Tamarind-Glazed Pork Stir-Fry

Another winning recipe from Yummy Magazine (October 2011 issue)!   The original recipe calls for chicken breast but we only have pork steak at home so we did the pork version instead.   I now count this as one of our favorite dishes.  Who would have thought that you can use sinigang na sampalok (tamarind stew mix) in a stir-fry dish?

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork steak (the original recipe requires 4 fillets skinless chicken breast)
• 1 teaspoon sinigang na sampalok mix
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce (patis) – you can add more if you prefer it to be a bit salty
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/4 cup diced bell pepper
• 1/4 cup cashew nuts, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Steps:

1.  Cut chicken fillets into 1-inch bite-sized pieces (in case of pork, cut it into smaller pieces for it to cook faster)

2.  Mix together sinigang mix, fish sauce, brown sugar, and dissolved cornstarch.

3.  Add sauce mixture to chicken/pork pieces (enough to coat the pieces) and let it stand in the chiller for about 30 minutes.

4.  Over high heat, saute chicken/pork pieces until light brown.  If using the Saladmaster Gourmet Pan (like what we did), cook over medium heat only.  Set aside.

(Note:  You don’t need to saute the meat with the sauce.   It so happened that I wasn’t able to drain the meat properly before sauteing them in our Saladmaster Gourmet Pan).

5.  In the same Saladmaster Gourmet Pan, saute onions and bell pepper.

6.  Add the meat pieces and saute with the onions and bell peppers.

7.  Add the sauce and let simmer until sauce is thickened and the meat pieces are cooked.   If the sauce becomes too thick and the meat pieces are still uncooked, just add more water.

8.   Adjust seasoning according to taste.  Add chopped cashews and mix well.

This stir-fry dish took only 20 minutes to cook (and 10 minutes if we used chicken breast), and it smelled and tasted really great!   It has a delightful sour punch brought about by the tamarind mix.

I highly recommend that you try this one!  Trust me, it’s going to become your favorite too!