Sweet & Sour Chicken Meatballs

Adapted from https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/sweet-and-sour-chicken-meatballs

440g can pineapple pieces in natural juice; 1 tbs cornflour; 1 small green capsicum, deseeded, finely chopped; 1  small red capsicum, deseeded, finely chopped; 3 cm piece ginger, grated; 1 tbs tomato sauce; 2 tbs white wine vinegar; 1 tbs soy sauce; 2 tbs oil; 1 cup panko breadcrumbs; 500g chicken mince; 1 tbs brown sugar; 2 cups rice, steamed (to serve)

Combine mince and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Roll mixture into balls and place on a large plate.

Heat oil in a large, deep frypan over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook, in batches, for 6 minutes, shaking pan often, until meatballs are evenly browned. Transfer to a plate.

In a large saucepan combine pineapple pieces with juice, capsicum, vinegar, cornflour, sugar, sauces and ginger, stir. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Return meatballs to pan. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and sauce has thickened. Serve with rice.

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry

                                                           

Adapted from “Clean Food: A seasonal guide to eating close to the source” Terry Walters 2007 USA

Serves 6

½ lb udon or soba noodles; 1-2 heads broccoli; 3 carrots, diced; 1 tblsp grapeseed oil; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tblsp grated fresh ginger; 1 cup snow peas, ends trimmed and strings removed; 1 cup pineapple chunks; 2 tblsp brown rice vinegar; 2 tblsp mirin; 2 tblsp sesame oil; ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

Cook noodles according to directions on package. Drain in colander & rinse thoroughly under cold water. Pace colander on a plate and refrigerate.

Preparing vegetables: Bring 2-3 cups water to boil. Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Peel and discard tough outer stems and cut remaining stems into chunks. Place prepared carrots & broccoli in bowl, cover with boiling water and let sit 2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Stir-frying: Heat wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add grapeseed oil, garlic and ginger & cook 1 minute. If anything starts to stick, add 1 tblsp water. Add broccoli, carrots & snow peas, stir & cook 2-3 minutes. Add pineapple, 1 tblsp vinegar, 1 tblsp mirin and cook 1 minute longer. Remove vegetables from wok and set aside.

Pour remaining tablespoons of vinegar and mirin into empty wok. Fold in chilled noodles until evenly coated & heated through. Drizzle with 1 tblsp sesame oil. Transfer noodles to serving dish. Toss vegetables briefly in hot wok to reheat, drizzle with remaining tablespoons sesame oil & spoon vegetables over noodles. Top with sesame seeds and serve.

Sweet and sour capsicum, pineapple and basil side dish

The Urban Cook: cooking and eating for a sustainable future, Mark Jensen 2011 Sydney

6 serves

1 large green capsicum (pepper); 1 large red capsicum (pepper); 1 onion; 200g (7oz) peeled pineapple; 2 large tomatoes; 1 celery stalk; 2 tblsp vegetable oil;1 garlic clove crushed; 100g (3 ½ oz) honey; 2 tblsp sugar; 100ml (3½ fl oz) rice vinegar; 1 large handful basil leaves

Dice the capsicum, onion, pineapple and tomatoes into 1cm (1/2 inch) square pieces. Finely slice the celery on the diagonal.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and capsicum and fry until the vegetables just start to soften and colour slightly. Add the pineapple, tomato and celery, then add the honey, sugar and vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil, then season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Due to food sensitivities our household doesn’t cook with onion and garlic. I think I should have added a tsp of grated ginger instead. But, it was still delicious served with quiche and a green salad, Anne.

 

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Pork

(Abbreviated from) The Key to Chinese Cooking, written by Irene Kuo, drawings by Carolyn Moy, Australia 1978

Ingredients: 

1/2kg/1 pound boneless loin of pork, cubed; 4 cups of oiI; ¼ cup cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Marinade:

½ tsp salt; 2 tspn light soy sauce; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tblsp water; 1 egg yolk, beaten

Seasonings:

5 tblsp sugar; ½ tsp salt; 4 tblsp distilled white vinegar; 3 tblsp light soy sauce; 2 tblsp dry sherry; 3 tblsp catsup; 1 large clove garlic, lightly crushed and peeled; 1 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 tblsp water; 1 tblsp sesame oil; ½ cup water; 1 cup canned pineapple cubes

2 tblsp oil

Method:

Trim excess fat from the pork cubes. Toss in marinade.

