INGREDIENTS
Must have -
Pork fillet medallions with all fat removed, depending on size, 1 to 3 per person- approx 50-110 g per person, (2-4 oz.) (Can use the eye cut out of a small pork chop, or tenderloin with all fat removed.)
Orange juice, (reconstituted carton juice is OK.)
Garlic puree or sauce.
Soy sauce (dark.)
Small amount of Uncle Nim’s sauce- the sticky bits from the jar sides are nice. Or Hoi Sin style sauce.
NO SALT needed if soy is used, except in water to boil potatoes.
Better with-
New potatoes- or mashed with very little or no butter- or low fat, low salt croquettes- approx 125g (4-5 oz) per person.
Mushrooms, small portion each.
Thickening, eg corn flour.
Small sqeeze of lime or lemon. Alternatively a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Can be accompanied with washed raw watercress or similar.

METHOD-
Carefully remove all traces of fat from the meath, prick many times with a fork or skewer. Wash hands and implements after handling raw meat. Pour sufficient orange juice into an oven proof dish to just cover meat, add lime or lemon if used, splash in a good dollop of garlic, (depending on your tastes,) a little Uncle Nim's or Hoi Sin, a table spoon of dark soy, then mix well into juice. Make sure the meat is covered and leave to marinate for half an hour minimum, preferably a couple of hours or more.
Turn the meat over half way through to ensure even marinating. Before cooking add mushrooms, stalks upper, splashed with soy sauce. Put a few blobs of sticky Nim’s sauce on top of each piece of meat, cover dish and cook on medium (180°C) for 25- 30 minutes (depending on how thick the meat is, even a little more if meat is more than one layer deep.) Leave to stand in the cool with the cover still on for 5 more minutes.
Dish up the meat after this but then thicken the sauce (only) with corn flour or similar, in a microwave, then ladle over the meat.
Potatoes are cooked in the normal way, or according to instuctions. New and canned potatoes can be microwaved - follow manufacturer’s intructions.

Total calorie count depends on exact quantities and ingredients used, but a typical serving might be 500 Kcal - about half of a day’s intake for those on a diet. Salt levels very low if only soy used, and new or home mashed potatoes used.

  ©Uncle Nim @InfinityJunction.com

INGREDIENTS
Must have-
Sugar, two to six rounded serving spoons of white and one or two of soft brown (exact amount depends on juice used)
Pineapple juice carton (1 litre or about 1½ pints) or citrus mix including a high proportion of pineapple. (Not as good but you could use mixed juice with added citric acid- eg lemon or lime.) (Needs to be fairly acid to store well- acetic acid, vinegar etc, works but not half as well as citric and does not taste as good)
Soy sauce (dark) (can add light as well, but not instead of dark)
Tomato ketchup
Five spice powder

Better with-
(Pure pineapple juice)
Tomato puree concentrate
Garlic puree
Black pepper

Optional extras-
Balsamic or mild vinegar
Finely chopped ½ onion, or shallots and/or garlic, pre-cooked in very little oil in the pan before you start; (sesame oil is good in this recipe, but any vegetable oil will do.)
Worcestershire or other spicy sauce

METHOD
Add one large spoon of white sugar, another of soft brown sugar and a large spoonful of tomato ketchup to the pineapple juice in a pan, add a little garlic puree (optional.) Heat to a simmer. Add a good dash of soy sauce, to cut the sweet and sour taste and a good pinch or two of five spice powder, (maybe more if not fresh.) Taste mixture when dissolved and add more sugar if sour; (typically sugar totals around three to five large spoons full to balance the acid in a litre of pineapple with tomato ketchup and five spice.) If too sweet, add more ketchup, or some tomato puree concentrate and/or balsamic vinegar (if used.) Don't be too ambitious with the flavour at this stage because you are going to concentrate this mixture and the flavour will increase. Boil GENTLY until the mixture reduces and thickens slightly to a medium-runny sauce consistency- it should flow reasonably easily by itself, but stick to anything it coats. Add tomato puree concentrate if too sweet, or tomato ketchup if too bland. Also add five spice to strengthen the aniseed/bitter flavour, or soy to boost salt and savoury. If you like it a little hotter, add Worcestershire sauce and/or black pepper, until the flavour suits you. If necessary after additions, boil back down to the right consistency.
(Tip- very occasionally the acid in reconstituted pineapple juice seems to overpower the flavour. In this case very careful incremental additions of TINY quantities of bicarbonate of soda powder can take the edge off the acid, but do not do this unless desperate: it can wreck a good sauce very quickly if overdone. Tiny = half a match-head volume at a time.)
Thoroughly clean and pre-heat the jam jars (and lids,) then fill and seal while still hot enough to be sterile- CARE required: this stuff holds its heat and can burn like hell. Label jars and put away to cool.  ©Uncle Nim @InfinityJunction.com

Suggestion- Use it instead of tomato ketchup on sausages and chips, or smear it lightly over beef-burgers.
It also makes a gorgeous coating for pork ribs - marinade the ribs for a few hours before cooking and brush more on during the cooking process, a little at a time, to build up a thick, very tasty coating - you can let it blacken but don't let it burn hard.

(Note- because this does not readily go off, you can re-make last month's sauce by adding it to your new batch and adjusting ingredients accordingly.)

MILD VERSION- A milder, slightly sweeter flavour can be obtained by using concentrated orange juice instead of pineapple, but beefed up a bit with lemon or lime juice and cutting down on all the other highly flavoured ingredients, eg five spice powder, tomato puree etc. Kids often prefer the milder one, but adults frequently complain it's bland. Experiment with compromises until you get it right.

CHEATS VERSION- If you have left over sauce from supermarket sweet and sour, filter out all the vegetables which could cause it to go off, then strain and save the fluid in the freezer until you make your next batch of Nims Sauce, it cuts down on the other ingredients needed and can make a nice base flavour to start from.

 Now: Uncle Nim's hot hint-

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