Oriental cuisine is deservedly considered one of the most famous in the whole world, and this is due not only to the population in those parts. The main secret to the success of Chinese cooking lies in the love of unusual combinations, presenting surprises, originality, a certain ingenuity, but at the same time also in brilliant simplicity. You can find meat recipes in sweet and sour sauce with a photo in our article.
A few words about sweet and sour sauce
A special place in the national cuisine of the East is occupied by fabulously tasty and unusual sauces. They have conquered millions of discerning gourmets around the world. And connoisseurs recognized meat as a sweet and sour gravy as one of the most delicious, spicy and juicy dishes.
As you may have guessed, this is also the brainchild of Chinese traditional national cuisine, which was invented by a famous imperial chef. Today, meat in sweet and sour sauce in many countries is considered the hallmark of oriental cooking. But originally piquant gravy was invented in order to hide the silty taste and peculiar smell of mud that is characteristic of freshwater fish. Namely, it was the basis of Caton cuisine. And only after several decades, this famous sauce began to be used to complement other products - poultry, seafood and meat.
Manufacturing technology
Despite the exoticism and expressiveness of oriental treats, unusual for most domestic hostesses, it is prepared quite easily and does not need any special skills. It usually takes no more than 30-40 minutes to create this gastronomic miracle, but the result is simply amazing.
The secret lies precisely in the gravy, on the correct production of which the aroma and taste qualities of the whole delicacy largely depend. According to the culinary traditions of the East, it should turn out to be sweet, spicy, and sour at the same time. For the first component, as a rule, fruits, some vegetables, sugar and honey are used. Acids can be achieved with soy sauce, dry wine, freshly squeezed lemon juice, apple cider vinegar.
In order to make the gravy thick, as befits, you need to use starch. Tender meat, previously fried in oil, is stewed directly in the sauce, due to which it is filled with an unusual piquant taste. As a side dish for such a rich treat, it is best to serve boiled rice, potatoes or spaghetti.
Features
There are several different recipes for meat in sweet and sour sauce. If you are just starting your acquaintance with this dish, pay attention to each of them. In addition, you can safely experiment based on the basic Chinese meat recipe in sweet and sour sauce. Supplementing it with just a few simple ingredients, you can achieve a truly unique author’s taste and unforgettable aroma. Such a dish will surely appeal to every member of your family.
Chinese sweet and sour meat
This is a classic way of cooking, known for many centuries. The treat has a truly excellent taste and delicious aroma. To prepare meat in sweet and sour sauce at home, you will need:
- 0.7 kg of pork;
- a tablespoon of sesame oil;
- the same amount of vinegar essence 70%;
- twice as much tomato paste;
- 5 tablespoons of starch;
- a teaspoon of salt;
- vegetable oil at your discretion.
Probably, every housewife is well aware that the meat of a young animal has the best quality, characterized by a characteristic light pink hue and a minimal amount of white layers. Just such pork is best suited for the manufacture of spicy exotic treats.
Pay attention to a few more details. The meat should not be bruised, there should not be too much blood under it. In general, there should be very little fat in pork, but if you like more nutritious dishes, you can choose a piece to your taste.
Cooking method
To stew meat in sweet and sour sauce at home, perhaps, is not difficult for anyone. First of all, pork should be cut into medium-sized pieces, while separating it from fat. Then transfer the meat to a deep bowl, salt and mix by hand. In this form, leave the pork to marinate for 5 minutes.
After the meat is well salted, add starch to it. Pour half a glass of plain water here and mix again with your hands.
Place a deep frying pan on the stove and pour a little vegetable oil into it. Place the prepared meat in a pan so that the slices barely touch each other. You can don’t fry all the pork at once - divide it into several parts and cook in turn.
Keep the meat in a pan until golden brown. Even if it remains damp inside, remove it from a hot surface.
After all the pieces have been fried, drain the remaining oil from the pan and pour sugar into it. Send tomato paste and about a glass of water here.
And while the mixture is heating, prepare a thickener. To do this, dissolve a spoonful of starch in a small amount of water so that the consistency of the mass resembles jelly.
The pan should be on low heat. Add vinegar essence to the heated mixture, stir and let the gravy boil for several minutes. Now send diluted starch and a spoonful of vegetable oil here.
After the gravy has thickened, put the meat in the pan and warm it well. Now it remains only to add sesame oil. At this stage, the meat in sweet and sour sauce is ready. Complete the spicy treat with any side dish to your taste and serve.
Recipe with photo of meat in sweet and sour sauce with pineapple
This treat is so popular that it is served in all Chinese restaurants. The simplicity of the meat recipe in sweet and sour sauce with pineapples allows each housewife to cook this delicacy at home. So, if you decide to please your family, pay attention to this delicious dish.
To prepare meat in sweet and sour sauce in this design you will need:
- 0.8 kg of pork;
- 300 g canned pineapple;
- 2 teaspoons of vinegar;
- 5 tablespoons of tomato paste;
- greens and soy sauce to taste;
- a tablespoon of starch;
- as much flour;
- some salt, pepper and vegetable oil.
Course of action
To get started, prepare the meat for further processing: wash it thoroughly, cut the film and chop in even small pieces. Place the pork in a bowl, then add starch, soy sauce and flour to it. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients by hand and leave the meat for 20 minutes alone so that it is well marinated.
In the meantime, start preparing pineapples. Rinse them lightly and fry the rings in vegetable oil for several minutes.
Now remove the pineapples from the pan, and instead send the pickled pork there. It is necessary to fry it until a beautiful golden crust is formed.
In the meantime, your meat is cooked, do sweet and sour sauce for him. To make the gravy, mix the tomato paste, vinegar and sugar. Stir the ingredients well, pour the mixture over the meat. Send the prepared pineapples here as well.
Finally, add spices to the treat and simmer it for about 15 minutes over low heat. If desired, you can also add finely chopped sweet pepper to the dish, which will give the dish even more piquancy and originality. Even in Chinese restaurants it is traditionally customary to season meat in sweet and sour sauce with sesame seeds. So if you wish, you can use it in your delicacy.
Meat with vegetables and mushrooms in a spicy sauce
Pork, mushrooms, spices and sweet and sour gravy - at first glance, these are completely incompatible ingredients. But in fact, in this delicacy, everything is so harmoniously selected that it turns out incredibly tasty. Be sure to try to cook such a sophisticated dish without spending too much time.
To do this, first prepare:
- 0.5 kg of pork;
- a tablespoon of soy sauce;
- 3 tbsp. l starch;
- a slice of ginger root;
- onion head;
- carrots;
- 8 champignons;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- bell pepper;
- 2 tablespoons ketchup or tomato paste;
- 4 tablespoons of sugar;
- glass of water;
- salt and other spices at your discretion.
Instead, you can take any other meat instead of pork, such as poultry, lamb or beef.
Cooking process
First, make the marinade: grate the ginger root finely, squeeze the juice out of it using cheesecloth, and discard the leftovers. Add soy sauce to the resulting liquid. Cut the pork into slices and send to the cooked marinade for half an hour.
After the set time, add starch to the meat and mix. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and fry the prepared pork on it.
Now peel and wash all taken vegetables, then chop them coarsely. Send them to the meat and, stirring vigorously, bring the mixture to readiness.
When all the ingredients have reached the desired state, add ketchup, sugar, water, salt and a couple of spoons of soy sauce to the pan. Stir it all carefully and bring to a boil.
Dilute the starch in a small amount of water so that a jelly state is obtained, then add it to the rest of the ingredients. Stir the mixture continuously until thickened and remove from heat.
Finally, add vinegar to the treat and mix again.