Chinese Sweet & Sour Pork Recipe

My son made this on Monday night for dinner. It was better than what you get in the restaurant. He found the recipe on About.com.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

3/4 pound pork tenderloin
2 - 3 teaspoons soy sauce
pinch corn starch

Sauce:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water or reserved pineapple juice
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water

Batter:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup warm water, as needed

Other:
1 Carrot
1/2 cup green pepper
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
3 cups oil for deep frying, or as needed

Preparation:

Directions for sweet and sour pork

Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes. Marinate in soy sauce and cornstarch for 20 minutes.

In small bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, dark soy sauce, salt, water or juice and vinegar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.

Peel the carrot and chop on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Cut bell peppers in half, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.

Heat oil for deep frying to 375F.

For the batter, combine the flour and cornstarch. Stir in egg white and vegetable oil. Add the warm water as is needed to form a thick batter that is neither too thick or too moist. (the batter should not be runny, but should drop off the back of a spoon.)

Dip the marinated pork cubes in the batter. Deep fry in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry until golden brown. Remove and drain onto paper towels.

To prepare the sweet and sour sauce, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, green pepper, and pineapple. Bring to a boil again and thicken with cornstarch mixture. Stirring. Check the sauce one more time and adjust seasonings, adding salt and/or vinegar if desired. Serve hot over the deep-fried pork. Serve sweet and sour pork over hot cooked rice.