Zurin's Kung Pao (Made with Pork instead of Chicken)

I take NO credit for this recipe - it's from a good friend's Blog.... Zurin of Cherry on a Cake . Zurin was one of my first ever blogger friends. Our friendship became more than just blogging and something to treasure dearly. Zurin hasn't blogged in a little while (we email occasionally) and was my early source of inspiration with some outstanding recipes and photos that dreadfully put all of mine to shame !

My photos really do no justice at all - do have a look at Zurin's original ones here.  Zurin - please forgive me - we were starving hungry and wanted to eat whilst dinner was hot.... However bad my photos are, I assure you it was really yummy !

Given Zurin's own comments, I doubled the sauce part of the recipe from her original and am glad I did. The volume of chillies seemed obsurd, but when deseeded, didn't put as much heat as I thought they would into the recipe. Saying that, I wasn't keen on the texture of the cooked dried chillies. Next time, I think I'd add fresh chillies (to taste) instead.

300g sliced / diced pork steaks

3/4 cup of dried chilles - deseeded and cut into approx 1" lengths

3/4 tsp Sichuan peppercorns (I crushed them.... dunno - not used these before !)

3/4 cup chopped spring onions

1 chopped yellow pepper

large handful of salted roast peanuts

3 cloves of crushed garlic

3tsp grated fresh ginger

Marinade :

3 tsp cornflour

1 egg white

salt and pepper to season

2 tablespoons of rice wine

For the Sauce

1 tablespoon of rice vinegar

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce

3 tablespoons soft brown sugar

3 tablespoons water

1 tsp of cornflour

squeeze of lime juice

Mix up the marinade ingredients and massage into the pork. It really doesn't look pleasant at this stage ! Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Put 1 cup of oil in a pan and fry the marinaded pork in one layer on a high heat. As soon as the colour changes, flip it over and do the other side. This is rapid - get it in and out the pan in ONE MINUTE.

Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Keep the oil aside for later use. Leave 3 tablespoons in your pan. Fry the dried chillies until crispy on a very low heat, then drain and set aside. I'm not sure what happened to mine. I think I may have overcooked them ? They went more of a dark brown than red and final texture was a bit leathery. I'm hoping Zurin can advise me on that one....

Pour away the oil the chillies were cooked in and use a little of the reserved oil. Add the garlic, ginger and sichuan pepper and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the sauce ingredients and as soon as it starts to bubble and thicken, tip the pork back in along with spring onions, peppers and peanuts. It only needs another minute or two. Stir to coat well and serve with fluffy white rice.

Sarah-Jane Nash, www.siliconemoulds.com - February 2012