Sweet and sour pork - general principles of preparation
Sweet and sour pork is a traditional Chinese dish. Despite the racy and exotic nature of the food unusual for us, it is prepared quite simply and does not require special professional culinary skills. It usually takes no more than twenty to forty minutes to prepare it, and the result is simply excellent.
The secret lies in the sauce, it is from its preparation that the taste and aroma of the whole dish will depend. According to culinary traditions, it should be sweet and sour, and spicy at the same time. But all, of course, in moderation! For the sweet component, fruits, sweet vegetables, honey, granulated sugar are most often used. An acidic environment is created using apple cider vinegar, wine, natural lemon juice, citric acid, soy sauce.
To thicken the sweet and sour base, starch is used. Tender pork, previously fried in a large amount of vegetable oil for 1-3 minutes (no more, otherwise the meat will eventually be hard and dry), stewed directly in the sauce, which gives it an original piquant taste. It is customary to serve pasta, rice or boiled potatoes for a side dish to such pork.
Sweet and sour pork - product preparation
Surely every housewife knows that the meat of a young animal, which has a characteristic light pink color with a minimum number of white layers, has the best taste. It is this kind of pork that is best for preparing an exotic dish.
Rinse the meat thoroughly with a large piece (if it is frozen, thaw it gently, at room temperature, not laying in hot water) in running water, then cut across the fibers in small cubes. As for the other ingredients that will complement the dish besides pork, they should also be cut into cubes. All solid components used should be cut into approximately equal pieces.
Sweet and sour pork - cooking utensils
So, as we have already found out, pieces of pork must be fried before stewing in sauce. Dishes for these purposes should be used with thick walls and the bottom. The ideal option is a cast-iron frying pan. It heats slowly and evenly, so that all the pieces are well fried. In principle, any metal form suitable for frying can be used. In addition, according to some recipes, vegetables must be boiled, so stock up on a deep pan.
Also, prepare in advance a deep bowl for pickling pork, dishes for mixing liquid ingredients and making sauce, a cutting board and a sharp knife.
Sweet and sour pork - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Pork in sweet and sour sauce according to Chinese traditions
We offer you a worthy recipe for cooking pork according to Chinese culinary traditions. It is based on spicy sauce, vegetables and oranges. Prepare food in a large cauldron, and served in a deep dish. Preparation time - no more than 20 minutes, the cooking process will take only 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
- pork fillet 350 gr.
- sunflower oil 350-400 ml
- corn starch three tbsp. l
- chicken broth 150 ml
- vinegar (preferably apple) one and a half tables. spoons
- rice wine 1 tbsp. spoon
- sugar 1 tbsp. l
- ketchup (tomato paste) one tbsp. l
- water 1 teaspoon
- soy sauce 1 table. l
- 1 carrot
- half an orange
- green onions - one fourth of the bunch
- sweet pepper 1 pc.
- one chicken egg
Cooking method:
1. Dice pork, put in a bowl, add soy sauce and wine. Mix everything, leave to marinate for 20-40 minutes.
2. Cut the carrots into cubes, place in boiling water, cook for 3-5 minutes. Then we recline on a sieve, colander.
3. Beat the egg with starch. Place the pickled meat in the egg-starch mixture, shake well so that all the pieces of pork are covered with the mixture.
4. Fry the meat in hot oil for two to three minutes, then put the pieces on a paper towel. Shake the broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and ketchup in a separate bowl. We put the mixture on fire, bring to a boil. We spread the vegetables, cut into cubes, into the base, mix.
5. We dilute starch in water, pour it into vegetables and bring it to a boil again. We reduce the fire, add meat and orange slices, warm the dish, not bringing to a boil, and remove from the stove.
Recipe 2: Pork in sweet and sour sauce with pineapple
The dish is very popular not only in China, but also in the vastness of our vast country. It is served in almost every Chinese restaurant and is a very expensive treat. Cooking at home will be much cheaper, so get all the necessary products and surprise your family with an original dish. Households will certainly appreciate your efforts!
Ingredients:
- 500 gr. pork
- soy sauce 100 gr.
- canned pineapples 300 gr.
- table. a / c flour flour
- one art. l starch
- ketchup 4 tbsp. spoons
- apple cider vinegar 2 tsp
- granulated sugar 40 gr.
- greens to choose from
- salt, pepper, oil grows. for frying
Cooking method:
1. Standardly chop the pork, pour the pieces with soy sauce, add flour and starch. Mix, pickle for ten minutes.
2. While the pork is pickled, fry the pineapples in a large amount of oil. Then in the same fat base, fry the pickled pieces of meat.
3. Stir vinegar, ketchup, granulated sugar. Pour the resulting mixture into the meat in a pan, add pineapples, mix everything and simmer for fifteen minutes. You can add a little pineapple syrup.
We spread our pork with pineapples in a deep dish, sprinkle with chopped herbs and get the sticks. The dish is ready!
Recipe 3: Pork in sweet and sour sauce with vegetables and mushrooms
Pork, mushrooms, vegetables, spices and sweet and sour base - seemingly incompatible components, is not it? But in this dish everything is so harmoniously selected that you’ll just lick your fingers. Try to cook a gourmet meal without spending too much time.
Ingredients:
- pork 500 gr.
- ginger root (5-6 cm slice)
- soy sauce one table. l
- starch 3 tbsp. spoons
- vegetable oil
Sauce Ingredients:
- a small onion head
- small carrots 1 pc.
- 4-6 champignons
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 sweet pepper
- a few slices of fresh pineapple (canned and canned)
- ketchup 1-2 tablespoons
- sugar four tbsp. l
- soy sauce two tablespoons
- water 1 glass
- 2 tbsp. l apple vinegar
- starch 1 tbsp. l
- 1 tea salt. l
Cooking method:
1. Prepare the marinade: we rub the root of ginger, squeeze the juice through cheesecloth, and throw out the cake, add soy sauce to the juice. Pieces of pork are cut into cubes, mixed with marinade and left for 30-40 minutes.
2. Then sprinkle the pickled pieces with starch, mix. We heat the oil, spread the pieces of pork, fry over high heat (a layer of oil - at least 2-3 cm).
3. We cut peeled and cooked vegetables and mushrooms in large sizes (mushrooms with slices), fry them separately, stirring vigorously, until cooked. Do not overcook!
4. Add water, ketchup, sugar, soy sauce, salt to the pan with vegetables. Mix, bring to a boil.
5. Dilute the starch in a small amount of water and pour the mixture into boiling sauce. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Then remove the sauce from the stove.
6. Add vinegar (2 tablespoons), slices of pineapple and pork to the sauce. Mix and slightly heat, not bringing to a boil. The delicious dish is ready! Enjoy your meal!
Pork in sweet and sour sauce is not so difficult to cook. And, despite the frightening amount of ingredients, the dish is prepared quickly enough. The main thing is to show a little imagination, desire, love for the culinary art - and you will surely succeed! Try replacing the usual sugar with honey, water with pork broth, experimenting with vegetables, spices and other ingredients, adding a little wine to the sauce, and you will see how your pork dish acquires new flavoring shades that will certainly please others.
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