Youths these days see the kitchen as the spot they are least likely to venture into. Coupled with how easy it is to “take-away” food from nearby hawker centres and food courts, plus the fact that a majority of households have foreign help, few youths really cook. Sheila Ong, 18 says, “I guess they are afraid of getting oily and dirty when cooking in the kitchen, so we seldom cook.”

However, there are some who are not afraid to dabble in the kitchen. In our Youths in the Kitchen series, we highlight these youngsters (age 25 and below) and their recipes. Leon Foo, 21, is majoring in sociology and has a diploma in music. He admits to cooking occasionally although not as much as he would like to due to “lack of time”. He recalls his first foray in the kitchen was when he was 13. “My parents were out and I was hungry, so I cooked for myself an omelette. Cooking is something fun for me and it is very rewarding when someone likes your cooking.

So what is this youth’s cooking philosophy? Leon says, “What matters is that in the end, the food must taste good. I usually work with what I have in the kitchen.”

He shares with us his specialty, sweet and sour pork.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Marinade

2tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 tbsp potato starch

Pinch of pepper to taste

Pinch of white pepper to taste

Pinch of salt to taste

300 gram of pork loin (cut into cubes, about 19mm in length)

Gravy

2 onions

2tbsp of olive oil

Pinch of salt to taste

Pinch of sugar to taste

1 tbsp of Chinese wine

4 tbsp of tomato sauce

2 tbsp of oyster sauce

2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp of water

2 green peppers

75ml of potato starch (to coat the pork for deep frying)

Note: you can replace the potato starch with corn starch.

Marinate the pork loin with the listed ingredients and let it rest for half an hour.

Chop up the onions into half and then cut the halves into quarters. Remove the seeds from the peppers and chop up into chunky pieces.

Heat up the frying pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add the chopped up onions and peppers into the pan and add the tomato sauce, oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water and Chinese wine to the pan.

Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar to taste.

Once the smell of the peppers starts to radiate, the gravy is done. Pour onto a plate and set aside.

Coat the pork loin which has been cut into cubes, with potato starch

Over medium heat, heat up a wok of oil about 3cm deep and gently lower the pork meat into the oil. Remove the meat once it turns golden brown and set aside.

Finally, heat up the frying pan and add the sauce. Add the fried pork meat together with the sauce and stir fry together, making sure the sauce mix well with the meat.

Pour the sweet and sour pork onto a plate and serve immediately.