Sweet & Sour Chicken, Pork Or Shrimp Cantonese-Style
Sweet & Sour Chicken, Pork or Shrimp Cantonese-Style
Posted by swm56 at recipegoldmine
com April 2001
This is long & I’m sorry about that but this is a wonderful recipe & much easier than it appears
~ Sharon in the desert
I have been a student of worldwide cooking for many years
Over those years, I have taken several courses, including two terms of Chinese Cooking in 1979 from a Chinese woman working her way through college by teaching cooking out of her family cookbook
Certain fairly transparent changes were made to the recipes because of the difficulty in getting some of the authentic ingredients in the Midwest U
S
in the seventies
Even though those ingredients are easily obtainable at the bountiful quantity of Chinese grocery store across the country, The need is not there
A friend of mine who is the son of a licensed master chef from Korea & is, himself, now the owner his own of a Korean-Chinese restaurant (the family is Chinese, but lived in Korea before immigrating to the U
S
)
has deemed my recipes as first quality
China is a large country with many regions, just like the U
S
What is called Sweet & Sour varies a lot from region to region
Cantonese Sweet & Sour dishes are the most common & one the most popular dishes in Chinese restaurants
Unfortunately, many of them are a too sweet, almost c&ied mess
This Cantonese-style one a very close to what is made in Taiwan in the home of the woman that taught me Chinese cooking
Only a couple of minor changes where made because the authentic ingredients were too hard to find the U
S
in 1979
1 pound pork good quality, no fat, boneless
meat (butt or loin is best)
OR 1 pound boneless chicken breast
OR 1 pound shelled shrimp (see special shrimp marinade)
A
1/2 tps salt
1/2 tps soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch*
1 tablespoon cold water
1 egg yolk
B
1 green pepper
2 carrots
2 onions
1 can chunk pineapple or fresh if you wish
cup
4 Tbspvinegar
4 Tbspcatsup
4 Tbspgranulated sugar
5 Tbspcold water
5 Tbsppineapple juice
3 tpss cornstarch
1 tps salt
1 tps toasted sesame oil
D
1/2 cup or more cornstarch
4 cups oil
Pound pork or chicken with back of clever to tenderize, then cup it into 1-inch cubes
Mix it with A & marinate at least 30 minute, or overnight
Cut peppers (remove seeds & membranes) into 1-inch squares
Peel carrot & slice diagonally into 1/8-inch thick slices
Peel onion & cut into 1-inch squares
Drain pineapple
Set each aside separately
Mix C together in a bowl & set aside
Heat 4 to 6 cups of oil to deep frying temp in a deep skillet or wok
While oil is heating, individually coat each piece of meat, removing excess marinade, with the 1/2 cup cornstarch
When oil is hot, add meat & cook until golden brown, about 4 min
Remove meat from skillet & drain well
Put 2 Tbspof oil in a clean wok & heat it up good & hot
Add carrot & cook 1 minute, then add onions for 2 min, green peppers for 1 minute & pineapple for 1 minute – 5 min total
Pour in C & cook until thickened
Turn off heat
Add meat & stir well
Serve immediately
NOTES:
Special Shrimp marinade – 1 tps salt, 1 tps Chinese cooking wine, 2 egg whites, 4 tpss cornstarch
* You can substitute arrowroot for cornstarch for a more authentic dish
Reduce amounts use in recipe by half
I sometimes make a special variation of this by combining two or three of the meats into Sweet & Sour Three Delights
Shrimp Chow Mein
Shrimp Chow Mein
1 pound fresh shelled shrimp
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbspcornstarch
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup boiling water
3 Tbspvegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (16 ounce) can bean sprouts, drained
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained & sliced
6 to 8 ounces broccoli
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Thaw shrimp & halve large shrimp
Dissolve bouillon in boiling water, set aside
Mix soy sauce & cornstarch together & add to bouillon mixture
Set aside
In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 Tbspoil until hot
Stir-fry shrimp 6 to 8 min
Remove shrimp & set aside
Add remaining oil & stir-fry onion, mushroom & garlic for about 2 min
Remove & set aside
Add bean sprouts & water chestnuts & stir-fry for 1 minute
Add shrimp & onion mixture
Simmer approximately 5 to 10 min
Sesame Peanut C&y
Sesame Peanut C&y (China)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
4 tpss water
1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 1/2 cups roasted, unsalted, skinless peanuts
Combine sugar, vinegar & water in medium saucepan
Cook over low heat, stirring just until sugar dissolves
Cook without stirring until mixture boils
Boil mixture without stirring until it is golden & reaches 295 deg F to 300 deg F or hard crack stage on a c&y thermometer, about 10 min
While sugar mixture is boiling, grease an 11 x 7-inch baking pan
sprinkle half of the sesame seeds & all of the peanuts evenly into pan
Pour sugar mixture over nuts in pan
Smooth surface with the back of a greased wooden spoon
Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds
Cool slightly
While c&y is still warm, cut into 2 x 1-inch pieces
Cool completely
Remove from pan
Makes 2 1/2 to dozen pieces