Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken

This was a fun dinner for the family.

Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken

1 Pound Pork Butt, cut into 1 inch pieces or 1 pound chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces ½ Cup Soy Sauce 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic 1 Tablespoon Minced fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon dried ginger ¼ Cup Cornstarch

SAUCE

2/3 Cup packed Brown Sugar 2/3 Cup Pineapple Juice, from above canned pineapple 2 Tablespoon Ketchup 2 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar, or Apple Cider Vinegar 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce 2 Tablespoons Apricot Jam 3 Tablespoon Cornstarch 1/3 Cup Cold Water 2 teaspoons Sesame Oil 1 teaspoon Salt ½ teaspoon Pepper 2 Cups Rice Flour or All-purpose flour Vegetable oil for frying, about 1 quart 1 small Vidalia or white Onion, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 small Red Bell Pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces 2 stalks of Celery, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 (14 ounce) can Pineapple Chunks, drain and reserve juice

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. Place the pork in the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours.

Sauce: In a saucepan combine brown sugar, pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and apricot jam. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water and stir to combine and dissolve lumps. Add this to the boiling sauce and cook until thicken. Add sesame oil and set aside.

Combine the salt and pepper and flour in a zip-lock bag. Drain off excess marinade from the pork and dredge in flour mixture. In a large frying pan, heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry the pork in batches, do not crowd, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain and place on a rack over a cookie sheet and put into a 300 degree oven to hold until all pork is fried.

Drain the oil from the pan, but keep about 1 Tablespoon oil. Place the onion, bell pepper, and celery into the pan and cook until barely tender only about 2 minutes. Add the pork and the pineapple to the pan and cover the vegetables and pork with the sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. Serve over white rice.

*Gluten free if you use GF soy sauce and rice flour.