Pork and Tomato (番茄豬肉)

We used to have this as beef and tomato when I was a child, but then there was the mad cow disease scandal, and my parents took beef off the menu at home immediately. So we substituted everything beefy with pork, and this one never changed back. Mind you, the only really beefy dish my Dad does nowadays is beef flank slow-cooked with mooli (I'm salivating just thinking about that one).

Ordinarily I'd just use sliced pork loin, but because the not really a baby anymore is still only small, I bought some pork leg and put it through the food processor.

Ingredients

• 200g pork mince, or thinly sliced pork loin
• Thumb-sized piece of raw ginger, peeled
• 1 teaspoon of cornflour
• 4 large, ripe tomatoes
• 2-3 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
• 1 dessert spoon of worcester sauce
• A splash of light soy sauce
• Half a large onion, sliced thinly
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2-3 handfuls of frozen petits pois
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• Ground white pepper to taste
• Sunflower oil for frying
• A splash of sesame oil

Serves 2-3

Instructions

• Grate the ginger finely and squeeze the juice over your pork. Add the cornflour, a drop of sunflower oil and some ground white pepper and mix to combine. Leave for at least 20 minutes. (If you don't have time for this, just add the cornflour, oil and pepper to the pork and mix, and throw a couple of slices of ginger into the wok with the garlic later).
• Skin the tomatoes. Cut a large cross into the bottom of each, place in a large bowl and pour boiling water over. Leave for 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. The skin should peel off easily. Chop roughly and put to one side
• Heat some sunflower oil in a wok or flat-bottomed pan, and add the beaten egg. Spread it around the surface, so you have a thin pancake of egg. Flip over and cook through. Remove from the heat, chop into pieces and put to one side
• Give the wok a wipe and return to the heat. Add a small amount of sunflower oil and when hot, add the garlic clove (and the sliced ginger if using). Swirl around the oil to flavour it, and remove before it starts to burn
• Add the chopped onions to the wok, and stir-fry for 5 minutes until softened
• Add the pork and stir-fry until it is browned
• Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, worcester sauce and light soy sauce, and stir to combine. Add a little water to loosen the mixture, if required, and white pepper to taste
• Cover the pan and leave to cook for 15 minutes
• Add the petits pois and cook through for a few minutes
• Add the egg at the end, heat through and add a couple of drops of sesame oil
• Serve with rice

Pork and Tomato with Rice