Sweet and Sour Pork

October. I submitted the final book manuscript. The revised version, the edited version, the version that has been through three rounds of edits with Sarah and is now, according to Sarah, "ready." Ready. The word felt like a graduation. The word felt like the end of a pregnancy — the months of carrying, the labor of revision, the delivery of a manuscript that weighs 80,000 words and contains my entire life from the floor to the table, from the garlic to the book, from the PTSD to the adobo.

I clicked "send" on the email and sat at the kitchen table and stared at the screen and the screen stared back and the manuscript was gone, traveling through the internet from my kitchen to the publisher's office, the words leaving my possession for the first time, the story no longer just mine but also theirs, also the reader's, also the world's. The letting-go. The sending. The same letting-go I practice with ER patients — you hold the hand, you do the work, you let go. The book is the patient now. The book is in someone else's hands. My job is done. The job is done.

I made lechon kawali. The celebration pork. The crispy pork belly that shatters. The pork shattered. The celebration was alone, at the table, with a beer and a plate of crispy pork and the particular satisfaction of a woman who just sent 80,000 words into the world and the words are good and the pork is good and the sending is done.

I didn’t have lechon kawali ingredients on hand — but I had pork, and I had vinegar, and I had the particular energy of a woman who had just let something enormous leave her hands. Sweet and sour pork has that same quality I needed: the contrast, the shatter of something crispy meeting something bright and sharp, the way the sauce cuts through the richness the way a good editor cuts through a draft. It felt right. It felt like the sending.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder or pork belly, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Neutral oil for frying
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup pineapple chunks (fresh or canned, drained)
1/2 medium onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water (slurry)

Instructions

Season and coat the pork. Toss pork cubes with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine beaten egg with pork. In a separate bowl, mix 6 tablespoons cornstarch with the flour. Dredge each pork piece in the cornstarch-flour mixture until evenly coated.
Fry the pork. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot or wok to 350°F. Working in batches, fry pork cubes for 4–5 minutes until golden and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a rack or paper towels. For extra crispiness, return pork to the oil for a second 2-minute fry.
Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and broth until combined. Taste and adjust the balance of sweet and sour to your preference.
Stir-fry the vegetables. Pour off most of the frying oil, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan. Over high heat, stir-fry garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add onion, bell peppers, and pineapple and cook for 2 minutes, keeping them slightly crisp.
Combine and thicken. Pour the sauce into the pan with the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes until the sauce is glossy and thickened.
Add the pork and serve. Add the fried pork to the pan and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately over steamed white rice so the pork stays crispy.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet and Sour Pork — The Celebration Plate I Made for Myself the Day I Let the Words Go