Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork with pineapple, carrots and bell peppers

Rhonda Parkinson

This sweet and sour pork is prepared American-style with more batter and deep-fried twice for extra crispiness.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound pork tenderloin
• 2 - 3 teaspoons soy sauce
• Pinch of cornstarch
• Sauce:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water or reserved pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
• Batter:
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup warm water, as needed
• Other:
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
• 3 cups oil for deep-frying, or as needed

Preparation:

Directions for sweet and sour pork
Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes. Marinate in the soy sauce and cornstarch for 20 minutes.

To prepare the sauce, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, dark soy sauce, salt, water or juice and vinegar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.

Peel the carrot and chop on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.

Heat the oil for deep--frying to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the batter, combine the flour and cornstarch. Stir in the egg white and vegetable oil. Add as much of the warm water as is needed to form a thick batter that is neither too dry or too moist. (The batter should not be runny, but should drop off the back of a spoon).

Dip the marinated pork cubes in the batter. Deep-fry in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry the pork until it is golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

(If desired you can deep-fry the pork at second time to make it extra crispy. Make sure the oil is back up to 375 before you begin deep-frying again).

To prepare the sweet and sour sauce, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, green pepper, and pineapple. Bring to a boil again and thicken with cornstarch mixture, stirring. Check the sauce one more time and adjust seasonings, adding salt and/or vinegar if desired. Serve hot over the deep-fried pork. Serve the sweet and sour pork over rice.

"Chocolate and almonds top off a rich buttery toffee. A simple recipe that you could easily remember and whip up any time. I always get compliments and requests for more. Use any type of nut that you like in place of the almonds."

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PREP TIME	5 Min
COOK TIME	15 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 20 Min
Original recipe yield 2 pounds

SERVINGS

(Help)

Servings
US METRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.
2. While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
3. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate, and press in slightly. Putting a plastic bag over your hand will minimize the mess.
4. Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

RECIPES

Kalderetang Baka

Preparation Time Cooking TIme Nutritional Value

Main Ingredients: 1 kilo beef (for stewing, cut into chunk cubes) 1/2 kilo beef liver (cut to almost the same size as the beef 6 cloves garlic (minced) 2 medium onions (diced) 6 big tomatoes (quartered) 3 big red peppers (diced) 3 big green peppers (diced) 1/2 cup pitted green olives 4 pieces chili pepper (minced) 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons tomato paste 3/4 cup all purpose cream 3/4 cup grated cheese pinch of salt & pepper to taste 3 cups beef stock 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch in little water Procedure: In a casserole, saute garlic, onion, tomatoes and all the pepper. Add in the beef and the liver. Cook for a little while and take out the liver and set aside. Pour in the stock and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and lower the fire and let simmer until beef becomes tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add in olives, and diluted cornstarch. Grate liver and add into the mixture. Allow sauce to thicken and add in cream and grated cheese. Serve hot

Health and Beauty

General Health

• About 8% of the adult population and 5% to 9% of children are affected by serious mental illness
• Ordinary B-vitamins can enhance human mental performance and even increase happiness
• Breast-feeding triggers bone loss in areas prone to fractures later in life, such as the hip, wrist, and spine. But this lost bone is completely replaced with fresh, new bone within two years of having a baby.
• Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
• Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
• Nearly one-third of all adults are obese.
• Studies have shown that eating close to bedtime may enhance the storage of fat and promote weight gain and body fat.
• Long term use of zinc lozenges for treating colds can temporarily suppress the immune system, just the opposite of what you want when fighting off a cold.

Water and Our Body

• Between 60%-75% of an adult's body weight is water
• Our brain is 75% water, which is why even mild dehydration causes headaches
• Our blood is 92% water
• Our muscles are 75% water

Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

• The expected increase in the number of men who suffer from ED is the direct result of ageing populations, unhealthy eating habits, the earlier onset of diabetes and obesity and stress.
• ED is a barometer of cardiovascular health.
• Sex drive is positively correlated with longevity in males
• PDE 5 drugs can be used for men with spinal cord injuries. The higher up the spinal cord injury, the better the drug response.

Headaches

• 28 million Americans suffer from migraines. Of these people, 4,5 million have more than one attack per month. A quarter of the female population is affected and about eight in every hundred men.
• Most children who get migraines, have at least one close family member who suffers from migraines too. If a child has one parent who suffers from migraines, they have a 50% chance of getting them too, if both are sufferers, this rises to 75%.
• While most headaches are uncomfortable and sometimes disabling, they are mostly not dangerous. Most of them can be cured by over-the-counter headache medications and by lying down in a quiet dark room for a while.
• Fasting may cause headaches, as a fasting person is likely to have very low blood sugar. But other factors, such as stress, pollution, noise, smoke, flashing lights and certain types of food may also cause headaches.
• Lifestyle plays an important part in preventing headaches. If you don't smoke, don't drink excessively, get regular sleep, eat a healthy diet and get daily exercise, you are unlikely to suffer from headaches frequently, unless you have a medical problem.
• Tension headache can affect anyone and is the most common from of headache. Tension headaches are often the result of neck and shoulder muscles going into spasm, and can sometimes last for days.
• More men than women suffer from cluster headaches. These are intense headaches that often occur at the same time every day or every few days. People who are heavy smokers or drinkers often suffer from cluster headaches. More women than men suffer from migraines.
• Ice cream headaches are no myth – you really can get them from eating this frozen dessert. This is caused by blood vessel spasms, which are caused by the intense cold from the ice cream. The spasms interrupt the blood flow and cause the vessels to swell.
• Even children get headaches, some well before the age of ten. Before puberty, headaches are more common in boys. Adult women get headaches four times more often than men do, and these are linked to hormonal fluctuations. In both men and women, the severity and frequency of headaches decline with advancing years.

