Pork enjoys its reputation as a white meat

Hi there from Milwaukee
My last dinner here, so what could be better than a Sweet and Sour pork with pineapple and basil, to satisfy Aussie and American taste buds; sweet and sour adored by Americans combined with Asian spices, embraced by Australian cuisine.  This all-in-one version of the dish gets the tick for Fit in your jeans cuisine, since it's not cooked in batter nor is it too sweet. 
Nutritionally  - Pork producers have enhanced feeding and breeding practices to deliver leaner options for today’s health conscious consumers. it now enjoys a reputation as a white meat due to the fact that many lean pork cuts are similar in fat to a skinless chicken.
Clara 
ps -Today  I took my very own photo of 2 beautiful friendly deer in the back yard.  Lucky we hadn't chosen venison for our meal tonight!

Sweet and sour pork with basil
600g (1 1/2 lb lean pork fillets)
2 tbsp curry paste (In Australia we can readily buy this, but we made our own - recipe below)
2 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1 red onion  (cut into wedges)
250g  (a good  1/2 lb) green beans - topped
250g cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1tbsp brown sugar
lrg handful basil leaves

to serve
Steamed rice

Stir curry paste with pork.
Heat a wok or heavy pan over high heat.  Add half the oil and heat until hot.  Stir- fry pork in batches for 2-3 minutes until cooked through and golden. Remove from heat.  Caramalise pineapple by stir-frying for 1 min then remove.

Reheat wok to high and add remaining oil.  Add onion - stir-fry 2 mins until golden.  Add the beans and 2 tbsp water and stir-fry 1-2 mins.  Add tomatoes and stir-fry for 1 min.

Toss together pork and pineapple. add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and basil leaves and stir.  Serve straight away with rice.


If Thai curry paste is unavailable you can make your own but leave out the fish sauce and brown sugar from the above recipe since it is included in the paste.

Thai curry paste

1-2 red chilies (or substitute 1/2 to 1 tsp dried chilli)
1/2 to 1 stalk lemongrass, minced (or substitute with 1 tsp lemon zest)
2 shallots, sliced (or 1/3 cup onion chopped)
1 thumb-sized piece of galangal, or ginger sliced
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp fish sauce
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tomato ketchup (or substitute tomato paste plus 1/2 tsp sugar)
Blend until smooth. Can be kept for 2 weeks in airtight bottle, or  can be frozenThai Curry Paste
1-2 red chilies (or substitute 1/2 to 1 tsp dried chilli)
1/2 to 1 stalk lemongrass, minced (or substitute with 1 tsp  lemon zest) 
2 shallots, sliced (or 1/3 cup onion chopped)
1 thumb-sized piece of galangal, or ginger sliced
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/3 tsp pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tomato ketchup (or substitute tomato paste plus 1/2 tsp sugar)
Blend until smooth.  Can be kept for 2 weeks in airtight bottle, or it can be frozen.