Pork does go so well with Chinese seasonings and treatment, it seems to enjoy the sweet/sour ingredients of Chinese cooking - like ginger, soy, honey, 5 spice and so on, and this simple stew takes little preparation and will be enjoyed by the whole family.

Ingredients - serves 4

500g diced pork
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
100ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp rice wine or sherry
1" cube ginger, grated
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, crushed & chopped finely
1 piece of dried orange peel
1/2 star anise
1/2 cinnamon stick
grinding of Szechuan peppercorns - (or black peppercorns if you have none)

Method

Put the pork in a bowl with all the ingredients except the sunflower oil - add only half of that to the marinade - and leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof casserole dish. Remove the diced pork from the marinade with a slotted spoon (keeping the marinade!) and deep fry the pork pieces in batches until nicely browned and remove. Discard the remaining cooking oil, add the reserved marinade, cover and cook in 160°C oven for 1 1⁄2 hours until tender.

Serve with plain boiled rice and stir fried vegetables of your choice.