Szechwan Pork Curry

About 30 years ago (oh, yes, I was merely a child), I copied this recipe from a co-worker. At that time, I used to type recipes out on lined paper on an old typewriter and keep our favorite recipes in a binder. Obviously, this recipe is one of our favorites. Now protected in plastic sheeting, you can see it has been very well used.



We have since moved most of our collection to our laptop, but we still have binders full of recipes and recipe cards that still need to be converted.

This dish is spicy, but extremely flavorful and very quick from wok (or large frying pan) to plate. It does not taste like an Indian curry dish, as you might expect. Cooking the spices prior to adding to the sauce brings out the medley of flavors in the curry powder.

Warning! Your kitchen will smell like this dish for a minimum of 24 hours, but it is worth it.

Pork Curry
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

2-1/2 lbs. pork chops
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg white
1 medium sized red pepper
1 medium size green pepper (since we don't care for green peppers, I use orange or yellow)
1 onion
4 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Carefully cut the meat away from the bone and cut meat into 1/4 inch slices about 1 inch long. Put in a large bowl. Add the cornstarch and egg white. Stir well in one direction with your hand so that you have coated the meat thoroughly. Refrigerate while preparing the vegetables.

All vegetables should be cut the same size as the pork for even cooking.


Cut the peppers into 1 inch pieces. Separate the onion halves into their natural layer divisions, then cut into 1 inch pieces. Smash garlic; peel and roughly chop. Place the vegetables, separated, on a platter.

In a small cup or dish, mix the sherry, sugar and soy sauce. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small pan. Stir in curry powder and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir 1 minute. Be careful not to burn. Add the tomato paste and mix quickly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Add the pork. Stir-fry over high heat about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan to bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok. Stir fry garlic (do not brown). Add peppers and stir-fry over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes; add onions and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the wok.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the work. Stir in curry mixture. Add the sherry/sugar/soy sauce mixture and stir well. Return the meat and vegetables to the wok. Stir-fry thoroughly until sauce has covered the meat and vegetables and the mixture is hot. Serve with hot white rice.

Note: We really like the sauce for this dish and I usually double the sauce recipe except for the red pepper flakes, i.e., 2 tablespoons oil (for the curry and red pepper), 4 tablespoons curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 4 teaspoons tomato paste, 4 tablespoons sherry, 4 teaspoons sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce.