in the mixture and season with salt and white pepper.
Heat a wok over a high heat, then fill the wok to one-third of its depth with groundnut oil. Heat until the oil glistens and when a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 secs and floats to the surface.
Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully add the pork to the oil and fry for 3-4 mins until golden brown. Lift out using the spider or spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
Pour the oil from the wok through a sieve into a heatproof container and save for later. Return 1tbsp oil to the wok and heat until smoking, then add the ginger and pepper chunks and quickly stir in to stop the ginger from catching. Stir-fry for 2 mins, then add the pineapple and its juice and bring to the bubble over a high heat. season with soy sauce, vinegar and brown sugar, if using. Then, as the liquid in the wok reduces and boils, add the blended cornflour and stir to thicken.
Return the pork to the wok, stir and toss together well so the pork is covered in the sauce, then serve with Ching’s egg-fried rice.
Top tip for making Ching-He Huang’s sweet and sour pork
Try serving with Ching's egg-fried rice