Backache

• Most people have lower back pain. This is because the lower back bears the weight of the upper body. It also twists and bends more than the upper back.
• Backache is second only to headaches as the most common location of pain.
• In about 85% of acute back pain cases, the exact cause cannot be identified.
• Prolonged use of back braces and supports can actually weaken the muscles in your back, thereby contributing to the problem.

Foot Facts

• Most people have 26 bones in each foot, but some people have 28. These extras, called supernumerary sesamoids, are found on the bottom of the foot just behind the big toe.
• Fourteen of the 26 bones are found in the toes. Each toe has three bones, except the big toe, which has two.
• The skin on your feet is thicker than it is anywhere else on your body.
• When you are stressed, you are more susceptible to the virus that causes warts on the foot.
• When buying shoes, it is always a good idea to buy them late in the day, when your feet are tired and may be slightly swollen. In this way you are unlikely to buy shoes that are too small.

Acne

• Most people outgrow acne; but in women it may last until the menopause.
• 5% of women of 40 years of age have acne; but only 1% of men in that age group.
• Acne is not caused by dirt or surface oil. As many people believe it to be the case, they tend to overwash their skin, thereby making acne worse, drying the skin out and causing flare-ups. It is only necessary to wash your skin twice a day with a gentle soap.

Osteoporosis

• The word "osteoporosis" comes from the Greek words "osteon" meaning bone, and "poros", meaning a pore or a passage.
• People who drink a lot of coffee and alcohol and who smoke cigarettes, are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis than others are.
• People who are thin or who have a small frame, are at greater risk for osteoporosis.
• Women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the 5 – 7 years following menopause.
• Osteoporosis can be prevented by eating a diet rich in calcium (1000 – 1500mg/day) when you are young. This will make sure you reach peak bone mineral density.

Medications

• The average cost of developing and bringing a new prescription drug to market is $802 million. It usually takes between 10 and 15 years to develop and bring a new medication to market.
• Over 90% of drugs entering clinical trials fail to make it to market.
• Large manufacturers like Merck and Pfizer spent twice as much on advertising and marketing cost than they do on research costs.
• Each year in the United States, more than 160 million prescriptions are written for antibiotics. Humans consume 235 million doses of antibiotics annually. It is estimated that 20%-50% of that use is unnecessary.
• Why is it so difficult to find a powerful pain-killing medication that does not produce addiction? Over the years, pharmaceutical companies have tried to separate these two pharmacological qualities. Perhaps because the brain areas involved with pain reduction and those involved with drug dependence are connected, it has been almost impossible to find powerful "non-addicting" painkillers that block pain transmission. On the other hand, perhaps dependence on drugs and pain reduction are two different phenomena that will someday be separated, as more refined research evolves in this important area.
• The old time barbiturates that have mostly been replaced by newer drugs were powerful sedatives and hypnotics. That is, they greatly depressed the nervous system by as-yet-unknown mechanisms. They caused a lasting hangover when used to promote sleep, with a great impairment in functioning the day after they were given. They were also highly dependence producing, which is the main reason they are no longer therapeutically used.
• Lithium, used for the treatment of bipolar illness, is an interesting drug. It is not addicting, perhaps because people understand that it is highly toxic if the dose is not regulated carefully. More importantly, it probably does not produce a "high" for those who like to use drugs for that reason.
• Caffeine is one of the safest "drugs" known. It is not addicting, the lethal dose is very high, and it has no toxic effects on body organs. People who are sensitive to caffeine, however, can have altered heart rate with higher doses.
• What is a "placebo effect"? Almost every drug (especially those that affect brain function) has a placebo effect. This is an unexplained therapeutic (or counter-therapeutic) effect that does not involve the drug's pharmacology. If a large group of people is given a sugar pill for anxiety, depression, pain relief, etc., approximately 30% of the people will have a reduction in anxiety, depression, or pain. The reasons are not entirely clear, but one thought is that people given any medical attention will expect to get better.
• What are the differences between a "sedative", "tranquilizer", "anxiolytic", and "neuroleptic"? They are all related. The word "sedative" is a general (older) term for anything that calms people down. "Tranquilizer" is a more specialized (older) term for a drug that reduces anxiety ("minor" tranquilizer) or reduces psychotic symptoms ("major" tranquilizer). These terms have mostly been replaced by "anxiolytics" (anxiety reducers) and "neuroleptics" (anti-schizophrenic drugs).
• By law when a physician prescribes drugs for a patient, the physician is required to ensure that the patient is fully informed of the drugs risks and benefits and consents to the drug therapy with full informed knowledge. Statistics show that this occurs in less than 20% of the patient population.

50 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW

• (or 50 Completely Useless Facts!)
  The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed. Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon. Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions! What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France. "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order. "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel. In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off! Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath There is a city called Rome on every continent. It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland! Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day! Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness. The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe! The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump! One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet! Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different! The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails! Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin! The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080. Women blink nearly twice as much as men. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle.