Sweet & Sour Pork / Chicken

Source - Great American Brand Name Recipes Cookbook, Pg 123

Serves - 2 - 4 people when served with rice or other food.

Total Time - 20 - 30 minutes

Ingredients

Batter & Meat

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup cold water
     
  • 1 - 2 Pounds lean boneless pork or chicken
  • A few cups of oil to fry the meat

Sweet & Sour Sauce

  • 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 3 carrots, thinly shredded
  • 1 green pepper, seeded, cored, and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 half of an onion sliced

 

Preparation

For Meat

  1. Cut meat into 1 inch cubes.  Or whatever size you seem to like best.  I like chicken cut into about 1/2" by 1 1/2", and the pork cut into 1" cubes.  Do not make the cubes too large, and be sure to cut off all fat.
  2. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in medium mixing bowl.
  3. Blend in cold water, and add meat.  Stir to coat meat.
  4. Heat wok to 375 degrees, and carefully place half of meat into wok.  Cook for a few minutes until golden brown, take out and place on paper towels.  Cook other half of meat.
  5. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of oil from wok, and prepare sauce below.

For Sauce

  1. Drain can of pineapple chunk juice into bowl.   Set aside the pineapple chunks.
  2. Blend pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl.
  3. Set aside bowl and cook carrots, green peppers, and onions in wok for a few minutes.
  4. Add sauce from bowl of sauce to wok, and let simmer and thicken for a few minutes.

Finishing

  1. Add pineapple chunks and meat to sauce in wok, and let cook until the meat is warm again.
  2. Serve with rice.

 

My Comments

  • This recipe was originally for pork only, but I tried chicken and it tastes great too.
  • You will not get the traditional red colored sweet & sour sauce like you would get in the restaurant.  But you could probably just add some food coloring if you wanted, and it would look the same.
  • How this dish turns how depends on how well you cook the meat.  This will taste MUCH, MUCH better than any sweet and sour pork in a Chinese restaurant if you cook it right.  Sweet & sour pork is my favorite Chinese food, and I have tasted some absolutely horrible sweet & sour pork before, but this dish is fantastic.
  • Do not waste your time buying cheap meat with the bone still in it.  I think I wasted like an hour once taking the bone out and cutting off the fat when I bought some cheap pork.
  • Also, I'm not a huge vegetable fan, so I have left out the vegetables before and it tasted just as good.
  • Update:
    • Try cooking the meat in a big pot of oil instead of a wok, or smaller pan.  It turns out a lot, lot closer to what you would get in the restaurant.  You can also cook the sauce in a separate pan.