Rachael Ray: Rachael's Daytime Talkshow

Sweet 'N Sour Pork

"When I was a kid, the closest Chinese restaurant was a 20-minute drive and the menu was pretty basic: egg rolls, noodles, ribs and sweet ‘n sour pork or chicken. Here’s a simple stir-fry that’s a fast version of back-in-the-day take-out. I doubt that the sweet, red syrupy sauce we had as kids was very authentic as far as Chinese cuisine goes. My recipe is not based on Chinese tradition, but it is tasty and it is made with sautéed pork rather than deep-fried and the ingredients that make this sauce red are natural."

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup white rice
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 package pork tenderloins, trimmed of silver skin and cut into 1-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 slices fresh pineapple, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
Ground black pepper

Aired on:

July 10, 2009

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Preparation

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-size pot with a lid. Add the rice, give it a stir then put the lid on and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the rice until tender, about 18 minutes. Once it’s ready, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the scallions.

When the rice is about halfway done, place a large skillet over high heat with 2 turns of the pan of oil, about 2 tablespoons. While the pan is heating up, grab a small bowl and combine the hot sauce, lime juice, honey, tamari, vinegar, tomato sauce and cornstarch, stirring to dissolve the cornstarch. Set the sauce aside.

When the pan is searing hot, add in the pork and cook the meat until caramelized, 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger, peppers and onions, and stir-fry the meat and veggies for 2 minutes more. Add in the pineapple and reserved sauce, and stir everything together. Bring the sauce to a boil and allow it to cook for 1 minute to thicken up.

Season everything with some ground black pepper and serve the sweet and sour pork over the scallion rice.