My version of Sweet & Sour Pork is inspired by a recipe by my late grandmother. My maternal grandmother, my Achchi Amma, was a fabulous cook and had a number of old school favourites in her repertoire. Her Sweet & Sour Pork Chops was one such dish, which often made an appearance at family celebrations. This recipe is a twisted version of the original, since we have limited access to certain ingredients because of lock down and therefore substitutions had to be made. After all, necessity is the mother of invention!
This recipe (depending on what is served with it) will feed 4-6 people.
Ingredients
- 500g Pork cubes
- 3 slices of Pineapple
- 1tsp Marmite
- Tomato sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Coriander leaves
- Lime Juice and leaves
- Chilie flakes
- 1tsp of Sugar
- Salt
- 500g Pork cubes
- 3 slices of Pineapple
- 1tsp Marmite
- Tomato sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Coriander leaves
- Lime Juice and leaves
- Chilie flakes
- 1tsp of Sugar
- Salt
First, coat the pineapple with a scant amount of sugar and caramelize it in a hot pan. When the pineapple is soft, brown on the edges and smells deliciously fruity and sweet, remove from the pan. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and blitz to a purée in a food processor/blender.
Cut the pork to bite sized pieces and marinade it with some soy, tomato sauce, 2 spoons of the pineapple purée, chili flakes and salt for a couple of hours. If it can be kept overnight in the fridge all the better, as the acid in the pineapple will help the enzymes in the meat break down and make it really tender.
Cook marinaded pork in a hot pan (ideally in the same pan the pineapple was cooked in to absorb all the caramal bits left in the pan). Dissolve the secret ingredient - Marmite in 1/4 cup of hot water and add it to the pan. The recipe originally comes from a time when ingredients like soy sauce weren’t freely available. Thus Marmite is used to bring that lovely salty and rich umami flavour. Add the remaining pineapple purée, finely chopped coriander roots, a touch more tomato sauce, chili flakes and salt. Depending on the sweetness of the pineapple, you can add a touch more sugar. Add a couple of finely chopped lime leaves or lime zest and cook until the sauce is thick and meat cooked through. Remove from heat, add the fresh coriander leaves, mix through and serve hot.
Cook marinaded pork in a hot pan (ideally in the same pan the pineapple was cooked in to absorb all the caramal bits left in the pan). Dissolve the secret ingredient - Marmite in 1/4 cup of hot water and add it to the pan. The recipe originally comes from a time when ingredients like soy sauce weren’t freely available. Thus Marmite is used to bring that lovely salty and rich umami flavour. Add the remaining pineapple purée, finely chopped coriander roots, a touch more tomato sauce, chili flakes and salt. Depending on the sweetness of the pineapple, you can add a touch more sugar. Add a couple of finely chopped lime leaves or lime zest and cook until the sauce is thick and meat cooked through. Remove from heat, add the fresh coriander leaves, mix through and serve hot.
To watch me make Achchi Amma’s Pork Chops (a slightly twisted version again) check out this video on YouTube.
