Crispy sweet and sour pork – inspired by Barbara's playground

Sweet and sour pork from your own kitchen

Sometimes a good meal doesn't start with a cookbook, but with another blog. That's exactly how it was with this dish. While browsing a food blog Barbara's playground I came across a recipe for sweet and sour pork. Anyone who enjoys cooking and would like to read a bit about ingredients, origins, and personal culinary experiences will find many interesting articles there.

Barbara Furthmüller has been writing for many years about what she cooks. It's not just about recipes, but often also about the stories behind them. That's precisely what makes her blog so interesting. You quickly realize while reading that this is someone who cooks with experience and curiosity.

What particularly appealed to me was her Recepies Sweet and sour pork. Almost everyone knows this dish from Chinese restaurants. At the same time, when cooking it at home, you quickly realize that there are many variations. In China itself, it often looks quite different from the European versions.

In her post, Barbara describes how her recipe was inspired by a dinner in London's Chinatown. There, she had eaten a particularly delicious sweet and sour pork. She wanted to recreate that memory at home.

I found that idea really interesting. So I used her recipe as a basis and tried it out in our kitchen. However, it didn't turn out exactly the same in the end. As is so often the case when cooking, I had to adjust a few things.

 

 

A recipe and a few minor changes

While shopping, it quickly became apparent that some ingredients were not available in the supermarket. Japanese rice wine or light and dark rice vinegar are not exactly staples on our shelves.

That's why I slightly modified the sauce. Instead of rice wine, I used cane sugar and regular wine vinegar. I also used a can of pineapple and added the pineapple juice directly to the sauce. This provides extra sweetness and a bit more liquid.

Next time, I would do two things differently. The ginger was a bit too spicy for my taste. I'll probably just leave it out next time. I would also prepare twice the amount of liquid for the sauce. That way, there will be a bit more of the sweet and sour sauce left over.

What I really liked right away, however, were the breaded meat cubes. The egg, starch, and panko breadcrumbs give them a crispy coating. This is exactly what you'd expect to find in good Chinese restaurants.

Sweet and sour pork – my version based on Barbara's recipe

The basis remains Barbara's recipe, which you can find here: Sweet and sour pork on Barbara's playground

I only adjusted a few ingredients for my version.

Ingredients

Pig

275 g pork fillet
1 tsp soy sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup panko

sweet and sour sauce

4 tsp cane sugar
1 tbsp Riesling
canned pineapple juice
1 tsp wine vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
some hot water

For frying

Highly heatable oil, for example peanut oil

Vegetables

2 stalks of celery
1 red pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
Canned pineapple chunks
1–2 tomatoes

To thicken the sauce

100 ml of cold water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

 

 

Preparation of sweet and sour pork

First, cut the pork tenderloin into bite-sized pieces. Whisk the egg and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Coat the meat pieces in the mixture until well covered.

In a second bowl, mix cornstarch and panko breadcrumbs. Coat the meat in the mixture, ensuring the pieces are completely breaded. Let it stand briefly.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Combine cane sugar, pineapple juice, wine vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Add a little hot water until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

Now heat some oil in a wok or a deep frying pan. Fry the pieces of meat in batches. It's important not to put them all in the pan at once. This way they'll get nice and crispy.

Turn the pieces occasionally so they brown evenly. The inside should still be slightly pink. Then place them on kitchen paper and keep warm.

Now prepare the vegetables. Cut the celery and bell peppers into pieces. Finely chop the garlic. Cut the pineapple and tomatoes into pieces as well.

Remove most of the oil from the wok. A small amount is sufficient for frying. Then add the celery and bell peppers and stir-fry until the vegetables are cooked but still have a bite.

Briefly sauté the garlic. Then add the pineapple and tomatoes. The mixture will already provide some liquid for the sauce.

Now pour the prepared sweet and sour sauce into the wok and bring everything to a brief boil.

In a small bowl, mix cold water with the cornstarch. Add this mixture to the wok and stir until the sauce thickens.

Finally, return the pre-fried pieces of meat to the wok and gently fold them in. It's best to serve immediately so the breading stays crispy.

 

 

How we liked the dish

The result truly surprised us. The pieces of meat, in particular, were crispy on the outside and still juicy on the inside. This combination is precisely what makes the dish so special.

The pineapple juice gave the sauce a pleasant sweetness. At the same time, the vinegar added a touch of acidity. This made the dish taste fresh and not too heavy.

The ginger was a bit too overpowering for my taste. Therefore, I would simply leave it out next time. Ultimately, taste is always a matter of personal preference.

More sauce would have been nice too. Especially when serving rice, you appreciate a bit more liquid.

Why Barbara's playground is worth a look

Recreating this dish has reminded me how inspiring food blogs can be. Barbara's playground You can find many recipes that originate from real kitchen experiences.

It's not just about writing down ingredients. Barbara often tells the story of how a dish came about, where she discovered it, or what she changed about it. It's precisely these kinds of stories that make you want to pick up a wooden spoon yourself.

The Recepies Sweet and sour pork is a good example of this. You get a solid foundation and can then develop it further in your own kitchen.

That's exactly how my version came about. A recipe as a starting point, and in the end a dish that suits your own kitchen.

This recipe was created in round 25 of Cook my recipe, the blog-connecting event, organized by Volkermampft, A another variation for the recipe here.

 

Source: Sweet and sour pork, our own recipe adaptation. The inspiration for this recipe comes from Barbara's Playground. We are very grateful for that. However, our opinion remains our own, as always.

Text: Sweet and sour pork © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline