The Sweet and Sour Pork (SSP) recipe showdown
Sweet and Sour Pork
Originally uploaded by jalapenocheese
27/365
i don't think i'll have the energy to do something like this again! hahaha! doing a recipe showdown was fun at first, but as the hours lingered, my back started to complain (and i didn't feel like trudging on!). i initially wanted to do three different versions of the recipe, but good thing i didn't. otherwise, i would have been sweet-and-sour-pork'ed out! (not going to eat this for a year!!!!)
i made this at the request of a friend. she wanted me to make this as she is currently learning (and enjoying, i hope!) cooking. i'm all for home-cooking as it's really fun and relaxing, but not so much the clean-up afterwards. anyway, i digress.
i decided to go with a "newer" version from Rasa Malaysia (RM; "newer" meaning this was posted a few years back) and an older version from Irene Kuo's "The Key to Chinese Cooking", which is a highly-regarded Chinese cookbook that came out in the 70s. (i got mine from Amazon.com sometime last year. people think of it as the Chinese version of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".)
i followed the recipes as much as i can. made a mountain of mess in the kitchen with all the cornstarch and all-purpose flour that were called for in the recipes. i also had to deal with oil splatters. ugh.
i felt RM's recipe was easier to make, as it didn't require too much preparation. i felt the frying batter was a tad thick, and made the fried pork pieces look like minature corndogs (but once you stir-fry them with the sauce, they should look more like SSP. hehe). quite simple to follow for a beginner cook, really.
on the other hand, Irene Kuo's recipe had lots of steps but she wrote it quite well, which made it straightforward. i like her sweet and sour sauce recipe as it was pretty easy to make and tasted great too. the fried pork pieces look a lot better than RM's version- they were dredged in a cornflour and all-purpose flour mixture.
onto the taste test! a bit of a tie here. joel liked RM's SSP because it was sweeter but found it a bit dry (he likes it saucy) whilst i liked Irene Kuo's version. i think both recipes are pretty good but if you wanted a quick SSP fix, then I'd go with RM's recipe. if you have the luxury of time and feeling up for a challenge, then Irene Kuo's the way to go. i personally liked Irene Kuo's SS sauce, which you can use pretty much with anything (ie, fish, chicken, etc) and because it didn't call for "unusual" ingredients like plum sauce.
Sweet and Sour Pork
Originally uploaded by jalapenocheese
Sweet and Sour Pork from Rasa Malaysia
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. pork tenderloin (cut into bite size pieces)
1/2 green bell pepper (about 2 oz. and cut into pieces)
1/2 red bell pepper (about 2 oz. and cut into pieces)
2 stalks scallions (only the white part, cut into 2 inch length)
1 piece fresh/canned pineapple ring (cut into small pieces)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
Oil for frying
Marinate:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon corn flour
1/2 teaspoon rice wine
Frying Batter:
1/2 cup water
2 oz. all-purpose flour
1 oz. corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 small pinch of salt
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon plum sauce
1/8 teaspoon Chinese rice vinegar (transparent in color)
1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
Method:
Cut the pork tenderloin into pieces and marinate with the ingredients for 15-20 minutes.
Mix the sweet and sour sauce ingredients well and set aside.
Strain the dry ingredients of the frying batter and then add in the egg, water, and cooking oil to form a thick batter.
When the pork is well-marinated, transfer the pork pieces into the batter and make sure they are well coated. In a deep skillet, add in the cooking oil enough for deep-frying. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the pork pieces until they turn golden brown. Dish out and drain on paper towels.
Heat up a wok and add in some cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir fry until light brown, then follow by the bell peppers and pineapple pieces. Stir fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the peppers and then add in the sweet and sour sauce. As soon as the sauce thickenens, transfer the pork into the wok and stir well with the sauce. Add in the chopped scallions, do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.