Sweet and Sour Pork

Step 1

PREPARE AHEAD: Trim the pork of any excess fat anf with a sharp knife, cut the meat into 1 inch cubes. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 chicken stock and salt. Set aside. For the sauce, have the oil, garlic, green pepper, carrots chicken stock, sugar,vinegar soy sauce and cornstarch mixture with in reach. TO COOK: Just before cooking add the pork cubes to the egg and flour mixture, and stir until each piece of meat is well coated. Preheat the oven to 250F. Pour the 3 cups of oil into a wok and set it over high heat. When the oil almost begins to smoke or reaches 375F on deep fryer thermometer, drop-in half of the coated pork cubes one by one. Fry for 5-6 minutes, regulating the heat so that the pork turns crisp, golden brown in that period without burning. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon to a small baking dish and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the other half and add to the first batch. To Make the sauce:pour off any oil remaining in the wok or use a 10 inch skillet. Set the pan over high heat for about 30 seconds. Pour in the tablespoon of oil , swirl it about in the pan and heat another 30 seconds, turning the heat down to moderate if the oil begins to smoke Add the garlic, then the green pepper and carrots, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the pepper and carrots darken in colour. Be careful not to allow them to burn. Pour in the 1/2 c chicken stock, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for about 1 minute or until the sugar has dissolved thoroughly. Immediately give the cornstarch a quick stir to recombine it and add it to the pan. Cook a moment longer, stirring constantly. When the sauce is thick and clear, pour the entire contents of the pan over the fried pork and serve at once.