Sweet and Sour Pork at Home

You know that feeling when you make a meal at home that you love so much you'd even be willing to buy it from yourself?  That's how I feel about the sweet and sour that I make myself. I'd put mine up against any Chinese restaurant in this town.  And, I'm pretty confident I'd win.

I've written about this one before, but it's so good,it bears repeating. Last time I don't think I really told you how to make it so I will this time.  The coolest thing about Asian cuisines is that you don't have to have a lot of meat to work with.  The protein is so nicely accompanied by vegetables and rice that a little goes a long way.  Needless to say, this brings us into the category of budget meals too.

You all may remember that I'm a meat snob. I don't like meat with bones in it or with a bunch of fat & other icky stuff hanging off it.  So, I start with really good, fresh, lean pork.  This could be boneless pork chops or tenderloin.  To me, this is key.  Another aspect of this dish that I love is the true sweet and sour nature of combining onions and bell peppers with pineapple and the sweet sauce.  Just delicious!

So here's what I want you to do.  Cut your pork (about 1/2 lb.) into small, bite-sized pieces.  Gather these things:

• 1 cup flour

• 4 Tbs cornstarch

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• pinch of salt

• 1 Tbs oil 

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  Make a well in the center & add the oil and enough water to make a thick, smooth batter. Using a wooden spoon, stir the ingredients in the well & gradually incorporate flour from the outside. Beat until smooth.

Heat some oil in your wok, dip your pork in the batter and fry about 6 pieces at a time, to keep your oil from cooling off. Drain on paper towels.

 Pour off most of the oil from your wok.  Now add a sliced onion, sliced bell pepper and one can of pineapple chunks (drain them but save the juice for the sauce.)  Stir fry over high until veggies are tender.  Remove & set aside.

 Now, for the sauce: 

• 2 Tbs cornstarch

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• pinch of salt

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar

• 1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

• 6 Tbs ketchup

• 6 Tbs reserved pineapple juice

Mix all these ingredients together and pour into the wok. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring continuously until thickened. Allow to simmer for about 2 minutes until it becomes clear.  

Add the veggies and pork back to the wok and stir to coat completely.  Reheat for about 2 minutes then serve.  It's great over jasmine rice but rice isn't a must.

Of course, you could do this same thing with chicken or shrimp if you wish. The technique with the batter and the sauce is what I think are most important.  I paired ours with egg rolls that I picked up from Sun Ming in Irmo.  

Sun Ming is one of the best Chinese restaurants we have, IMO and their egg rolls remind me of the kind we always had as kids.  Big and fat with bits of pork and shrimp inside.  Not like the ones you get so often today that are nothing but cabbage and shredded celery.  And, don't forget to ask them to give you some of their homemade hot mustard to go with the egg rolls. That garbage in the packet isn't worth the name mustard! 

So, there you have it: homemade sweet and sour pork that will impress your family and your guests.  It's surprisingly easy to whip this up at home and so much better than take-out.  Give it a try; you'll thank yourself for putting forth the effort.

The Best Chinese? Make it Yourself!

I've always found Chinese cooking fascinating. Really and truly I guess this applies to most forms of Asian cookery.  I am a die-hard fan of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean.  But it's not just the plain deliciousness of these cuisines, it's the brilliance of them. 

What I'm referring to is the resourcefulness of this type of cooking.  Think about it.  Let's use the Chinese as the example.  And, I'm not talking about the Americanized Chinese take-out, 24 hour buffet, or mall food court Chinese.  If you've ever read a Chinese cookbook, one thing that stands out is the small amount of each ingredient.  Take fried rice...obviously, you use as much rice as you need to feed the number of people in the family. But, the protein (chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, fish, etc.) is relatively small.  But that's ok, there are then small amounts of various vegetables added next.  This technique likely began and evolved from times when ingredients, money and resources were scarse.  The Chinese figured out that you can make a satisfying, hearty and nutritious main course with a little bit of meat, a little bit of egg, a little bit of cabbage, a little bit of carrot, a little bit of onion, and on and on and on.  The end result is, in this example, a wok full of fried rice packed with veggies, protein and 6 people with full tummies.  Just brilliant.

Today I found myself considering the growing amount of leftovers in my fridge.  I have half a of a pork roast, ham, broccoli, about 1/2 pound of shrimp.  Just those ingredients alone scream some sort of Asian inspired dishes.  So, I popped into Publix for a few staples (a green cabbage, egg roll wrappers, wonton wrappers) so I can use up these fridge inhabitants before they go South on me.  Tonight, it was beef with broccoli (1/2 lb of skirt steak, broccoli, ginger) and shrimp potstickers (my leftover shrimp, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, 5 spice powder and green onion). 

