Sweet & Sour Pork

One of my favorite dish at Zi Char store, and now it has become a regular family dish at my table :)

I always wonder how did the store make the pork so sweet, so succulent, so yummy... whilst those that I have tried at home just couldn't make it! I tried with those from the Supermarket labelled "sweet & sour pork", but failed. It turned out... ermmm... just not there -- not as tender as I would like it. Then I decided to experiment with a different type of pork - Pork Fillet and diced them for this dish.

Viola! I got it right!!!! So proud of myself!

Pork Fillet (aka yao1 rou4)... according to my Mom, is the best part of the pig. It's the most tender of all; so far, she has been right (how could I ever doubt her?!). I love pork fillet fried with sliced ginger and garlic with sesame oil -- one of those regular confinement dish.

PF is so versatile! I simply love it *wink*


Ingredients:

Pork Fillet (cubed; about 2cm)
A>> Sesame oil
A>> Soya sauce
A>> Dash of pepper
A>> Corn starch
A>> Plain flour
A>> 1 egg
Onion (cut to chunks)
Garlic
Red, Yellow & Green peppers (cut to chunks)
1 soup spoon Tomato ketchup
Water
Sugar to taste


Here's what I did:

1. Season cubed pork fillet with A. The end mixture with the inclusion of the egg should be rather wet and starchy. When you lift up a piece of pork, the flour mixture should be nicely coated onto it.

2. Deep fry the pork till golden brown. Set aside.

3. In a wok, heat up oil, fry garlic and onion till fragrant.

4. Add in red, yellow and green peppers. Fry till fragrant.

5. In a separate bowl, add water to tomato ketchup (ratio 2 to 1) and add sugar to taste. Pour mixture into wok and stir.

6. Add in fried pork and mix them together till well coated with sauce. Add in water as required to reach the right consistency -- slightly thick sauce.

7. Serve.



psst psst...
* My friend asked if I can (kindly) include the proportion of my ingredient on the blog. For an amateur like herself, that will be most useful. I know I know... but the thing with me is, I cook and marinate my dish according to my 'gut feeling'. I don't have strict measurement to follow. Believe me or not, I never taste my dish before serving. They are based on judgement. But ok, ok... I will try to make notes next time.
* Zi char store surely did not use PF ok. Their trick is to use baking soda while marinating the meat to make them tender and soft. For my home cooking, I simply change the meat, else use baking soda.

......