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China, Asia · Tangcu Liji (Home-Style Sweet and Sour Pork)

Sweet and Sour Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Double-fried sweet and sour pork in a smoky chipotle glaze, tucked into warm corn tortillas with pineapple salsa, crunchy cabbage and lime crema.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time45 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsNever leave hot oil unattended and keep water away from it. If the oil starts to smoke, turn off the heat; if it catches fire, cover with a lid, never use water.

Method

  1. Dice the pineapple into 1 cm cubes, finely chop the red onion and seeded jalapeño, and roughly chop the cilantro. Mix them in a bowl with the juice of half the lime and a pinch of salt to make the salsa. Cut the remaining lime into wedges.

    Add in this stepPineapple 100 gRed onion 30 gJalapeño ½Cilantro 5 gLime 1Salt 1 pinch

  2. Cut the pork into sticks 1.5 cm thick and 5 cm long and sprinkle with the salt. In a bowl mix the cornstarch, flour, egg and cold water into a thick batter. Pat the pork dry, add it and coat evenly.

    Add in this stepPork shoulder (or tenderloin) 200 gSalt 1 pinchCornstarch 50 gAll-purpose flour 20 gEgg 1Ice-cold water for the batter 35 ml

  3. Pour oil about 3 cm deep into a 20 cm ×2 pot, no more than a third of its height (×2 or ×3 is the number of batches). Heat over medium-high heat for to 170°C: small bubbles should stream steadily from a dry wooden chopstick. Hold at medium heat, lower the pork in piece by piece away from you and fry in total until pale golden. Lift onto a rack.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil for frying 950 ml

    medium-high heat→medium heat

  4. Turn up to high heat to bring the oil to 190°C and refry in the same batches, in total, until deep golden and crisp.

    high heat

  5. Put the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, chipotle and water in a 24 cm pan and reduce over medium heat for until it coats a spoon thickly. Turn off the heat, add the fried pork and toss quickly.

    Add in this stepKetchup 2 tbspBrown sugar 2 tbspRice vinegar 2 tbspSoy sauce 1 tspGround chipotle chili ½ tspWater for the glaze 40 ml

    medium heat

  6. Heat a dry pan over medium-high heat and warm the tortillas one at a time, 20 to 30 seconds per side, until soft with a few toasted spots; about in all. Keep them wrapped in a towel.

    Add in this stepCorn tortillas (15 cm) 6

    medium-high heat

  7. Fill the tortillas with cabbage, pork and salsa, add a little sour cream and serve right away with lime wedges.

    Add in this stepCabbage, finely shredded 60 gSour cream 2 tbsp

Cook's tip

Over-reduced glaze sets hard as it cools, so turn off the heat as soon as it coats a spoon in a thin layer. No chipotle? Mix a little smoked paprika with a pinch of cayenne.

Cooking it at camp

Fry the pork at home, or at camp shallow-fry it in 1 cm of oil, 3 minutes per side. One pan on the grill handles the glaze and tortillas, and tortillas are great charred briefly right over the coals.