Sauce:

Mix the sugar, salt, white vinegar, soy sauce, sherry and catsup in a bowl, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Crush and peel the garlic. Dissolve 1 tblsp cornstach in 3 tblsp water and add 1 tblsp sesame oil, set aside. Measure out ½ cup water and set it aside. Drain the pineapple cubes and set aside.

Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat until hot, then turn heat to medium. Add 2 tblspn oil, swirl, and toss in the garlic, flipping and pressing it in the oil a few times. Then pour in the sauce seasonings slowly as you stir with the back of a spoon in a circular motion until the liquid comes to a boil.

Turn heat low, add the cornstarch mixture, stirring circularly, until the sauce begins to thicken. Then add the water slowly as you stir in circular motions until the sauce is smooth and bubbly. Turn off the heat.

Final cooking:

Heat a wok or large heavy saucepan over high until hot; add 4 cups of oil and heat until it foams a cube of bread snappily, about 350°F/175°C. While the oil is heating, dredge the marinated meat cubes in the cornstarch and flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and drop them into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Lower the heat slightly and continue to fry, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and scoop out the meat with a skimmer or slotted spoon to drain on paper towels for about 1 minute. (If you haven’t made the sauce yet, use this lull to do so). Heat a small amount of this oil in a fry pan, return the pork cubes to the oil and stir fry until crisp and brown.

Bring the sauce to a simmer over low heat; discard the garlic. Turn heat to medium high, add the pineapple cubes, and stir for 30 seconds or so to heat them through. Scoop out the meat from the oil with a skimmer or slotted spoon, pause over the fry pan to drain, then scatter the cubes into the sauce; turn heat to high and stir in fast, using flipping and turning motions with a spoon or spatula to glaze the meat. Pour immediately into a hot serving dish.

Rob's Aunty's Sweet and Sour Fish with Pineapple

Diced fish quick fried with pineapple

750g filleted fish (flake); 2 tsp salt; ½ tsp ground ginger; 1 tblsp sherry; 1½ tblsp cornflour; 1 egg white; 1 X 275g can pineapple pieces (save the juice); 1½ tblsp soy sauce; 1½ tsp sugar; 6 tblsp vegetable oil; 1 tblsp lard

Cut fish into 2cm squares or dice in 1.5cm cubes. Sprinkle with salt, ginger, sherry and cornflour (1 tblsp). Rub lightly with fingers and leave to season for 15 minutes. Beat the egg white lightly then add to the fish and mix evenly. Dice the pineapple into similar sized pieces as the fish (if not already so) add remaining cornflour, soy sauce and sugar to the pineapple juice, blend well.  

Heat oil in frying pan (wok) when hot, add the pieces of fish, spreading them lightly over the pan, over low heat. After one minute turn to other side to sauté for 1 minute. Remove and keep hot. Remove excess oil. Add lard to remaining oil in pan. When melted add pineapple and turn for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the pineapple juice mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens. Return the fish to the pan. Turn the fish lightly with pineapple. Heat for 2 minutes and serve in a deep sided dish.

Delicious! Anne

A bamboo cookout with pineapple

Always keen to experiment in the kitchen and the garden Les and I recently watched a couple of youtubes on cooking in bamboo and had good fun testing out the technique on Ella and Rob. 

All delicious - we filled lengths of bamboo grown in our yard with rice and vegetable mixtures of -  sweet and sour pork with soy sauce, pineapple and ginger; beef and broccolini with soy sauce and oyster sauce; and chicken with chili, soy sauce and sesame oil. We plugged the top ends with foil and cooked them over an open fire. Hard to say which was my favourite!!

We also enjoyed home brewed cider in bamboo drinking vessels, Anne

Cheers! 

Rabbit with Sweet & Sour Sauce

http://unusualcoleslaw.blogspot.com/

Source: Well Tried Barossa Recipes (Tanunda: St John's Lutheran Ladies Guild; reprint 2000 of 2nd edition 1975 [1st edn 1974]), p.17.

Rabbit with Sweet & Sour Sauce

1&1/2 lbs rabbit pieces (without bone), 1 tbspn lard or butter, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tbspns cornflour, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 cup pineapple juice, 3/4 cup sliced green pepper, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup chopped spring onion, 1 small can pineapple pieces, freshly cooked rice, 1 dspn soy sauce.

Method: Cut rabbit flesh into pieces about 2" long & 1/2" wide. Brown them lightly in hot lard or butter, stirring well. Add the water, cover & simmer until rabbit is tender. Stir occasionally, as there is very little liquid. Combine brown sugar, cornflour, vinegar, pineapple juice & Soy sauce in a bowl, & stir until smooth. Place into a saucepan & stir over a medium heat, until the mixture boils & thickens. Pour over the rabbit pieces. Cover & simmer for about 5-6 mins, then add pineapple pieces, onion, green pepper & celery, & cook for a further 5-6 mins. The vegetables should remain crisp. Serve at once with freshly cooked rice & a little extra Soy sauce if desired.

Source: Well Tried Barossa Recipes (Tanunda: St John's Lutheran Ladies Guild; reprint 2000 of 2nd edition 1975 [1st edn 1974]), p.17.

Sweet and sour meatballs

Bandon Grove School Building Centenary Cookbook 1882-1982 reprinted in 2016 to celebrate the “Back to Bandon Grove School Gathering”.

“The Bandon Grove School Building Centenary Committee are proud to present, recipes that have been tried and proved and an advertisement for the culinary skill of their members and residents, past and present.” A. P. Forster

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (contributed by Jean Jenkins)

Meatballs: 1 ½ lbs mince; 1 medium onion; 1 dstp Worcestershire sauce, relish or PMU; 1 dst curry powder; salt and pepper; 2 ozs butter to sauté

Sauce: 1 oz butter or marg; 2 medium carrots; 1 onion; 1 cucumber (optional); 15oz can pineapple pieces; salt and pepper; ½ cup water; 1 chicken stock cube; 1 tblsp cornflour; 1 tblsp Soy sauce; 2 tbslp tomato paste

Method:

Meatballs: Combine all ingredients in bowl and make into small balls, sauté in hot butter or marg. Moving occasionally to keep meatballs round in shape. Remove from pan when browned.

Sauce: Peel carrots and cut into small strips. Slice onion and sauté carrot and onion in hot butter for a few mins. Dice cucumber and place with drained pineapple. Blend cornflour with water. Add vegetables with Soy sauce, tomato paste, reserved pineapple juice and crumbed stock cubes. Stir until sauce boils and thickens. Return meatballs into pan with pineapple and cucumber. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Season with salt and pepper, serve.

Sweet and Sour Pork

The Shortland County Council Recipe Book Show Issue 1973 Newcastle Show NSW

Recipes for the Freezer: Sweet and Sour Pork

3 lb pork; tblsp soy sauce; 1 ½ tblsp dry sherry; 5 tblsp plain flour; 100ml vegetable oil

Sauce: 6 green peppers; 2 red peppers; 3 onions; 8oz frozen (I used fresh) green beans; 8oz frozen (I used fresh) baby carrots; 6 slices pineapple; 100ml vegetable oil; 3 tblspn dry sherry; 3 tblspn lemon juice; 6 tbslp tomato sauce; 3 tblsp soy sauce; 1 cup sugar; 1 ½ tblspn rice flour; 1 ½ cups water

Cut pork into 3cm cubes, mix with soy sauce and dry sherry. Drain off any excess liquid, toss pork in plain flour. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove pork from pan, drain well.

Sauce: For sauce, remove seeds from peppers, cut into thin strips. Chop onions, cut beans and carrots into strips and pineapple into cubes. Fry vegetables in heated oil in large saucepan until slightly brown. Mix together sherry, lemon juice, tomato sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Add to vegetables, along with pineapple cubes and bring to boil. Blend rice flour with water to smooth paste, add to mixture in pan, bring to boil, stirring continuously. Cool rapidly.

To Freeze: Spread partly cooked pork onto flat trays to cool. When cold, freeze on trays for 2 hours. Package in plastic bag, remove air, seal well; label and freeze. Pour cold sauce into plastic container, allowing 3cm headspace. Seal well, label and freeze.

To Serve: Thaw sauce for 6-8 hours and pork for 2 hours at room temperature. Heat 100ml oil in large frypan and fry pork until brown and hot. Drain well and place in warm serving dish. Bring sauce to boil, but do not simmer, pour over hot pork. Serve with boiled rice.

I didn’t freeze ours – we ate it straight away!

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Peppers

America The Majestic Pictorial Cookbook, John Tarpstra, Sydney 1981

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Peppers

Serves 6

6 medium sweet red peppers; 1 x 16oz (500g) can crushed pineapple; ¼ cup white wine vinegar; ¼ cup sugar; 1 tblsp powdered mustard; 2 tblspn cornstarch; 1 bunch scallions, chopped

Remove the tops and seeds of the peppers. If the peppers have uneven ends, trim them so they will stand up, but be careful not to cut holes in the peppers or they will leak. Set aside.

Strain the pineapple, reserving the juice. In a bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, mustard and cornstarch. Add the pineapple juice and mix until the sugar and cornstarch are completely dissolved. Add the pineapple pulp and chopped scallions. Stir the ingredients until they are well mixed and spoon into the peppers.

Stand the peppers close together in a pan half filled with hot water. (Take care not to get any water inside the peppers). Gently poach the peppers for 12-15 minutes until cooked but not mushy; the filling should be syrupy.

I dished ours up with a chicken pasta meal and sprinkled the lot with parmesan cheese, yummy combination of flavours, Anne.

Pineapple and fish in Berlin

The Urban Cook Book: 50 Recipes, 25 Urban Talents, 5 Cities, King Adz 2008 New York

Berlin: Sweet and sour fish

“In most cities of the world, Chinese dishes are a popular street food. Berlin has a mental section of Chinese restaurants and takeaways, and this recipe adapted from a dish I ate in one of them, will keep you away from the MSG for a while . . . This dish can also be made using chicken or prawns.” King Adz

Feeds 4-6

1 kg/2 ¼ lb cod, haddock or salmon; plain flour; salt and black pepper; vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Batter mix: 1.15g/4oz plain flour; 55g/2oz cornflour; a pinch of saly; 200ml/7fl oz fizzy soda water

Sweet and sour sauce: 500ml/18fl oz water; 4 tblsp sugar; 2 carrots, finely sliced; 1 medium onion, roughly chopped; 3 peppers (any colour) chopped; 125g/4oz pineapple chunks, drained and chopped; red colouring; 1 tblsp cornflour mixed with a little water; 4 tspn clear vinegar (distilled malt vinegar)

Make the sweet and sauce first. Put the water and sugar in a medium pan and heat until dissolved. In another pan, lightly cook the carrots in boiling water. Add the remaining vegetables, pineapple and red colouring to the sauce.

Use the cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce. At this point it should be thicker than you want it to be at the end. Remove the pan from the heat and stir well as you add the vinegar. Leave to one side, and warm through briefly when serving.

Whisk all the batter ingredients together until light and fluffy. The mixture should be fairly thick and leave a trail when the whisk is lifted out of the batter.

Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces and toss in seasoned flour. Dip the fish into the batter and fry in hot oil in a deep frying pan until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.

Serve the battered fish on top of boiled rice, covered with sweet sour sauce.

King Adz writes “This is for everyone. Urban cookery (street food) is the most accessible form of cooking there is. Just as street art has brought the beauty of art into the lives of the masses, street food is all about making diverse and tasty food available to all, using quick and simple recipes that are quick and easy to follow. There is no mystery, no special secret.”

Even more pineapple and meatballs

Marvellous Mince: The Australian Way, Allyson Gofton and Ann Boardman 1993

 

 

Ginger Sweet ‘n’ Sour Pork

“Always a favourite, this recipe is heavily flavoured with ginger and scented with fresh coriander and spring onion. Buy ginger fresh and grate it, or buy it already prepared. You can easily vary this recipe each time you make it, by using different vegetables with the sauce. Choose seasonal vegetables, that way you will also keep the cost down.”

Meatballs: 500 gr minced pork; 1 tsp minced fresh ginger; 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander; 1/4 cup chopped spring onion; salt and pepper; oil for pan-frying or chicken stock to poach in.

1.In a large bowl, mix together the minced pork, ginger, coriander and spring onion. Season with salt and pepper. Roll the mixture into about 20 small meatballs.

2. Either pan-fry the meatballs in oil or poach them in stock until they are cooked. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Sauce: 1 onion; 3 cloves garlic; 2 tblspn oil; 1 courgette; 1 red pepper; 225g can pineapple piece in juice; 3/4 cup water; 1/4 cup cider vinegar; 2 tblspn light soy sauce; 2 tblpn sugar; 1 tblspn cornflour; about 2 tblspn rice wine or dry sherry.

3. Peel and finely chop the onion. Crush, peel and mash garlic to a paste.

4. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan and cook the onion over a low heat while you prepare the remaining vegetables.

5. Trim the courgette and cut on the diagonal, turning it over each time you cut. This way you will get a piece of courgette with many sides which will cook faster.

6. Cut the core from the red pepper and cut the pepper into 2 cm pieces. Add the garlic, courgette and pepper to the saucepan, and cook for 3 minutes.

7. Mix together the pineapple pieces and juice, water, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and cornflour. Pour over the vegetables and toss quickly to coat. Return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not boil.

The Art of Cooking Pineapple

The Art of Chinese Cooking by the Benedictine Sisters of Peking, Sister M. Francetta and Sister Regia, illustrations by M. Kuwata,1962 USA and Japan

“Visualise a long, narrow room, one end a demonstration kitchen, the other end with chairs for students. At the stove stand two smiling-faced nuns, clad in voluminous white aprons over flowing black robes. Their own obvious enjoyment in their task, as they stir and taste and answer questions, enhances the gay atmosphere, and from the stove exotic odors waft across the room.

These two delightful and courageous American women came to Japan from war-ravaged China with little else than their skill in Chinese cooking. To earn their living they started to teach, and as their celestial cuisine won fame in the city of Tokyo they could not keep up the demand. For the benefit of those who were unable to attend their classes, they have written THE ART OF CHINESE COOKING, which describes the tempting variety of Chinese cooking in concise, easy-to-follow style. Here are their secrets. Use them – and good eating!” (From the back cover of the book)

 

Sweet-sour beef balls with pineapple and peppers:

Suan T'ien Niu Jou Po Lo La Tzu

Mix 450g ground beef, 1 egg, 1 tblspn cornstarch, 1 tsp salt, 2 tblspn onion chopped, and a few grains of pepper; form into 18 balls or more. Brown them in a small amount of oil; drain

To 1 tblspn oil add 1 cup pineapple juice and cook over low heat a few minutes. Add mixture of 3 tblspn cornstarch, 1 tblspn soy sauce, 3 tblspn vinegar, 6 tblspn water, and ½ cup sugar. Cook until juice thickens, stirring constantly.*

Add meat balls, 4 slices pineapple, cut in pieces, and 3 large green peppers, each cut into 12 to 15 strips lengthwise. Heat thoroughly. Serve hot. Serves 6 to 8.

* May be made in advance to this point

 

 

Pineapple chicken: Po Lo Chi

Dredge 450g uncooked chicken meat, cut in 3cm pieces, with a mixture of 1 tblspn cornstarch, 1 tsp salt, 2 tspn cold water, and 1 tblspn soy sauce. Sauté 1 ½ cup onions, sliced lengthwise, in 1 tblspn oil for 2 minutes and remove from pan. Sauté 1 cup celery, cut diagonally, and 10 water chestnuts, sliced lengthwise, in 1tblspn oil for 2 minutes or less and remove from pan. Sauté the dredged chicken in 2 tblspn oil until brown.*

Add the vegetables, 4 large slices of canned pineapple, cut in wedges, and finally 4 tblspn pineapple juice to the chicken and simmer until thoroughly heated. Serve hot with rice. Serves 6.

* Beef or pork may be substituted for the chicken. The vegetables should be crisp and not cooked soft.

 

I was pleased to find this book on my mother's shelf recently

as it brought back memories of my introduction to Chinese food as a child, Anne.

