Pork in Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Ingredients

• Egg
• Baking soda
• All-purpose flour
• Ice water
• Salt (optional)
• Pork (cut into small pieces)
• Vegetable oil (for frying)
• Garlic (chopped)
• Bell pepper (chopped)
• Pineapple (chunks)

Steps

1. Prepare the batter: whisk together the egg, a little baking soda, flour, and ice water; add a pinch of salt if desired.
2. Cut the pork into small, irregular pieces.
3. Heat a generous amount of oil in a sauté pan or deep skillet for frying.
4. Dredge the pork pieces first in flour, then dip into the prepared batter, and fry in the hot oil until the meat is browned and cooked through; remove and drain.
5. Make the sweet-and-sour sauce (see subrecipe) and have it ready.
6. In a clean skillet, heat a little oil, add the chopped garlic and fry briefly until aromatic.
7. Add the chopped bell pepper and fry so it is seared but still crisp.
8. Add the pineapple chunks and sauté briefly.
9. Pour the sweet-and-sour sauce over the vegetables; as the liquid evaporates the sauce will thicken — keep on high heat for about 3 minutes until glossy and reduced.
10. Return the fried pork to the skillet, toss everything together to coat with the sauce, and serve.

Sweet-and-sour sauce

• Soy sauce
• Ketchup
• Vinegar
• Sugar
• Water or pineapple juice
• Cornstarch (for thickening)

1. Mix soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sugar and water or pineapple juice until combined.
2. Add a little cornstarch to the mixture to help thicken the sauce; mix until smooth and set aside until needed.