Quick & Easy Chinese (22 page)
Read Quick & Easy Chinese Online
Authors: Nancie McDermott
This recipe captures the sparkling flavors of classic sweet-and-sour dishes, without the heaviness and effort of frying battered chunks of pork. You’ll want lots of rice, noodles, couscous, or grains with which to savor the sauce. You can make this with chicken, shrimp, or tofu, adjusting the cooking time according to which protein you choose. The ingredient list looks long, but once you cook the simple sweet-and-sour sauce and stir together the seasonings for the pork, you’ll be just a toss or two away from an extraordinarily delicious and beautiful dish.
2 tablespoons dry sherry or Shaoxing rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
FOR THE SWEET-AND-SOUR SAUCE
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon pineapple juice from canned pineapple chunks, or orange juice
FOR THE PORK
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
¾ cup coarsely chopped red and green bell peppers
½ cup coarsely chopped onion
½ cup canned or fresh pineapple chunks
8 ounces thinly sliced pork
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
SERVES
4
In a small bowl, combine the sherry, soy sauce, and salt and stir well.
To make the sweet and sour sauce: In a small bowl, combine the water and cornstarch, and stir to mix them well. Set aside. Combine the chicken stock, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Stir with a fork or a whisk to combine everything well. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook 1 minute. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook just until the sauce becomes shiny and thickened. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Set a serving platter by the stove, to hold the peppers and onions after their initial cooking, as well as the finished dish.
Heat a wok or a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the ginger and garlic, toss well, and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the bell peppers and onions and cook, tossing often, until fragrant and beginning to wilt. Add the pineapple and cook 1 minute more. Scoop the mixture onto the serving platter, leaving as much liquid behind as possible, and set aside.
Let the pan heat up again, and scatter in the pork. Spread it out into a single layer, and cook undisturbed until the edges change color, about 30 seconds. Toss well and cook, tossing often, until most of the pork is no longer pink.
Add the sherry–soy sauce mixture and toss well. Return the bell pepper mixture to the pan and toss to mix everything together well. Add the sweet-and-sour sauce and cook, tossing often, until all the ingredients are evenly seasoned. Add the green onion and toss again. Transfer to a serving platter and serve hot or warm.
Salty meets smooth in this classic stir-fry combination pairing the richness of pork with the salty counterpoint of fermented black beans. You’ll mix three different seasonings prior to cooking this dish, but once you’ve done that, the dish comes together quickly. We love this with
Egg Flower Soup
(page 38) and lots of rice to capture every bit of irresistible black bean sauce.
3 tablespoons chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons dry sherry or Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ pound thinly sliced pork
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fermented black beans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ cup 2-inch strips green bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
SERVES
4
Combine the chicken stock, sherry, and water in a small bowl, and stir well and set aside. Combine the soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium bowl, and stir to dissolve the cornstarch and sugar. Add the pork, stir well, and set aside for 15 minutes.
Combine the black beans, ginger, and garlic in another small bowl. Stir well to combine into a coarse paste.
Heat a wok or a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add the vegetable oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the pork and spread it out into a single layer. Cook undisturbed until it changes color around the edges, about 30 seconds, then toss. Continue cooking, tossing occasionally, until no longer pink, about 1 minute more.
Add the bell pepper strips and cook, tossing often, until they are shiny and beginning to wilt, about 1 minute. Add the black bean mixture and toss well. Add the chicken stock mixture and cook, tossing occasionally, until the sauce comes to a gentle boil.
When the pork is cooked through, the peppers are tender, and the seasonings combine into a smooth sauce, add the green onion and sesame oil, toss well, and transfer to a serving plate. Serve hot or warm.