Sweet & Sour Pork

(click to enlarge)	Sweet & Sour Pork Thailand
	Serves: Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 w/rice *** 3/4 hr Prep	This fresh, attractive and delectable dish is about as far away as you can get from the sticky, acrid, neon red pork of Chinese take-out infamy - and is far more healthy as well. For the photo batch I forgot the straw mushrooms, but they were hardly missed.

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Pork lean
Garlic
-- Sauce
Straw Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Scallions
Chili, red (1)
Onion
Tomato Sauce
Stock
Rice Vinegar
Sugar
Fish Sauce
Salt
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Stock
Tapioca Flour
Oil
Pepper
-- Garnish
Cilantro leaves
Cucumber slices

Prep

Slice PORK into thin medallions, 1/8 inch thick by about 2 by 1 inches.
Crush GARLIC and chop fine.
Slice Mushrooms in half lengthwise unless very small. Cut Tomato into narrow half wedges. Cut Scallions into 1 inch lengths, white and green. Seed Chilis and cut into narrow strips. Cut Onion in half lengthwise and then crosswise about 1/8 inch thick. Mix together All Sauce Items.
Mix Stock and Tapioca Flour together.

RUN

Heat OIL very hot in a wok or spacious sauté pan and stir in Garlic for a few seconds until it starts to color, then stir in Pork. Fry stirring until pork completely loses its raw color and any liquid has boiled off.
Stir in Sauce Mix until well mixed. Don't overcook.
Stir in Tapioca Mix and stir gently over moderate heat until the sauce thickens.
Season with Pepper.
Garnish with Cilantro Leaves and Sliced Cucumber. Serve hot with steamed Jasmine rice.

NOTES:

Chilis: Around here everyone uses red ripe Fresnos, but other chilis can be used. Two Fresnos make this dish quite mild, so increase or use Thai chilis if you wish. See my Chili Page for details.

U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch