Sweet and Sour Honey Pork Noodles

The honey bee, a socially interactive insect, lives and works in a large community that involves hard labour in the production of a product that is loved by most human consumers. To them, it is a source of food for the winter period however honey is a source of complete pleasure in times of need and desire as it has been identified to have medicinal properties that could support a consumer through chesty coughs, sore throats or even head colds. It is strange to think that a substance so rich and pure could abolish an illness or gradually make you feel better in time. Manuka Honey is a great example of this as it has been said to have properties that assists in throat problems. As a sufferer of recurrent tonsillitis, I am very keen to explore this New Zealand product made directly from the nectar of the Manuka bush and attempt to add it into my weekly diet. You could add it to your steaming, warm cup of tea; spread it onto a flamed piece of toast or you could even add it to a stir fry. Yes, this is a strange concept but I have realised that honey can replace the sugar content in particular dishes no matter what type of honey it is. In this recipe, I have used an organic brand which helps decrease Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) but feel free to try Manuka Honey as an alternative.

Sweet and Sour Honey Pork Noodles is a vibrant, flavoursome dish that can be made from all the left over vegetables, condiments and meats at the end of the week. It is very easy to make and can be a rewarding dinner for when you get back into the house from work. You could replace the pork with chicken or beef and add bean sprouts at the end for extra crunch. No matter what you choose to do, the warm, sweet and sour honey sauce will just capture an intense mouth-watering moment and provide the family with a rare treat. Replacing the caster sugar for organic honey, it has made the ‘sweet’ part of the sauce smooth and syrupy so that the flavour becomes more intense. Balancing the sweetness, additional chilli flakes were put in with the white wine vinegar and tomato ketchup mixture (depending on flavour preferences) so that there was a slight ‘kick’ to the dish. Do not panic if there is very little sauce or it is too concentrated and has a strong flavour. Just simply add a splash of hot water to the mixture – you may need a little more depending on temperature and flavour. When frying the pork, make sure that the sunflower oil is hot enough to capture and seal the flavour when hitting the pan – providing additional colour to visually improve the dish as a whole.

Ingredients

Stir-fry

2tbsp sunflower oil

200g pork fillet, finely sliced

¼ cucumber, thinly sliced

¼ courgette, thinly sliced

¼ red pepper

¼ yellow pepper

¼ red onion

Sweet and Sour Honey Sauce

Dash of olive oil

½ red pepper, finely chopped

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

dried chilli flakes, pinch

splash of water

2 tsp tomato ketchup

25g canned pineapple

50g fine noodles

Spring onions, finely chopped to garnish

Method

1.    For the sweet and sour sauce, mix all ingredients together in a pan for 10 minutes.

2.    For the stir-fry, heat up the oil in a wok or a large frying pan, add the pork and stir-fry for 5 minutes, or until evenly browned.

3.    Add the cucumber, courgette, red pepper, yellow pepper and red onion to the wok and stir fry for an additional 5 minutes.

4.    Meanwhile, boil water in a large pan and add the fine noodles, cook till soft.

5.    When ready, stir in the sweet and sour sauce, stirring constantly for a further 2 minutes (making sure the pork is cooked all the way through). Add the pineapple.

6.    Drain the fine noodles and add to the stir fry.

7.    Serve immediately, garnished with spring onions.