Sweet and sour pork.

This is the grilled version though. Some might call it the healthy version because it baths in nary a deep fryer, but I just call it the “wanted to try it grilled version” or even “the extra tasty grilled version”. It has what it needs to be pretty bloody reminiscent of the old Chinese takeaway classic – the capsicum, the pineapple, the sweet and tangy sauce – but also has my favourite seasonings of all time – smoke and fire, so I hope that will instill at least a little confidence that this is going to be a bloody tasty little meal.

Get on it.

GRILLED SWEET AND SOUR PORK SKEWERS

(serves 8 – 10 as part of a banquette)

PORK SKEWERS

1 kg pork (shoulder, neck or fillet if you have money to burn), cut into 5mm thick slices
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons shao-xing (Chinese cooking wine)
1 brown onion, cut into wedges
1 green capsicum, chopped kinda chunky
1 red capsicum, chopped kinda chunky
½ small pineapple, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
Sweet & sour sauce (recipe follows)
Steamed rice, to serve
Sliced shallots, to garnish

Marinate sliced pork with white pepper, light soy and shao xing for 2 hours or so.
You can get your BBQ fired up (if using) sometime around now.
After the meat has had its marinating time you can thread it onto skewers, alternating with capsicum, pineapple and onion. I certainly prefer metal skewers for this sort of thing but use wooden skewers if that’s all you have.
Once you have all of the skewers made up give them a little spray or a splash with oil to avoid sticking.
Now grill or pan fry your skewers over medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes or until cooked, turning every minute or so.
Glaze each side of your kebabs 3 times with the sweet & sour sauce and cook for another couple of minutes, turning often.
Now you should be done.
Serve kebabs on cooked rice with extra sauce and shallots.

SWEET & SOUR SAUCE

1 knob ginger, sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
200 g castor sugar
200 ml white vinegar
100 ml water
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 star anise
1 pinch each salt and pepper
1 tablespoon corn flour mixed with a splash of water to make a slurry

Place all ingredients except corn flour into a pot, simmer for 20 minutes to infuse flavours.
Strain through sieve to remove the big chunky things.
Return to low heat and stir in corn flour slurry to thicken. Continue stirring for a minute or two to avoid clumping.
Set aside in readiness for pork skewers.