Cute little dumplings waiting to be cooked

 Tomorrow, I'm going to repurpose that pork roast into eggrolls with cabbage, ginger, bamboo shoots & water chestnuts.  The beauty of that plan in that I will have plenty of egg rolls to stash away in the freezer for later!


As a side note, my husband continues to improve from his tonsillectomy from a week ago, so I also used some of the broccoli for a cream of broccoli soup for him.  Not only was he able to eat (and actually taste it!) he went further and ventured into the beef with broccoli and downed some of that too.  Yea!  He's finally able to tolerate eating and getting some fuel into that body.  Good news indeed! 

Far East meets Down South

Here in good ol' S.C., we all rang in the New Year in our traditional way.  Food, drinking, and food.  The food is integral and is pretty much the same for us all. Superstition and tradition dictates it.  Every January 1st, all us South Carolinians (and other Southerners too) cook up some kind of pork (for good luck and wealth), collard greens (for cash), black eyed peas (for coins) and cornbread because, well you know, we like it with just about everything.

So, I chose to do BBQ in the crockpot and cooked my peas and collards low and slow for most of the afternoon.  Mom and Dad came over and we all feasted.  It was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!  And today, we are fortunate to have lots of tasty leftovers to not only reheat and enjoy again, but to experiment with and reinvent!

Neil and I got the idea in our heads to go the route of the eggroll.  And, I'm so glad this thought crossed our minds.  

First, I made one with just collard greens inside.  Super.  Then, I added a little cream cheese to make the filling just a little more silky.  Good idea.  Next, we added black eyed peas to the mix.  Still going strong.  And lastly, I put some of the BBQ inside with the others.  Neil ate three of these.  And gave me a thumbs up. And, the little one ate one as well and proclaimed that it was "fantastic!  Keep up the good work, Mommy!" as she slapped me on the fanny.

I'm so glad we tried this.  It really worked! It sounds a little far out, but trust me, it works well.  Tomorrow, I'm using some more of the black eyeds for some pea cakes.  Maybe with a big ol' salad.  Or maybe with more BBQ...it was awfully good too!

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Green Curry...No Worry!

I mentioned on Facebook the other day that Neil found an Asian mega-market on his weekly trip to Atlanta.  I'm not exactly sure how long he was in that place, but I received many-an-iPhone pic that day as he explored.  Tables piled high with fresh ginger, noodles a-plenty, every curry paste known to man and wacky ass fruits that none of us know what to do with!  While the pictures were plentiful, they didn't even make a dent into all the stuff he brought home! 

This isn't even all of it; we've already been tapping into the supply!

 Tonight, I worked until 7:00 so when I arrived home, Chef Neilix had already sprung into action.  Prep was done, sauce was made, house was smelling divine...ready to whip up some homemade green curry!  He used the remainder of the fresh shrimp we had in the fridge, some chicken breast and some thinly sliced steak.  Then, he prepared sliced zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, chopped water chestnuts, baby corn, peas, chopped carrots and onions.  Next, he prepared a green curry sauce using green curry paste (duh), coconut milk and I'm not sure what else...I'd ask him but he's tucking in the little beetlebug at the  moment!  :-)

So, as I arrived, he cooked up some thin rice noodles, stir fried the veggies and meats, tossed it all together with the sauce and there it is folks, magic on a plate! 

Variety of meats and tons of veggies

[Side note: for the Vivver, he omitted the curry sauce altogether and just stir fried her proteins and veggies in soy sauce.  Of course, know-it-all-Mommy insisted that she try the curry sauce on her finger because I wasn't convinced that she'd find it spicy.  Suffice it to say I was wrong on that point.  Ok, live and learn. At least she tried it!] 

The green curry was a wonderful success!  To round it out, Neil served it with veggie egg rolls that we find in the fridge case in the Publix's deli area.  They are made by Amy Food and for a store-bought egg roll, we think they are pretty darn good.  If you find them in your store, you may want to give them a shot if you don't have time to make your own.  Bake them and they are delicious.   


P.S.  Wacky ass fruits with Chinese writing on them: Vivian and I are giving the Asian pear and "bread fruit" an emphatic double thumbs down.  The pear was just a mild, bland and crunchier-than-we're-used-to variety that just didn't do it for either of us.  The bread fruit...avoid this anomaly at all costs!  I just don't even know how to describe it.  Brown and lumpy like a shriveled up coconut, dry and spongy on the inside.  Just believe me...no bueno on this one.