My picture-taking skills seem to have deteriorated lately, but this dish turned out so well that I decided to post it here anyway. You can’t really go too far wrong with pork, in my book, but this was a lot of fun, as well. Tishie loves the Orange Chicken we get at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond, so I was going for something at least similar. What I wound up with was not a ringer, by any stretch, but it was good enough for the rest of the crew to ask about a dozen times, as they do when they love something I’ve made, “You DID write this down, right?”

First I cut up half a pork loin into a chunky dice. I had to do it in batches, so you’re seeing half of it here.

Meanwhile, I made the sauce. And yes, I actually *measured* the ingredients!

• 2 1/2 tbsp. molasses
• 2 1/s tbsp. honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. Roasted Garlic & Onion Jam (store bought, a specialty brand)
• 2 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. spicy bean paste (from the Asian market)
• 1/2 tsp. orange extract (I was out of OJ)
• 1 tbsp. ginger preserves
• 2/3 cup white wine
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp. sushi (seasoned) vinegar
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar

I reduced it all a bit, then thickened a little more with a teaspoon of cornstarch, added some previously (lightly) stir-fried onions, carrot slices, and broccoli florets.

Again, bad photography, sorry… I beat an egg with a little water and poured it into a ziplock bag, then tossed the cubes until lightly coated. I then rolled them in a pie pan full of cornstarch til evenly coated with that. I deep fried them until golden, then drained and tossed with the sauce & veggies.

The sauce was not as sweet as you might think, considering all the sweet ingredients, but had a nice, pleasant bite of heat, thanks to the bean paste and the roasted garlic and onion jam, which I bought at the Farm Fresh market (reallly yummy!) I think next time I’ll go with a strong-acid apple cider vinegar instead of the sushi vinegar, though. All in all, it was a success that will be made again… and again. And soon!