Pineapple of the South Pacific

The Cuisine of the South Pacific, Gwen Skinner, Photography by Michael Willison, 1983 New Zealand, Photo of Gwen Skinner by Derek Hunt
 

 

 

“The South Pacific conjures up visions of a paradise of waving coconut palms, coral reefs, white sands, and a tropical climate. It has all of those things, but it also has a wide geographical and cultural diversity and not the least of its splendours is its food." 

Solomon Islands – Chicken Curry with Fruit and Nuts

1 large boiling chicken; 5 cups water; 1 large onion, sliced; 1 cup coconut milk (½ coconut cream, ½ water) or cow's milk; 1 tsp salt; ¼ tsp pepper; 2 tsp curry powder; 3 tblsp cornflour; hot cooked rice; 4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced; 2 bananas, sliced with lemon juice squeezed over; 1 cup fresh pineapple pieces; ½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped; ½ cup fresh coconut, grated

Bring the chicken to the boil in water with onion, then simmer until tender. Remove chicken and cut meat into serving pieces. Discard bones, etc. Strain stock which will have reduced to about 2 cups. Add milk, salt, pepper and curry powder to stock. Bring to the boil, thicken with cornflour mixed in a little water, cook gently for a few minutes, just under boiling point if coconut cream is used, then add chicken pieces.

Pour chicken over hot rice in shallow serving dish. Arrange sliced eggs, sliced bananas and pineapple chunks on top. Sprinkle with peanuts and coconut.

 

 

Dasom Lee and Woogon Park enjoyed our Solomon Islands chicken curry as much as we enjoyed the Korean tteokbokbi that they cooked for us. Do visit us again!

 

Samoa – Polynesian Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Sauce

½ cup vinegar; 1 cup pineapple juice; ½ cup tomato sauce (ketchup); ¼ cup brown sugar; 2 tblsp cornflour; water

Bring first four ingredients to the boil. Mix cornflour with a little water and stir into sauce to thicken.

4 chicken breasts; 4 chicken legs; 2 X 425g cans of fruit: peaches, apricots, guavas, mixed etc; ¼ cup soya sauce; 1 tsp crushed garlic

Preheat oven to 180°C. Pat chicken pieces dry, place skin side up in a baking pan. Drain fruit and reserve syrup. Mix syrup with soya sauce and garlic, pour over chicken and bake uncovered, basting the chicken and turning pieces until all are golden brown, about an hour. Remove chicken to warming drawer.

Add Sweet and Sour Sauce to baking pan liquid, bring to the boil over medium heat, and cook until the liquid thicken and reduces to about 2 cups. Pour this over the chicken pieces, cover with foil, and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Bake chicken and sauce, uncovered, in 180°C oven for 30 minutes. Add fruit to dish and baste often while cooking a further 30 minutes.

New Zealand – Candied Kumara

2-3 large kumaras; 1 tsp bacon dripping; ½ cup pineapple juice; 1 cup pineapple pieces; 1 tblsp brown sugar; 1 tsp vinegar; 1 tspn cornflour; ½ cup water; ¼ tsp nutmeg

Peel, wash and boil the kumaras in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain, cut lengthwise and place with the flat side up in a roasting dish. Put juice, pineapple pieces, sugar and vinegar in a pot, mix cornflour and water together then add. Simmer, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Pour sauce over the kumaras and bake in a medium oven 10 minutes, turning them over after 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with nutmeg and cook a little longer. Serve with roast wild pork or pork chops.

Pineapple in crêpes and omelettes

The Book of Crepes and Omelettes, Mary Norwak 1988

Jamaican Banana Topping 

125g butter; 125g dark moist brown sugar; finely grated peel and juice of 1 lemon; 3 medium bananas; 6 tspn pineapple juice (or dark rum); lemon twists and lemon peel strips, to decorate

Put butter and sugar into a saucepan and stir over low heat until the butter has melted. Stir the lemon peel and juice into the butter and continue simmering for 1 minute.

Peel the bananas and slice thinly. Stir into the sugar mixture. Warm through for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in pineapple juice (or rum). Turn into a warm serving bowl. To serve, decorate with lemon twists and lemon peel strips.

Serves 4.

