Gulao Rou

This dish is often on menus in mediocre Chinese restaurants in the West where it invariably appears as a sweet, gluey, reddish concoction. This version, however, captures the virtues of the classic dish, “Gulao Pork.” In China, gulao means venerable. In it, a sour taste was obtained from such fruits as plums, oranges, and berries, then combined with sweetened vinegar and other seasonings. Below I use fresh orange juice along with sugar and vinegar. The “sweets” and “sours” combine and pe