Sweet and sour pork with veg ribbon noodles
Mondays are about starting the week in the right way, but they're also hard enough to get through as it is - so why not have a healthy alternative to a takeaway to treat yourself?
Holly's flash-fried sweet and sour pork and veggie noodles are super quick, and you'll even get all of your five a day in one sitting!
Serves: 4
Ingredients
700g pork tenderloin, diced into 2cm pieces3 tbsp malt vinegar1 tsp salt2 tbsp vegetable oil1 tbsp light soy sauce1 tbsp cornflour3 tbsp tomato ketchup2 tbsp sugar1 tsp Worcestershire sauce500g fresh pineapple cut into 2cm chunks80mls pineapple juice3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed2 medium red onions, peeled and thinly sliced3 red peppers, deseeded and chopped into 2cm pieces
Method
Place the pork in a bowl with 1 tbsp of the vinegar and the salt. Stir well and leave for 5 minutes to marinate. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over a high heat then add the pork (including the marinade) and fry until lightly browned and cooked through.
In the meantime make the sauce by mixing together 2 tbsp of the vinegar with the soy sauce, cornflour, tomato ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and the pineapple juice
Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the juices in the pan. Add the garlic, fry for 1 minute, then add the onions and peppers, fry for 3 minutes, lastly add the pork back into the pan, the pineapple chunks and the sauce. Stir well and simmer for 2 – 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened, then serve.
Veggie ribbon noodles
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 carrots, peeled, topped and tailed2 courgettes½ cucumber, cut in half lengthways and deseeded2 tbsp vegetable oil1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped1 tbsp light soy sauce1 tbsp sesame oil
Method
Either use a vegetable peeler, mandolin or a very sharp knife to cut lengthways along the carrots, courgettes and cucumber to create very thin ribbon strips
Heat the oil in a large pan or wok until it’s very hot, then add the ginger and garlic. Fry for 20 seconds before adding the carrots. Fry for 2 minutes, tossing or stirring continually. Add the courgettes and the chilli, stir well and fry for another minute.
Remove from the heat and add the cucumber strips, stir and dress with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Toss the veggie ribbon ‘noodles’ a little before serving with the sweet and sour pork.
Variations and notes
If you have one large frying pan or wok then make the sweet and sour pork first then transfer to a saucepan and keep warm on a very low heat whilst you use the frying pan/wok to make the veggie ribbon noodles
You could use pork escalopes cut up in place of tenderloin if you prefer
Cut the cost of this recipe by using tinned pineapple rather than fresh and use the juice from the tin instead of buying separate pineapple juice
Swap the pork for chicken or even make this completely veggie by using lots of mange tout, mini sweetcorn and broccoli
The pork recipe freezes really well for up to 3 months. The veggie ribbon ‘noodles’ can be eaten cold the next day as a salad, but don’t freeze well.
Run a teaspoon down the centre of a halved cucumber to remove the seeds easily
Did you know you can peel ginger with a teaspoon by simply rubbing it on the skin? It’s a lot easier than using a knife to cut the skin away.
Sesame oil has great flavour but if you can’t find it simply leave it out