Ko Lo Yuk

咕嚕肉

This is a classic Cantonese dish that goes by many translated names: Go Lo Yok, Koo Lou Yoke, Ko Lo Yok, Koo Lo Yok, Ko Loh Yok, Ku Lou Yuk ...and of course, Sweet and Sour Pork. 

The recipe I am sharing here is my late mother-in-law's. 

Ingredients (serves 4-5 pax)

1kg pork belly slab

Marinade: 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder, dashes of white pepper, 1 egg yolk

Sauce: 

1 capsicum/bell pepper (sliced into wedges)

1 cucumber (cut into small pieces)

1 large onion (sliced into wedges)

1 or 2 fresh tomatoes (boil in a pot of water, drain, peel off the skin, cut the tomatoes into cubes)

1 slice of pineapple (cut into small pieces)

2 tablespoon rice vinegar (or 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice)

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

6 tablespoon ketchup (or tomato sauce)

1 tablespoon chilli sauce

1 tablespoon water

Method

1. Remove skin from pork belly slab, cut pork belly slab into 3cm strips and then cut each strip into bite sized pieces. Add in marinade and set aside for at least 1-2hours.

2. Heat wok with enough oil for deep frying. Use a chopstick to test the oil temperature. When there are bubbles around the chopstick, it is ready.

3. Lightly coat each piece of pork with corn flour and shake off excess flour. Gently place them into the hot oil. Deep fry the pork pieces straightaway in batches on high heat until golden in colour. Place the pork pieces on a wire rack. After each batch of frying, scoop up the crumbs of flour from the oil using a fine-mesh sieve.

4. Next, prepare sauce. Heat a small pot with some oil. Put in large onion and stir fry until edges are brown. Add in capsicum and stir fry for 1 minute. Add fresh tomatoes, followed by the sauce mixture and water. Mix thoroughly and bring to boil. Stir in cucumber and pineapple.

5. Serve the pork pieces and sauces in separately dishes so as to retain the crispiness of the pork pieces.