Cubing Pork

Appears in

Published 1981

About

Cubed meats are frequently deep-fried because they provide the cook with an opportunity to enjoy a contrast of textures—the outside of the, meat turns dark and crisp, yet the inside stays light and moist. Contrast—in texture, color, and flavor—is one of the most important attributes of a fine-Chinese dish.

Sweet-and-Sour Pork, made from cubes of boneless pork butt, has the additional contrast of a sauce that balances sweet with sour flavors. Unfortunately, most restaurants overthicken their sweet-and-sour sauce, make it too sweet, and color it an unnatural red. This true homemade version is much more subtle, not unlike the sauce for French duck à l’orange.