Sweet and Sour Pork Stew (Spezzatino In Agrodolce)
Cooked and served on the same night that I made the Baked Salmon With Buttered Vegetables, this stew was the result of my curiosity. I always associated the sweet and sour blend with Asian cooking and I never realized it was more universal than that. You can just imagine my surprise when I saw the recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork Stew in The Silver Spoon, the Italian cooking bible that my husband gave me for Mother’s Day. And as amazing as it may sound, there are no strange ingredients included. Well, probably not all of them are staples in most Asian kitchens but all are definitely available in any decent supermarket.
It’s delicious. Rich without being overpowering. Comforting too as it speaks of old-fashioned peasant cooking, the kind that warms a home kitchen and permeates it with wonderful aromas. Truth be told, my family liked this dish more than the Baked Salmon With Buttered Vegetables. I would have loved to find out if it would have tasted better the next day but there were no leftovers.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
750 g. of skinless pork kasim (shoulder), cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes
1/4 c. of brandy
4 tbsps. of dark soy sauce
3 tbsps. of butter
4 tbsps. of olive oil (not extra virgin)
2 large green bell peppers, seeded, cored and finely chopped
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, cored and finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4 pickles, drained and finely chopped
1 tbsp. of red wine vinegar
2 tbsps. of sugar, or to taste
1 tbsp. of tomato ketchup
salt and pepper, to taste
Place the pork in a glass bowl. Add the brandy and soy sauce. Mix. Cover the bowl and marinate the pork in the fridge for at least two hours.
Heat half the butter and half of the olive oil in a pot. Add the bell peppers, onion and pickles and cook over medium heat for about five minutes or until the vegetables start to turn soft. Add half a cup of water. Pour in the red wine vinegar. Stir in the sugar and ketchup. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter and olive oil in a frying pan. Cook the drained pork pieces, in batches if necessary, until lightly browned. Add the pork pieces (with the oil and butter in which they were browned) to the sauce and stir. Simmer for 40 minutes to an hour or until the pork is tender.
Sprinkle some finely sliced sweet basil leaves on top and serve with rice.
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hi connie,
another dish to try…
but i have 2 q’s -
1) can i use any kind of brandy?
2) will pickle relish do?
thanks!
Yes and yes, although I’d stick to good quality brandy.
Thanks, Connie! I will try it this week after a quick trip to the liquor store!!
i’d love to try this… unfortunately we’re not allowed to buy liquor here in the UAE..
Ayayay… won’t taste the same without the brandy.
now this is something i wouldnt get tired of eating…thanks Con.
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hmmm yet another great dish thanks connie, can you show me what you can do with a standing rib roast?
Haaaay, if only I can buy a good one. Most of the standing ribs I see in the supermarket don’t look too fresh — kinda drying, in fact, especially around the edges.
hi connie! this looks delish! pork kasim are the ones na me taba right? could i use lean pork here? kse dito bihira ang pork na me fat
thanks!
hay nakU! tagal kong nawala ah! ang dami ko tuloy namiss na recipes…am back na in Manila for good. Yehey! ayaw ko na sa Cebu ang daming bisaya! Anyway, i’d like to try this kaya lang pag me brandy or gin na kasama sa recipe ayaw ko sana, kasi habang nagluluto tagay naman ng tagay! kakalashing!@#%
Tapos yung ulam nagiging pulutan! Pero am sure masarap ito, kaya lulutuin ko din. Thanks Connie, da best ka talaga!
It’s good to be back sa napakaTRAPIK na Manila..
your remarks are irrelevant to the topic… hello! what do you expect its the visayan capital, so naturally madaming bisaya… anyway we don’t like air head manelenos too!
Hi,
I made this dish tonight. I marinated the pork for less than 2 hours. However, I did not have brandy so I used rum instead. It was a little bland for our taste, so I added small amount of patis. Also, I added a tablespoon of tomato paste to make it more vibrant in color and richer in texture of the sauce. Next time I will try brandy and will update you on this. Thanks for sharing.