Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork

I have tried several different sweet and sour recipes, but have finally one that I think is pretty good. It's full of veggies and tastes pretty darn good. And yes, this recipe also came from my dear friend Min and is the one she wrote down in a very special cookbook for me so I know it had to be good.

Ingredients:

500 ml oil for deep frying

1/2 lb (300g) chicken or pork

corn flour (corn starch) for coating chicken or pork

1 bell pepper (green or red)

1 tomato, cut into wedges

1 medium onion, largely diced

1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple (cubed)

1/2 cup cucumber wedges

Marinade:

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 egg

1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine

1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

3 Tbsp water

Sauce:

1 Tbsp plum sauce (optional)

5 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 Tbsp chili sauce (I use Thai Sweet Chili sauce)

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

100 ml water (just less than 1/2 cup)

Method:

Cut pork or chicken into 1/2" thick and then pound with back of knife until tender. Then cut into cubes. Add in marinade and leave for 30 minutes.

Coat chicken or pork cubes with corn starch (corn flour).

Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish out and drain.

Leave 1 Tbsp oil in wok. Stir fry bell pepper (capsicum), tomato, onion until fragrant.

Pour in sauce.

Bring sauce to a boil.

Add in pineapple and cucumber.

Cook until sauce gets thick. Add more ketchup in if needed to thicken sauce. Once thickened, add in deep fried chicken/pork and mix well.

Dish up and serve preferably with rice.