Susan Jung’s recipe for sweet and sour pork with lychees
The ubiquitous Chinese dish found in most restaurants around the world can be heavy on the ketchup, canned pineapple and white vinegar but good sweet and sour pork is more subtle, says Post Magazine’s food editor
Sweet and sour pork is almost ubiquitous in Chinese restaurants specialising in the various regional cuisines, but the type you are most likely to encounter – at least at the inexpensive places – is heavy on the ketchup, canned pineapple and white vinegar. There’s nothing wrong with that version but it’s not subtle. When it’s good, sweet and sour pork has many balanced flavours. I learned to make it from a fantastic home cook in New York – he was the type who would buy a fresh fish in Chinatown and keep it alive in his bathtub, so he could kill it just before steaming it, and would preserve all types of fruits and vegetables to use in his cooking. His sweet and sour pork used sour plums he pickled himself (I buy mine, though).
Sweet and sour pork with lychees
The season for lychees is ending soon and if you can’t find them in the markets, use fresh pineapple instead; half a medium-sized one is enough. Peel and core the pineapple, then cut it into 1cm chunks. Sprinkle salt over the pineapple and mix, then leave in a colander placed over a bowl for about 30 minutes (the salt draws out the acidity). Rinse the pineapple thoroughly, then taste a small piece to check the salt has been sufficiently washed off; if it still tastes salty, continue to rinse and taste. Dry the pieces well before proceeding, adding the pineapple where you would the lychees in the original recipe.