Sweet and Sour Pork

A couple of months ago we found a great sale on boneless pork chops. We invested in them heavily and ended up with many in our freezer- and not many recpes to use them in. As luck would have it, I also had a bottle of plum sauce that I had been given for my wedding (never opened, and not expired yet :P). In the course of figuring out what to make with these things, I came upon a sweet and sour pork recipe on allrecipes. It sounded pretty good, so we tried it out. Steve kept telling me the whole time I was cooking it how when he was on his mission he had been served the most amazing sweet and sour pork ever by this little Chinese woman. Guess who totally rocked the casba and made just as awesome of a recipe... that's right, me! We have now used up all the pork in our freezer- and are looking for another sale :P

1 pound pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water
1 egg
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red chile pepper - chopped (I used crushed red pepper flakes, all I had)
1/2 cup pineapple (crushed, diced, whatever you have or want)
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons plum sauce
5 tablespoons water

Using a mallet or the back of a knife, pound the pork until fairly flat, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 1 inch pieces. In a medium bowl, combine the salt, baking soda and water. Place the pork pieces in the bowl and turn to coat. Place the corn starch in a large, resealable plastic bag. Place the pork pieces in the bag with the corn starch and shake the meat around until all the pieces are coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the pork pieces in the oil and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the pork from the oil and set aside. In the same skillet over medium high heat, combine the green bell pepper, red chile pepper, pineapple, and onion and saute for 5 minutes.

To make sauce: In a separate small bowl, combine the white sugar, salt, corn flour, vinegar, ketchup, plum sauce and water. Mix well and pour this into the skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken. Return the pork pieces to the skillet, mix all together well and serve.