Sweet and sour dishes are generally a crowd pleaser. It’s no wonder one of the most popular take out Chinese food is sweet and sour pork. What we are accustomed to eating here in the West is the Cantonese style where the meat is cooked first and the sauce is added before serving. The sauce is primarily made of of vinegar, sugar, ketchup for color and soy sauce.

Filipinos have an array of sweet and sour dishes of their own ranging from meat to seafood. Meatballs is one of the most popular kind since its the easiest to make in my opinion. This is on no way an authentic Cantonese sweet and sour dish, it’s something my family have created and what we like.

For the meatballs, combine 1 lb ground beef (ideally it should be a combination of pork and beef), 1 egg, 1-2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp. ground pepper and 2 stalks spring onion white parts only. Mix everything to combine and form into uniform balls. I was able to make dozen.

Shallow fry your meatballs until golden brown making sure not to crowd your pan. Set aside.

Cut into chunks half a red, green and yellow bell peppers. You don’t have to use all three, I just wanted it for color and presentation. In another pan, quickly fry your peppers for 30 seconds in hot oil the set aside.

For the sauce, combine 1 cup water, 3/4 cup ketchup, 3 tbsp. vinegar, 1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar. Let this come to a boil while continuously stirring. Then add 1 tsp. potato starch or cornstarch dispersed in water and add to your sauce until thickened. Add your meatballs and pepper to the pan until everything is coated with the sauce. Plate and serve.

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