My Oh So Little Twist On Sweet And Sour Lamb

Total Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 30 ounces neck lamb fillets, cut in half lengthways and then into bite-sized pieces on the diagonal
• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 3 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 small ripe pineapple, peeled
• 1 small carrot, peeled
• 1 small cucumber, peeled
• 3/4 cup malt vinegar
• 5 tablespoons shaoxing wine or 5 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, extra
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons gingerroot, julienned
• 1/2 medium yellow pepper, julienned
• 2 small tomatoes, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1/4 cup plain flour (all-purpose)
• 1/4 cup cornflour (cornstarch)
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Recipe

• 1 blend cornflour with water in a medium-sized bowl until dissolved. add lamb, egg yolks, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt and mix well. cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
• 2 make the sweet and sour sauce. remove core from pineapple and finely slice into pieces. using a vegetable peeler, finely slice carrot lengthways into ribbons. cut cucumber in half lengthways, slice on the diagonal and set aside, together with the pineapple and carrot.
• 3 place vinegar, wine or sherry, sugar and extra salt in a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and stir over high heat until sugar dissolves. bring to the boil, add garlic and ginger, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. add reserved pineapple, carrot, cucumber, pepper and tomato and simmer for a further 3 minutes or until pineapple is tender and tomato has broken down slightly. stir in soy sauce, remove from stove and set aside.
• 4 make the lamb. combine plain flour and extra cornflour. add to the marinated lamb and mix well. heat vegetable oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. deep-fry lamb in batches over high heat for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium and fry for another 2 minutes, or until lamb is almost cooked through.
• 5 remove from wok and drain on kitchen paper. gently reheat sweet and sour sauce. finally, return all lamb to the hot wok and deep-fry for a further 3 minutes, or until lightly browned, crispy and cooked through. remove from wok and drain well on kitchen paper.
• 6 arrange lamb on a platter and serve immediately with a bowl of warm sweet and sour sauce.