The other Sweet and Sour Pork

 

When one hears the term “sweet and sour pork,” the thing that immediately comes to mind is the dish (咕噜肉 [Gūlū ròu]) that is a well-known staple of China’s Guangdong cuisine (粤菜 [Yuècài]).  It is what Americans often order and eat when consuming Chinese food in Chinese restaurants or as take-out from such establishments.  While I certainly like eating this dish, sweet and sour pork is not unique to China.  Italian cuisine has its own distinctive take on this way of fixing pork, and I finally got around to cooking it this summer.  Italian sweet and sour pork is lighter than its sticky sweet Guangdong counterpart.  In the Italian version of this dish, the sweet and sour flavors are more subtle and understated.  On top of that, like most food from Italy, this dish stands out for its simplicity and ease of preparation, making it the perfect choice for those occasions when one needs fix something that is tasty, a bit elegant, and can be whipped up in very little time. 

The following recipe feeds 2 people.

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 pork chops, thinly cut (I use the thin chops sold at the local Aldi in Fresno; if all you can find in the grocery store(s) are thick-cut chops, cut those in half before cooking this dish).

Flour mixed with pepper and salt for breading the chops.

2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil.

1 cup of dry white wine (I’ve used Charles Shaw, aka “Two-Buck Chuck” [alas, the wine now sells for over $3 a bottle at Trader Joe’s]) pinot grigio.

2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

2 Teaspoons of sugar.

1 Tablespoon of mixed peppercorns, coarsely ground (if you don’t have a small pepper grinder, use a metal meat tenderizer to coarsely break up the peppercorns).

½ teaspoon of ground ginger (this ingredient was not in the recipe for the dish from my ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ITALIAN COOKING, but I added it to give the sweet and sour sauce a little further zing).

4 strips of bacon.

Fava beans to be tossed with the bacon (fava beans aren’t sold in most supermarkets; the one place in Fresno that has them is Sam’s Italian Deli and Market, which has the best hot pastrami sandwich in town.  Instead making a special trip there, I substituted frozen peas for the favor beans and they worked out just fine).

Preparation:

[1].  In a bowl, spread out the flour mix and use it to thoroughly coat the pork chops.

[2].  In a separate bowl put in the white wine, white wine vinegar, sugar, and ginger, mixing them together with a whisk.

[3].  Fry up the bacon and quickly mix in the fava beans or peas with the bacon and set aside.  As with the pork chops, put the skillet containing these ingredients on a warm burner so it doesn’t go cold.

[4].  In a skillet, fry the pork chops in 1 tablespoon of olive, adding more if needed.  Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until they are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  Then remove and set aside in another skillet that is on a burner set to low to keep them warm.

[5].  Pour the wine, vinegar, sugar and ginger mixture into the skillet used to fry the pork chops.  Stir vigorously over high heat until somewhat reduced, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to incorporate the pork sediments into the sauce.  Pour in the ground peppercorns into the heated sauce and then pour the hot sauce over the pork chops until they are evenly coated.

[6].  Break up the bacon into bits and top the pork chops with them and bacon flavored fava beans or peas.  The bacon bits provide a nice garnish to the pork chops.

 Here’s a picture of what Italian sweet and sour porkchops looked like when I fixed them:

Roasted or mashed potatoes and polenta pair well with these pork chops. 

So when it comes to sweet and sour pork chops, think outside the Guangdong China box and give the Italian version of this dish a try.  For amateur cooks in the West, it will be an easier to cook and tasty alternative to its better-known Chinese counterpart.  Bon appétit!