Bacon Pineapple Topping    

250g bacon rashers, rinds removed and coarsely chopped; 8 canned pineapple rings in natural juice, drained and cut into eighths; fresh watercress sprigs, to garnish

Put bacon into a saucepan and heat gently until crisp and all the fat has run out.

Stir pineapple into pan and heat through. Serve as a pancake topping or filling, garnished with watercress.

Serves 4

Sweet and Sour Crêpes

8 X 17.5cm crêpes; 250g boneless shoulder pork, cubed; 15g lard; 220g can pineapple pieces in syrup; 3 tspn redcurrant jelly; 3 tspn moist brown sugar; 3 tspn white wine vinegar; 3 tspn cornflour; 155ml tomato juice; salt and pepper; fresh watercress sprigs or bean sprouts and spring onion tassels, to garnish

Keep crêpes warm while preparing filling. Put pork and lard into a saucepan and fry over low heat for 10 minutes, until meat is tender and cooked through.

Drain pineapple, and put syrup into a pan with redcurrant jelly, sugar, vinegar, cornflour and tomato juice, then bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Simmer uncovered, until thick, then stir pork and pineapple pieces and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Divide pork mixture between crêpes. Roll up and put in a single layer in a shallow ovenproof serving dish. Cover crêpes with foil and heat through in the oven for 20 minutes. Garnish with watercress sprigs or bean sprouts and spring onion tassels and serve hot, straight from the dish.

Serves 4

Pineapple Omelette

220g can pineapple pieces in natural juice; 1 tspn arrowroot; 2 tspns finely grated lemon peel; 2 tspn chopped fresh mint; one 3-egg   basic souffle omelette (see below); lemon twist and fresh mint sprig to decorate

Prepare filling before making omelette. Drain pineapple pieces, reserving juice. Put 9 tspn pineapple juice into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Mix arrowroot with 2 tspn water, stir into juice and heat gently until mixture is slightly thickened and clear. Finely chop pineapple and stir into pan with lemon peel and chopped mint.

Make omelette and lift onto warm serving plate. Spoon pineapple sauce over half omelette and fold omelette over. Garnish with a lemon twist and fresh mint sprig and serve at once.

Serves 2.

Basic Soufflé Omelette: 3 eggs, separated; 3 tspn caster sugar; 15g butter

In a bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick, pale and creamy. Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into yolks.

Put butter into a 17.5cm omelette pan and melt over moderate heat, pour in egg mixture and lightly level the surface. Cook over low heat until bottom is set and pale golden-brown, then put omelette under medium grill until top is lightly browned.

Pineapple and Chicken X 6

The Australian Woman’s Weekly, The Busy Woman’s Cookbook, Ellen Sinclair 1972

Pineapple Chicken   

1 ½ kg chicken (or chicken pieces); ½ cup flour; salt, pepper; 1 medium onion; 1 green pepper; 425g can tomato soup; 425g can pineapple pieces; ¾ cup water; 1 chicken stock cube; 50g butter
Joint chicken. Dust chicken pieces with flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
Heat butter in large frying pan or large saucepan, add chicken pieces, fry until browned on all sides. Add sliced pepper and sliced onion.
Cook 2 minutes. Combine soup, undrained pineapple and water, add to chicken with crumbled stock cube.

Cover, cook slowly 40 to 50 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Serves 4.

To prepare ahead: Cook completely as above, reheat gently. Sliced pepper can be omitted in first cooking, and added when reheating.

The Longevity Chinese Cookbook: Pritikin Style – No added fat, oil, salt, sugar or MSG by Margaret Gee and Graeme Goldin 1985 Sydney

Pineapple Chicken with Tangerine Peel

1.5kg chicken, remove all skin before cooking and chop into 16-20 pieces; 2 tblspn chopped fresh ginger; 4 tblspn dried tangerine peel, soak in hot water for 20 minutes and drain; 3 tblspn chopped fresh pineapple; 2 tblspn low salt soy sauce; 1 cup basic Chinese chicken stock; 2 tblspn Chinese wine or dry sherry; freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a casserole dish and cover. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cook for 40 minutes. Remove cover for the last 10 minutes to reduce liquid.

Serves 4-6.

