Sweet and Sour Pork, Cantonese Style

Well, more or less Cantonese, of course.

There are a million recipes, but I try to capture the spirit of the dish, choosing what seems most authentic, and, of course, focusing on the ingredients available. My wife and I usually cook together, and she inspires my culinary endeavors. That was the case with Cantonese pork. I remember the silence that followed when the plates were empty. I saw a fanatical gleam in my family’s eyes, then a demand for more. I was pleasantly surprised. So:

1. Finely chop the pork, like for beef stroganoff. I prefer shoulder, but you can use any kind you like. Marinate. The marinade is as follows: soy sauce, grape vinegar (or rice vinegar), finely grated ginger, raw egg, salt, ground pepper, and ice water. Let it marinate—briefly; to speed things up, you can knead it with your hands. Roll everything in starch, preferably cornstarch, but regular starch will do. Use enough starch to ensure there are no empty spaces on the meat.

2. Heat sunflower oil in a saucepan or cast-iron skillet until it bubbles slightly. Fry the meat (rolled in starch) for 2 minutes, in small batches. Remove, reheat the oil, and fry for another 2 minutes, preferably until golden brown, but it’s a matter of taste. This is called the Cantonese way of frying twice. Finally, pat the meat dry with a paper towel.

3. Add generously crushed or finely chopped garlic and ginger, mix with hot pepper and fry in sunflower or sesame oil. Finally, add the onion, frying briefly.

4. Add the vegetables to the mixture: bell peppers (preferably several colors), julienned carrots, a stalk of celery, and ground chili pepper. A word of warning: the celery is essential; it adds a significant portion of the flavor. I’ll add that the Chinese typically use pineapple, which I have serious doubts about. But if you decide it’s more fun, you don’t need to buy fresh; canned will do just fine. Fry the vegetables over high heat, but not for long—2-3 minutes—to preserve their color and texture.

5. Separately prepare the sweet and sour sauce, which usually consists of a mixture of grape (or rice) vinegar, starch, soy sauce, tomato ketchup or paste—a generous amount, so that the dish turns red—as well as “hot chili sauce” (it’s not that hot. In Russia, they add the word “Caucasian,” but it was originally called “Vietnamese”). Next, add sugar—plenty of sugar, a few tablespoons, really. Pour in ice water and heat in a frying pan until thickened, tasting—the sauce should be neither sweet nor sour, but sweet and sour.

6. Add everything—the sauce, vegetables, and meat—to one pan and simmer for a few minutes, stirring well, over low heat. Of course, taste, adding salt if needed. Finally, add the herbs. Cilantro is best, but parsley and green onions will do.

7. Whether you serve boiled rice with this dish is entirely up to you. I highly recommend halved cherry tomatoes, though. The Chinese don’t eat tomatoes, but I’m not exactly Chinese at all, so tomatoes and a little wine are fine.

The question of what and how much is not up to me. The only thing is, there should be more meat than everything else. It’s not vegetables and meat, but meat, vegetables, and sauce. I don’t know my measurements, except for my shoe sizes, and I don’t remember what day it is today. Basically, it’s a matter of timing. That’s how I do it myself. It turns out pretty well either way. It cooks quite quickly, and only seems complicated. The meat, thanks to two short fries in hot, almost boiling oil and a brief simmer, has time to ripen. And of course, it’s very tasty; otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it.