jamie's sweet and sour pork

November 7th, 2010

Sunday night menu planning and this is on the menu for the week. We’ve had it before and its delicious and easy. Its out of one of my favorite cookbooks – Jamie’s Food Revolution. I highly recommend it for simple, tasty meals.

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 c. long-grain or basmati rice
½ lb. pork tenderloin, preferably free-range or organic
1 small red onion
1 red or yellow bell pepper (or ½ of each)
A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves of garlic
½ – 1 fresh red chile, to your taste
a small bunch of fresh cilantro
peanut or vegetable oil
1 heaped teaspoon five-spice powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1x 8-ounce can of pineapple chunks
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

To prepare your stir-fry
Halve the pork tenderloin and cut into ¾ inch cubes. Peel and halve the red onion, then dice into ¾ inch cubes. Halve the bell pepper, seed, and cut into ¾ inch cubes. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Finely slice the chile. Pick the cilantro leaves and put them to one side. Finely chop the cilantro stalks.

To cook your stir-fry
Preheat a wok or large frying pan on high heat and once it’s very, very hot, add a good lug of oil and swirl it around. Add the pork and five-spice powder and toss or stir them around. Cook for a few minutes until browned, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.

Carefully give the wok or pan a quick wipe with a ball of paper towels and return to the heat. When it’s really hot, add 2 good lugs of oil and all the chopped ingredients. Toss or stir everything together and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Let everything cook for 30 to 40 seconds, then add the pineapple chunks with their juice, the browned pork and balsamic vinegar. Season with black pepper and a little more soy sauce, if needed.
Break open a piece of the pork, check it’s cooked through, and remove from the heat. Reduce the sauce to a gravy-like consistency by cooking for a few minutes more.

Entry Filed under: At the stove