Whitefriars College Mothers’ Auxiliary Selected Recipes, Melbourne 1979

Chicken with Pineapple  

1/3 cup cornflour; 2 tspn paprika; ¼ cup salad oil; 1 cup pineapple pieces; 1 cup diced celery; 2 tblspn brown sugar; 1 tblspn soya sauce; 1 cup pineapple juice; ¼ cup chopped walnuts; ¼ cup raisins; peas; potato chips; 3 cups freshly boiled rice; 1 jointed chicken

Mix cornflour & paprika in a paper bag, add two or three pieces of chicken at a time and shake well. Fry pieces in heated oil till brown all over, reduce heat and cook slowly till tender. Remove chicken. Combine remaining cornflour and paprika with brown sugar, soya sauce and pineapple juice, mix well, pour into pan and stir till thick.

Return chicken to pan with pineapple pieces, celery, and chopped green pepper (optional).

Cover and cook 15 minutes or until chicken is tender. Toss walnuts and raisins with rice, place on serving dish and top with chicken mixture. Serve with peas and chip potatoes.

New Idea’s Chinese Cookbook, 194 Recipes from Prawn Toast to Peking Duck, Melbourne 1970s

Sweet and Sour Chicken  

1.5kg dressed chicken; 6 shallots, sliced; 1 carrot, thinly sliced; 1 small green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced; ½ cup chopped canned  pineapple; 2 tblspn brown sugar; 2 tblspn soy sauce; 2 tblspn vinegar; 250ml chicken stock; 2 tblspn cornflour; 125ml pineapple juice; salt and pepper; 1 tblspn almonds; 30g butter or margarine

Roast chicken in a moderate oven at 180°C for 1-1 ½ hours or until tender.

Place shallots, carrot, green pepper, pineapple, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and stock in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil.

Blend cornflour smoothly with pineapple juice, add to pan and bring back to the boil, stirring continuously until sauce thickens. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fry almonds in butter until golden, drain well.

Cut chicken into small pieces and place in a warm Chinese bowl. Pour hot sauce over, sprinkle with fried almonds and serve hot with boiled or fried rice. Serves 4.

Pork with Chicken and Pineapple 

500g pork; 125g chicken; 4 Chinese dried mushrooms (I used fresh mushrooms); 1 clove garlic; 1 dstspn oil; ¼ tsp salt; 1 dstspn brandy or dry sherry; ½ tspn sugar; few drops sesame oil; ½ cup finely sliced Chinese cabbage; ½ cup sliced celery; 1 ½ cups canned pineapple pieces, drained; 4 water chestnuts; 1 cup stock or water; 1 tspn cornflour; 1 dstspn soy sauce

Cit chicken and pork into thin slices. Wash mushrooms, soak in hot water for 20 minutes. rinse and squeeze dry. Cut into thin slices. Slice water chestnuts.

Mix together 1 dessertspoon soy sauce, brandy, sugar, sesame oil. Mix cornflour and soy sauce with ½ cup water. Heat the oil with salt and garlic, remove garlic and add the chicken and pork.

Fry, stirring, until browned. Add soy sauce mixture, stir well and then add cabbage, celery, pineapple, water chestnuts and mushrooms.

Stir over medium heat for 3 minutes, add stock, put lid on and cook 2 minutes. Stir cornflour mixture, add to pan and cook, stirring, until thickening. Simmer another minute.

The Great Chicken Cookbook, The Australian Women’s Weekly 1973

Chicken with Pineapple    

1.5kg chicken; 1 onion; 1 carrot; 2 sticks celery; 30g butter; 450g can pineapple; salt, pepper; 1 packet cream of chicken soup; 2 tspn soy sauce; 1 tbspn vinegar

Place chicken in large saucepan, cover with water, season with salt and pepper, bring to boil, cover, reduce heat, simmer 1 hour, or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken from pan, allow to cool, strain stock, reserve 3 cups stock. Remove chicken meat from bones, chop roughly.

Peel and slice onion and carrot, chop celery. Melt butter in frying pan, add vegetables, sauté until tender, but not brown, add chicken, contents of soup packet, reserved stock, undrained pineapple, then remaining ingredients, mix well, cover, cook 20 minutes.

Serve with hot rice. Serves 4.