Cantonese Sweet and Sour Crispy Pork
Pork is scored in a crosshatch pattern, battered and fried until crispy, then tossed with bamboo shoots and chili peppers in a sweet and sour sauce.
Ingredients
Skinless half-fat half-lean pork (sliced, scored, and cut into diamond pieces)
300 g
Cooked fresh bamboo shoots (cut into diamond pieces)
150 g
Beaten egg
30 g
Chili pepper (cut into diamond pieces)
25 g
Garlic (minced)
2 cloves
Scallion (cut into segments)
1
Fine salt
1 tsp
Sweet and sour sauce
3 tsp
Sesame oil
3 tsp
Fenjiu (Chinese sorghum liquor)
3 tsp
Wet cornstarch (use 0.5 tbsp for marinating the meat)
1 tbsp
Dry cornstarch (for coating the meat)
1.5 tbsp
Peanut oil
750 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the Ingredients
Wash the pork and slice it into 7 cm thin pieces. Lightly score crosshatch patterns diagonally on the surface, then cut into 2.5 cm wide strips, and diagonally cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Cut the bamboo shoots and chili peppers into diamond-shaped pieces of the same size. Wash the scallion and cut into segments. Peel the garlic and mince it with a knife.
2
Marinating the Meat
Place the meat pieces in a bowl, add the fine salt and Fenjiu, mix well, and marinate for about 15 minutes. Add the beaten egg and 0.5 tbsp of wet cornstarch, stir to combine, then coat the meat evenly with dry cornstarch.
3
Deep Frying
Heat the peanut oil in a wok to about 150°C (medium heat). Add the meat pieces and fry for about 3 minutes, then remove the wok from the heat and let the meat soak-fry for about 2 minutes before lifting it out. Return the wok to the heat; when the oil reaches 150°C again, add the previously fried meat pieces and the bamboo shoots together, and fry for another 2 minutes until golden and cooked through. Pour into a colander to drain off the oil.
4
Making the Sauce
Return the wok to the heat, add the minced garlic and chili pieces, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the scallion and sweet and sour sauce, and bring to a gentle simmer (original text cut off).
