What’s for dinner? Sweet and sour pork
This homemade version of a typical takeaway meal is healthy and wholesome. The pineapple gives the dish a lovely sweet flavour which works well with pork, beef or chicken.
Serves 4
You’ll need: ½ tbsp cornflour; 5 tbsp strong Rooibos tea; 3 tbsp lemon juice or white grape vinegar; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp olive or canola oil; 500g pork shoulder or leg, removed from the bone, cut into strips and excess fat removed; 1 red or green pepper, seeded and sliced; 2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and diagonally sliced; 4 tsp finely grated fresh ginger; 1 small pineapple, peeled, sliced and cut into triangles; ¼ cabbage, shredded; 100g green beans, halved; black pepper to taste; handful fresh parsley or mint, chopped.
How to:
Mix cornflour with some of the tea to form a paste. Add remaining tea, lemon juice or vinegar and soy sauce and mix well.
Heat half the oil in a large frying pan. Pork until golden brown. Spoon out and keep warm.
Add remaining oil and stir-fry pepper, carrots and ginger for a few minutes. Add pineapple and fry for another few minutes. Add cabbage and stir-fry until just softened.
Stir in the sauce to coat the veggies. Add meat and green beans. Stir to heat through.
Cover with a lid for a few minutes to steam the beans. The beans should remain green and crunchy. Season with pepper, sprinkle with herbs and serve immediately.
Serve with a green salad or some fruit. The veggies and pineapple add enough bulk to this dish and starch like noodles or rice are not necessary.
Tips:
Minute steak, stroganoff meat or chicken strips will work just as well.
If your pan is not big enough – fry the veggies in batches. Mix together in step 4 before adding the sauce.
* This recipe is from Cooking from the heart, 3rd edition: Diabetes. Download the recipe book.
