How to Make: Peking-Style Pork Chop/Strawberry Pork Chop (京都排骨)(Ging duo Pai gwat)/(Jing du Pai gu)/(Ching Du Pai Gu)

Today's recipe is authentic Chinese Peking Style Pork Chops- Jing duo Pai Gwat in Cantonese or Ching du Pai gu or rou pai in Mandarin (京都排骨).  In Western Canada (Vancouver, Calgary in particular), the most common variety is called Strawberry Pork Chop or spare ribs. Did it originate from Hong Kong?  I don't know :-(  It might sound unappetising, but it is very delicious!  You can't taste the strawberries at the end, but it helps make the sauce have a unique flavour.  I used boneless pork chops but you can use the one with bones too.  Usually the dish is made with Hoisin Sauce instead of Gochuchang (Korean Hot pepper paste), but I didn't have any.  I learned how to make this dish from experience and observing how the restaurants did it.  It's just like the restaurant! Try it out.

Peking-Style Pork Chop/Spare Ribs(Strawberry Pork Chop)(Ching Du Pai Gu) (京都排骨)

Yields: 3-4 Servings

Cooking Time: 30 min

Total Time: 2 hours 30 min

Ingredients:

Pork:

• 3 Pork Chops cut into 5-7 cm pieces (2-3 inches) OR 500 gm of Pork Spare Ribs (1 lb)
• 100 gm Potato starch or Corn starch (1/2 cup)
• 500 mL of water (2 cups)
• 1 egg white
• 5 ml of Sesame Oil (1 tsp)
• 10 gm of Baking powder (2 tsp)
• pinch of salt

Sauce:

• 100 gm of Strawberries, smashed (about 3 oz)
• 30 gm packed brown sugar (2 1/2 tbsp)
• 30 mL of Soy Sauce (2 tbsp)
• 45 mL of Hoisin Sauce or Kecap Manis (3 tbsp)
• 30 mL Chinese Rice wine or Sake (2 tbsp)
• 30 mL Oyster Sauce (2 tbsp)
• 15 mL Korean Hot pepper paste (Gochujang) (2 tbsp) 
• 10 mL Srichacha Chilli Sauce (or any hot sauce) (2 tsp)
• 45 mL of water (3 tbsp)
• 30 mL Vinegar (2 tbsp)
• 5 mL sesame oil (1 tsp)

Method:

• Prepare the batter, combine the potato starch or corn starch in a large bowl and mix it well with water.  Leave it on the counter for 2 hours.  It should separate into two layers.  Drain of the water, and add in the egg white.  Mix until the batter becomes runny.  Add in the sesame oil, baking powder, and salt.  
• Prepare the meat.  Cut the pork into 5-7 cm (2-3 inch) pieces.  Pound the pork with a kitchen hammer, meat tenderiser or heavy pot to flatten it.  This will make the pork very tender.
• Add the pork to the batter and coat it evenly.
• Heat the oil to medium heat at 180 C (350 F), and fry the pork until a little golden (about 4 min).  Remove the pork and let it drain on paper towel.  Let it cool slightly before frying the second time.
• Heat the oil to medium-high heat to 190 C (375 F) and fry the pork again for 2 min until they become very golden brown and crispy.  Remove and drain again.
• Combine the ingredients for sauce and then put in a pan or wok on medium heat.  Let the sauce boil and reduce in volume by about 1/2.  It should become sticky and and glossy.
• Add in pork, coat the sauce evenly, and serve with rice

Tips/Suggestions:

• If you don't have time to let the potato starch/corn starch to separate, just use 100 gm (1/2 cup) of potato/corn starch with 100 mL (1/3 cup) of water and the other ingredients.  Mix well- it won't be as crispy but it will still be pretty good.
• Double frying it will give it extra crunch.  Careful not to over brown the first batch, otherwise the meat will not be fully cooked in the centre.
• If you like it with a lot of sauce, double the ingredients for the sauce.
• You can also try with oranges to make orange pork.
• Careful not to turn the heat too high on the sauce, it will burn because of the high sugar content.