Sweet and Sour Pork

{Photo courtesy of rasamalaysia.com)

I can't even tell you how much I love this recipe. It is delicious and the sweet and sour sauce is simple and good. I made this recipe in my advanced cooking class at BYU and it was one of the handful of recipes I added to my personal recipe rotation.

We prepared this recipe during the freezer portion of our class and it is meant to be used with another recipe, Freezer Pork Cubes. The pork cubes take some advance preparation, but once you have a batch on hand, it literally takes 20 minutes to go from freezer to dinner table.

Sweet and Sour Pork

1 container freezer pork cubes

2/3 c. water

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white vinegar

2 Tb soy sauce

1 tsp brown bouquet sauce (I never use this, but I do occasionally splash in some worcestershire) 1 Tb instant chicken bouillon (or you could substitute the bouillon and water for chicken stock, but it may not have the same flavor)

2 Tb corn starch

2 Tb cold water

2 medium tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges or cubed

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces (I've also added red bell pepper)

2 green onions, cut into 1" pieces (or smaller if you dislike onions outside of salsa)

1 can (8 oz) water chestnut slices

1 can (8.5 oz) pineapple chunks, drained

hot, cooked rice (I start the rice in my rice cooker and then make the sweet and sour pork. They finish at the same time. Voila!)

Directions:

Heat freezer pork cubes, 2/3 c water, sugars, vinegar, soy sauce, brown bouquet sauce, and bouillon to boiling in 3 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork is hot, about 10 minutes.

Mix 2 Tb cornstarch and 2 Tb cold water; stir into pork mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, green pepper, onion, pineapple and water chestnuts; stir occasionally until boiling or heated through.

Serve with rice. Don't forget the chopsticks!