Pronounced as “gu lou yuk” in Cantonese dialect (咕嚕肉 in Mandarin), this ubiquitous Cantonese dish is extremely popular in Chinese restaurant or takeaway. For health-conscious, you can substitute the traditional pork belly with leaner pork (pork fillet or pork tenderloin) as this recipe do.
To strike a balance of sweet and sour tastes, you have to ensure that these contrasting flavors perfectly harmonized - the pleasant sweetness from sugar and pineapple and the sourness of tomato ketchup, rice vinegar, plum sauce and Worcestershire Sauce. If both flavors complemented well, then you have captured the spirit of sweet and sour sauce! I have tried cooking few versions of sweet and sour pork and whilst most of them were decent, none of them rocked my world until I bumped into this recipe from Rasa Malaysia. I reckon the secret lies in the gooey batter to bring out a crunchy-bite of pork slices as well as the addition of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and plum sauce. It may be attributed to the sweet and sour taste of tamarind flavor in Worcestershire sauce which sets apart from most sauces. I have tried a version of recipe calling for lemon juice but the completed dish did not have an authentic flavor reminisces of those from restaurant. Whilst tamarind taste is too strong to be used, Worcestershire sauce made a perfect candidate to bring out the spirit of this sweet and sour dish.
So recreate your own takeaway menu by serving this sweet and sour pork, it's bound to impress.
Ingredients :
500g pork tenderloin (or pork fillet), cut into bite-size pieces1/4 green capsicum (green bell pepper), cored, deseeded and cut into 1 inch squares
1/4 red capsicum (red bell pepper), cored, deseeded and cut into 1 inch squares
1/4 yellow capsicum (yellow bell pepper), cored, deseeded and cut into 1 inch squares
A handful of fresh pineapples cut or 4 pcs of canned pineapple ring (cut into small pieces)
1 onion, quartered
1/4 cucumber, sliced
2 stalks scallions (aka spring onions) (only use the lower white portion, cut into 2 inch length)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Oil for deep-frying
Marinade :
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine
1/2 tsp corn flour
Frying Batter :
1/2 cup water
2 oz. general purpose flour
1 oz. corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 egg
1 tsp cooking oil
A pinch of salt
Sweet and sour sauce mixture :
1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp plum sauce
1/8 tsp Chinese rice vinegar
1/2 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp water
Method :
1. Slice the pork tenderloin (or pork fillet) into bite-size pieces and marinate with soy sauce, rice wine and corn flour, let it stands for 30 minutes. While marinating, prepare the sweet and sour sauce mixture, set aside for later use.
2. To prepare frying batter, strain the dry ingredients of the frying batter and then add in the beaten egg, water and cooking oil to form a thick batter. Stir until it achieves a smooth homogeneous consistency.
3. When the marinated pork slices are ready, dip the pork cubes into the batter and coat each pieces evenly. Half-fill a deep skillet for deep-frying. Once the oil turns hot, deep fry the coated pork cubes until golden crispy. Dish up and drain on kitchen paper towels. Remove the oil used for deep-frying and clean the skillet.
Golden Crispy Pork Cubes after Deep-fried
4. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in the skillet. Saute the minced garlic, then add in onions and saute until onions turn translucent. At this point, add in the sliced cucumber, all capsicums slices (bell peppers) and pineapple pieces. Stir fry for 3 minutes. Then when the aromas start to exude, pour in sweet and sour sauce, make a quick stir to toss well. Return the pre-fried pork cubes to the skillet to mingle well with the sauce. Add in scallions, stir briskly and dish up. Best served hot with steamed fluffy rice.
Wow thanks for sharing so many Chinese dish recipes.
ReplyDeleteReally helps a lot! :D