Sweet & Sour Pork

This is a vegan version of the Americanized version of Sweet & Sour Pork. If you want a more authentic Chinese version, don't make this one.

For the Sweet & Sour Sauce:
1 440g (15oz.?) can of pineapple rings in juice (NOT syrup!)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar*
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp ketchup
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set aside pineapple rings, combine remaining ingredients (including pineapple juice...there should be 1/2-2/3 cup of juice), and simmer or microwave until thickened. You can add some red food coloring if you want that unnaturally bright color you see at restaurants.
*Disclaimer: This sauce is a little more sour than sweet. If you want it sweeter, decrease the vinegar and/or add more sugar to taste.


For the "Pork":
360g (0.75lb) seitan (I used the whole batch of this recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7545.0)
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
flour, for coating
oil, for deep frying

Cut seitan into 1-inch chunks. Fill a pan about 3 inches deep with oil and heat to 375 F/185 C (if you happen to have a deep frying thermometer. Otherwise, just guess). Whisk together the self-raising flour, water, and salt. Toss seitan pieces in flour, then dip in batter and fry in batches until golden, about 2-3 mins per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or a wire rack.

For the rest:
the pineapple rings that you set aside while making sauce
1 green bell pepper
2 carrots
Rice, for serving

Roughly chop the pineapple and green pepper and slice the carrots. Stir fry on medium-high until hot but barely cooked. Spoon veggies over rice, top with "pork", and pour sauce over all.

Serves 4-6