Jem’s Gluten Free Eats

Chinese takeaway was certainly my hardest goodbye as a Coeliac – of course there are some Chinese takeaways that offer Coeliac-friendly options but they are few and far between. Saying that, sweet and sour was never my top choice – in fact, I wasn’t really a fan. The sauces you buy in jars from the supermarket just never seemed to cut it. But then I started to make it myself at home and now it is one of my favourite go-to takeaway treats.

It’s tangy, it’s sweet and sticky and so easy to make. The best bit about this recipe is that it doesn’t skimp on the sauce – I like a lot of sauce. I use pork loin steaks for this recipe but you can substitute that for chicken, prawns, tofu or just vegetables.

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 pork loin steaks, cut into thin strips
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 red peppers, chopped
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 425g tin of pineapple chunks, drained but save the juice

For the batter:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 100g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp chinese five spice

For the sauce:

• Juice from a 425g tin of pineapple chunks
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tsp cornflour

Method:

In a bowl, coat your pork strips in the beaten egg. In a separate bowl, mix together your cornflour, Chinese five spice and baking powder.

Heat your oil in a large pan on a medium high heat. Proceed to take your pork strips and coat them well in the cornflour mixture, then transfer them into the hot pan. Fry for 10-15 minutes until cooked through and crispy. Then remove from the pan and set aside.

Reduce the pan to a medium heat and add your onions, peppers and carrots. Fry for 5 minutes until softened.

Meanwhile, mix together your sauce ingredients and add to the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a low heat, leaving to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Add your pork strips and cook for a further minutes to heat them through. Serve straight away so the pork remains crispy.