Sweet & Sour Pork

Luby Luby Luby's Note:

Another great recipe from Emeril Lagasse. Don't let the long list of ingredients deter you. It's a very easy recipe and one that will impress your family and guests. My brother made this recipe first and then told me about it - thanks for the tip!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 1 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (If you don't like spicy reduce)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 lb lean pork, cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons spice essence (Emeril Lagasse's Essence)
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed,seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1/2 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cups cubed pineapple
• 1/4 cup green onion, for garnish
• cooked rice (for serving)

Directions:

1. Season the pork with essence and set aside.
2. Combine the pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, pepper flakes and sesame oil in large bowl.
3. In a large sauce pan heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat.
4. Add the ginger and garlic and saute about 30 seconds.
5. Pour the pineapple juice mixture into the saucepan with the ginger and garlic and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes.
7. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and the sherry, mixing well.
8. Add the cornstarch-sherry mixture to the simmering pineapple juice mixture, stirring constantly.
9. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes then remove from heat.
10. In a large saute pan, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
11. Add the pork stirring and cooking until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
12. Remove pork and drain on paper towels.
13. Return saute pan to medium heat and add remaining tbsp vegetable oil.
14. Add the bell pepper and onion, stirring until soft, about 10 minutes.
15. Add the sauce and bring to a boil.
16. Add the cubed pineapple and pork, cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until pork is tender.
17. Uncover and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.
18. Serve over rice and top with chopped green onions.

Reviews

[Cher Oliver]

yummy! we used stew meat pork that had been trimmed of fat. we brought all the ingredients for the sauce to a boil, minus the vegetable oil and sherry and cornstarch, and then added the meat and let it simmer for like 45 minutes with the lid on and another 5 - 10 without the lid. then added a little cornstarch to thicken it up. it had a very nice flavor.

[Sandy in California]

The sauce for this was amazing! We are vegetarian, so we replaced the pork with firm tofu. I also added some additional vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, portobello mushrooms, carrots). The dish was really pretty because of all of the colors. I cooked the tofu in the pan, set it aside and then started on the vegetables. I cooked the onion and carrots first, then added the broccoli and cauliflower, added a few tablespoons of water and put a lid on it to steam them for about 5 minutes (still a bit crisp). Then I took them out of the pan and put in the mushrooms and bell peppers. After those were soft I added the first set of vegetables back in, then the sauce and then the tofu and pineapple. I did a lot of the prep ahead of time (cut up the veg the night before and made the sauce a few hours ahead of time) so it came together very easily. And it's seriously delicious. I'm very glad there are leftovers. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!

[Chef Bryn]

I'm giving this a full pull with five stars. I've made this several times, and love it. I sub yellow or some other color of pepper besides green, and deep-fry the pork so it's crispy. Thank you for posting this!