Sweet and sour pork (Go lo yuk)

Instructions

1. For the sweet and sour sauce, dissolve the rock sugar and brown sugar in 250 ml (1 cup) water in a small bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture and stir.
2. Pour the rice wine vinegar into a medium glass or enamelled cast-iron saucepan (the sauce is too acidic for a metal pan). Bring the vinegar to the boil, add the salt and mix until it has dissolved. Strain in the sugar and lemon water (if some of the sugar still hasn't dissolved, return it to the heat until it has). Stir in the sauces. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and taste the sauce. It should be sweet and sour with a background savoury note. Adjust the flavour with sugar, vinegar and salt if needed.
3. Let the sauce cool, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Just make sure you use a clean, dry spoon or ladle to take the sauce out.
4. For the sweet and sour pork, rinse the pork and pat dry. This is important – if you don't dry the pork thoroughly, it will affect the crispness later on when you fry it.
5. To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients, except the oil, in a large glass or ceramic dish. Add the pork and turn to coat in the marinade. Leave it for 1–2 minutes, then add the oil and mix well.
6. Pour the cooking oil into a large wok or heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and bring it up to about 160°C or until a cube of bread dropped in the oil browns in 30–35 seconds.
7. Meanwhile, lightly coat the pork pieces with cornflour, shaking off the excess.
8. Carefully lower the pork into the oil and fry, untouched, for 1 minute. You don't want to move it around otherwise the flour coating might drop off. After a minute, gently stir the oil so the pieces loosen up naturally, then continue to fry for another 3 minutes. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon.
9. Increase the heat to high and bring the oil temperature up to 190°C or until a cube of bread dropped in the oil browns in 10 seconds. Return the pork to the oil and fry for another 30–60 seconds until golden brown and very crispy. Remove the pork and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil.
10. Reheat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and saute for 30 seconds, then add the capsicum and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the garlic and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Pour in the shaoxing wine and the sweet and sour sauce and bring to the boil. Add the pineapple and simmer for 10 seconds.
11. Add the fried pork to the sauce, then immediately remove from the heat and keep stirring. There should be just enough sauce to coat all the ingredients. Serve immediately. With rice of course!