Sweet and Sour Pork

Ingredients

• 600 g pork (top loin)
• 100 g Sugar snap peas
• 100 g carrots
• 100 g celery stalks
• 2 shallots
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 0.5 Red chili pepper
• 8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 10 g fresh ginger
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• 4 tbsp peanut oil
• 125 ml chicken broth
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 0.25 tsp five-spice powder (Asian market)
• coriander leaves (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Slice the pork into thin strips, then cut into about 1 cm wide pieces. Wash and trim the vegetables. Cut the sugar snap peas into diamonds, carrots into sticks, and celery into fine slices. Blanch the vegetables in a little water for about 1 minute. Drain and shock with cold water.

2. 2.

   Peel and finely dice the shallots and garlic. Wash and seed the chili pepper, then cut into thin strips. Remove stems from mushrooms and quarter them. Peel and grate the ginger.

3. 3.

   Whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, and palm sugar. Heat 2 tbsp peanut oil in a wok. Brown the pork portions in batches, then remove from the wok. While the pork is browning, sauté shallots, garlic, chili, and ginger in the remaining oil. Add carrots for 1 minute, then celery and cook another minute, followed by sugar snap peas for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and browned pork.

4. 4.

   Add the sauce mixture and broth. Dissolve cornstarch in a little water and stir into the wok. Bring everything to a boil, then season with salt, pepper, and five-spice powder. Serve sprinkled with coriander leaves.