A Sweeter Surrender: Sweet and Sour Pork

At first, when I looked at this savory sweet and sour pork dish (Gulaorou) of Chinese cuisine, I cannot bare to wait any longer but to have a precious bite. Then, I craved more. The sauce was truly magnificent for my hungry urge.

Two ingredients must be present in this delicious Gulaorou to achieve balance of the dish - shaoxingjiu (Chinese rice wine) and koikuchi (Japanese dark color soy sauce).

Gulaorou (sweet and sour pork)

150g porkloin, 1.5cm cubed, bite size

Marinade:
1tsp koikuchi, Japanese soy sauce
1T shaoxingjiu, Chinese rice wine
1 1/2tsp ginger juice
1/8tsp black pepper
1tsp potato starch
1 1/2tsp vegetable oil

Coating:
3T water
1 tsp potato starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
3T flour

60ml vegetable oil

Veggies:
2 pcs small green bell pepper, 1.5cm cubed, bite size
1/2 pc medium onion white, 1.5cm cubed, bite size
1/2pc medium carrot, 1.5cm cubed, bite size
50g pineapple chunks, bite size

500ml vegetable oil

Sauce:
1 1/2T koikuchi soy sauce
3T sugar
3T rice vinegar
1 1.2T ketchup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2T potato starch, diluted in 1T water
1tsp vegetable oil

salt, to taste

Methods:

In a small bowl, marinate pork with soy sauce, rice wine, ginger juice and black pepper for 15minutes. Mix in potato starch and oil. Stir fry veggies in high heat until cooked in a pan and set aside. In another bowl, put all coating items and mix. Set the same pan over low heat, coat meat and quickly drop into the oil for deep frying. Cook until done. Put all sauce ingredients to a larger pan. Bring the mixture to boil, add the meat and the veggies. Stir. Season to taste. Serve