SEVERAL WEEKS AGO WHILE eating in a restaurant in Melbourne, I came across this dish in the menu. It sounded intriguing so my daughter and I ordered it. What a surprise to learn that the pork they used was actually chicharon. I think that?s a good shortcut to sweet and sour pork: Use already cooked chicharon and your cooking time will be much shorter. After all, somebody had already prepared the chicharon for you.

Here?s a recreation of the dish. For best results, use good-quality chicharon, preferably the one with laman.

Makes three to four servings.

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1 tbsp cooking oil
? in. ginger root, cut into slivers
3-4 cloves garlic
? c refined sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 c tomato ketchup
? c white vinegar
1 c water
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp warm water
1 carrot, sliced into desired shape
2 leek stalks, cut into 1-in. pieces
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced into large cubes

For the chicharon:
150 g chicharon (preferably with laman)
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c flour
1-? c cooking oil

Make the sauce:

Heat oil, and sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, salt, ketchup, vinegar and water. Pour over garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil.
Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tbsp of warm water and add to pan. Stir in carrots, leeks and peppers. Lower heat and let simmer until vegetables are crisp/tender and mixture is thick. Cover pan to keep warm.

Prepare the chicharon:

Dip chicharon pieces one at a time in eggs, then dredge lightly in flour. Heat oil in a wok to medium heat and fry the chicharon in batches.
Transfer to a serving platter and pour sweet and sour sauce over it. Serve with rice.

Cook?s tips:

Using freshly popped chicharon is best, but if you have any leftover ones, you can use that too as long as it?s not stale. In fact, frying the chicharon makes it crisp again.

Pour the sauce over the chicharon just before serving to keep it crisp.

The vegetables in the sweet and sour sauce help to offset the fatty taste of the chicharon. Do not omit.

Serve this with a nice cool dessert such as gelatin or chilled fruits to remove the fatty aftertaste of the chicharon.