咕老肉 Sweet Sour Pork
A classic dish from North East (Dongbei) China, originating in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. It consists of large thinly sliced pieces of pork in potato starch batter, deep-fried twice until crispy. They are then lightly coated in a variation of a sweet and sour sauce, made from freshly prepared syrup and rice vinegar, flavored with ginger and garlic. The batter absorbs the sauce and softens. A Beijing variant has the sauce thin and watery, while the dish as prepared in the North East is often a thicker sauce with some ketchup added to it. However true 咕老肉 Sweet Sour Pork is made with an amber colored sauce due to the fact that it uses caramelized sugar.
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咕老肉 Sweet Sour Pork
A classic dish from North East (Dongbei) China, originating in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. It consists of large thinly sliced pieces of pork in potato starch batter, deep-fried twice until crispy. They are then lightly coated in a variation of a sweet and sour sauce, made from freshly prepared syrup and rice vinegar, flavored with ginger and garlic. The batter absorbs the sauce and softens. A Beijing variant has the sauce thin and watery, while the dish as prepared in the North East is often a thicker sauce with some ketchup added to it. However true 咕老肉 Sweet Sour Pork is made with an amber colored sauce due to the fact that it uses caramelized sugar.
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| Servings |
| 4 |
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Ingredients
Marinade
- 1tablespoon Chinese Xiao Xing wine or dry sherry
- 1teaspoon fresh gingerminced
- 1/2teaspoon salt
Main Ingredients
- 12ounces boneless lean porkcut into 3/4-inch cubes
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1/3cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/3cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4cup ketchup
- 1/4cup water
- 1tablespoon cornstarch
- 2teaspoons soy sauce
- 1teaspoon chili oil
Other Ingredients
- 1 egglightly beaten
- cornstarch for dry-coating
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 3/4cup lychee fruit
- 1 small green bell pepperseeded and cut into 1-inch squares
- 3/4cup pineapple chunks
Instructions
- Combine marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add pork and stir to coat. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and set aside.
- Place egg and cornstarch in separate bowls. Dip pork in egg, then roll in cornstarch, shaking off excess.
- Add oil into wok to a depth of about 2 inches. Over high heat, bring oil to 360’F. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and cook, turning occasionally, for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Lift out and drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a 200’F oven while cooking remaining pork.
- Meanwhile, cook sauce over medium-high heat, stirring until sauce boils and thickens. Stir in lychee, bell pepper, and pineapple. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 minute. Arrange pork on a serving platter, pour sauce over pork. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
From A Wok for All Seasons by Martin Yan. (Doubleday) Copyright 1988 by Yan Can & Company.