sweet & sour pork

I love the sweet and sour pork you buy at the mall food court that is so yummy tasting and well, let's face it, bad for you. It's like crack, especially since they let you fill this gigantic plate for chump change.

Several years ago, we had visitors from Europe and we ate at the mall for lunch one afternoon. They were totally shocked by how much food you can get for the price. MSG, gooey noodles, fried doughy covered meat, saucy dishes, you name it. They polished off their styrofoam plates and then complained about their bellies for the rest of the day. You think that they would have had their fill but they insisted on going back to the food court one more time before they had to take their long flight home. Crack, I tell you, crack.

Though the title says sweet and sour pork, it's not like the stuff you can buy at the mall. Sorry, it's a "healthier" version. And it's pretty tasty though the meat isn't fried and covered with dough. I've also used this recipe with tofu instead of pork too and it works out well.

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sweet & sour porkserves 4

1.5 pounds (almost 700 grams) pork tenderloin or roast, cut into small cubes

1 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup pineapple juice, drained from below
3 tbsp tomato sauce (or ketchup - tee hee)
2 tbsp white vinegar
1-2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

1-2 tbsp sesame or peanut oil
1-2 garlic cloves,minced
1/4 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1 red pepper, diced
8 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained(use above)
1-2 chopped green onions

Add salt and pepper to the pork and panfry it in a hot pan until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

Combine next 5 ingredients. Set aside. Mix 1 tbsp water into cornstarch and set aside.

Saute garlic, ginger and red peppers in peanut or sesame oil for a couple of minutes. Add sauce mixture, bring to a boil and add cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened. Stir in pork and pineapple. Remove from heat, serve over rice and sprinkle with green onions.