Happy Chinese New Year eve! The evening before Chinese New Year is often my favorite part of the holiday festivities. The evening before is when families come together from near and afar to have a large family dinner. I try my best to return home for Chinese New Year at least once every two years. Last year, Kevin and I both traveled back to Brooklyn to celebrate with my family. This year, it was only Kevin and I celebrating together. I don’t consider myself a very superstitious person, but my parents definitely are. They would instruct us not to sweep, eat congee, or wash our clothes on Chinese New Year day. In the days leading up to Chinese New Year, my dad would buy some nice floral blooms to decorate the home. My mom would thoroughly clean the home from top to bottom. My brothers and I would write down what we want for the family togetherness dinner on the night before Chinese New Year. On the morning of, we start off with a vegetarian meal, usually some form of vegetable and noodles. Noodles are associated with longevity due to the length of the noodles. My dad would play new year music on loop for hours beginning at 7:00 a.m. and continue late into the evening. We alternated between going to the homes of our close relatives and just staying at my parents’ home in Brooklyn. The dinner menu is always filled with foods associated with lucky Chinese characters. Peking pork chops are usually always served on my family’s menu. This year, since it is only Kevin and I celebrating together, I made sweet and sour pork using red pepper, orange pepper, green pepper, and fresh pineapple. I chopped up some thick cut pork chops into smaller chunks, tossed them in a wet flour coating, fried the pieces in vegetable oil, and tossed everything together in a sweet, sour, and savory sauce. As part of our menu, we also had some chili oil boiled fish, ground chicken lettuce wraps, almond cookies, and orange milkshakes. This was a lot of food for two people, but the best part was we could pack the leftovers and save it for lunch and dinner throughout the week.
Sweet and Sour Pork:
· ½ tablespoon Shaoxing wine
· 1 tablespoon soy sauce
· ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
· 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ½ inch piece ginger, minced
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
· 2 teaspoons cornstarch
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ¼ cup water
· 1-2 cups vegetable oil
· 2 thick pork chops, cut into chunks
· 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
· 1 orange pepper, cut into chunks
· 1 green pepper, cut into chunks
· ¼ of a fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
Directions:
1) In a bowl, prepare the sauce by combining the wine, soy sauces, vinegar, salt, black pepper, minced ginger, minced garlic, sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
2) In another bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, and water. Add in a tablespoon of the sauce.
3) Toss the pork chop chunks in the wet flour mixture.
4) Heat a small Dutch oven pot on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the pork chop chunks about 6 pieces at a time. Let the pork chop chunks cook for 3-5 minutes, until the chunks turn a deep golden brown. Scoop the fried pork chop chunks onto a plate lined with paper towels. Continue frying the rest of the pork chop chunks until all of the pork chop chunks are fried and golden brown.
5) Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Once hot, add in the sauce. Let the sauce cook for 30 seconds until it starts to thicken up. Add in the red pepper, orange pepper, green pepper, and pineapple chunks. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Toss in the fried pork chop chunks. Cook for another 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Serve the sweet and sour pork with a side of jasmine rice.
Takeaways: If you want the pork chop chunks to be extra crispy, you can bake the chunks in a 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes after frying the pork chop chunks in vegetable oil. I typically include this step with fried chicken and pork cutlets. I skipped this step this time around because I was very hungry and wanted some sweet and sour pork right away.
