This sweet and sour pork recipe makes crispy pieces of pork that are deep-fried and then sauteed with a sweet and slightly tart sauce.
After years of trying hundreds of Chinese-style sweet and sour foods from different restaurants over the years, I finally have the best sweet and sour pork recipe I can make whenever I feel the need.
What is sweet and sour pork?
Sweet and sour pork mixed with pineapple is an Americanized version of a Cantonese traditional dish called ” Gu Lou Yook“. You can find many versions of sweet and sour pork at different Chinese American restaurants.
According to some, the American version tastes sweeter than traditional Chinese sweet and sour sauce dishes.
You don’t need to look at complicated recipes if you just want it that way. My favorite place to get my sweet and sour pork dish is China Palace in Los Angeles and China close by me in Southern California.
After a 20-year love affair with this dish, I finally created my own version. Although it has more ingredients than the average recipe, the final result is well worth it.
Use pork cuts
Pork shoulder/butt is my favorite cut of pork for sweet and salty pork. It has the perfect combination of fat and lean meat. Pork loin is too tough or too meaty for me, while pork belly can be too fat per bite.
Traditional sweet and sour pork dishes in China are made with pork butt. This is a win-win situation.
Sweet and sour pork batter
The extra crispy batter is my favorite part of sweet and sour pork. There’s something special about fried food that I just can’t resist. To properly balance the sauce, I knew I had to have a crispy outer layer if I wanted sweet and sour pork.
There are two kinds of batter that restaurants use to make this dish. A wet batter gives the pork pieces a plumper and puffier crust.
After trying both the batters, I discovered that the wet batter disintegrated faster in the sauce when stir-fried. To get more crispy and chunky meat, I prefer the second type of batter.
Sweet and sour pork sauce
Test kitchen: Single, double, and burned-fried pork with four sauces
I have tried so many sweet and sour pork dishes that I am now aware that every restaurant has their own sauce. Some are sweet, while others have a vinegary smell coming from the kitchen.
This sauce has a balanced sweetness of sweet sugar and tangy vinegar. It also contains acidic tomato sauce. I want to be able taste each of these flavors with every bite, and not feel like I’m only eating sugar.
Double fry is the preferred cooking method
When I tried this recipe, deep-frying and dredging pork was quite different to chicken. One, because of the moistness in the pork, some of the crispy batter would separate from the meat.
After seasoning my meat, I covered it with cornstarch and let it rest for 5 minutes. This allowed the meat to absorb the extra moisture. The egg and flour would stick better to the meat. It was also proven that uncooked, dredged meat will hold up better in the fryer if it is allowed to rest.
Double-frying is the best way to ensure crispy pork pieces after you stir fry in the sweet and sour sauce. This is an extra step but it will ensure that your pieces don’t become soft after you have sauteed for about a minute. Nothing is more satisfying than crunchy pieces in every bite.
Tips for cooking
- Pre-heat your neutral cooking oils to 350 degrees F. Make sure you measure the heat as you cook your meat so that it doesn’t get too hot. My oil temperature was too high, resulting in undercooked meat and darkened batter. To ensure that your pork doesn’t burn or stick, you should use a small strainer.
- Before you dredge (dipping in the egg wash or cornstarch/flour mixture), cover all meat pieces with cornstarch. The batter sticks better to the meat if the cornstarch-covered pieces are allowed to rest for five minutes before I apply the egg wash.
- Before you fry, let the uncooked meat pieces that have been dredged rest on a cooling rack. I found that the battered meat remained crispier after being fried and kept it intact during sauteing.
- Double fry your meat! This will result in sweet and sour pork cuts that are extremely crispy and can be sautéed better. Double frying removes excess moisture from the meat and crusts that remain after the first fry. This NPR article explains the science behind double frying.
How to serve and how to store
Because it is so flavorful, this sweet and tangy recipe works well with plain white rice. I love to cook white rice in a rice cooker or instantpot.
Because it has a crispy outer layer that is coated with special sauce, this dish is best eaten fresh from the pan. You can save extra sweet and sour pork by placing it in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 3-4 weeks. For quick meals, I prefer to use the microwave.
Sweet & Sour Pork Recipe with Onion, Pineapple & Bell Pepper
Equipment
- Tongs, spatula, or wooden spoon
- Small strainer, optional
- Pot for frying
- saucepan
- Cooling rack and paper towels
- Optional larger pan for stir-frying if everything is in the saucepan
- Instant read thermometer
Ingredients
FRYING PORK
- 1 lb pork butt cut into ½ inch cubes
- 148 g (19 tbsp) cornstarch
- 2.4 g (¾ tsp) salt for seasoning
- 45 g (6 tbsp) all-purpose flour
- neutral cooking oil vegetable oil preferred
- 1.8 g (1.8 tsp) salt for dry batter
- 2 large eggs beaten
SAUCE
- ½ fl oz (1 tbsp) garlic oil
- 1 fl oz (2 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
- 2 fl oz (4 tbsp) tomato sauce
- ¼ c pineapples cut into ¼ inch cubes
- 2 g (½ tsp) MSG (monosodium glutamate)
- 5 g (2 tsp) cornstarch▢ 12 fl oz (1½ c) filtered water
- ½ medium onion cut into ¾" pieces
- 100 g (½ c) granulated white sugar
- ½ medium bell pepper cut into ¾" pieces
Instructions
FRYING PORK
- Mix the pork in a bowl. Add the salt to the bowl. Mix until the salt is evenly distributed. Allow the pork to marinate on the counter for at least 10 minutes.
- While the meat rests on the counter prepare your dredging station by preparing three separate bowls. Add 1/2 c (62.5 grams) cornstarch to the first bowl.
- Add the egg to the second bowl and gently beat it with a fork or a whisk.
- Combine the remaining cornstarch, all-purpose flour, salt, and the other ingredients in the last bowl.
- To make the pork cubes whiter, first dip them in the cornstarch. Next, cover them with the starch completely. Continue the process for the remaining meat. Let the cornstarch-covered meat rest for 5 minutes on the cooling rack before you move on. This helps to absorb excess water from the meat, and the batter sticks better to it.
- Next, take the pork cubes and cover them in cornstarch. Dip them into the beaten eggs and then immediately cover them with cornstarch and all purpose flour mix (the contents from the third bowl). Then place it on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Allow all meat to rest covered in dredging for at minimum 10 minutes so that the crust can stick to it.
- While your pork dredging is taking place, heat your frying pan. Add enough vegetable oil to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat the oil to 375°F.
- First fry After resting, carefully lower the pieces of pork into the oil. Fry for approximately 2 minutes per batch. Turn them occasionally to ensure even cooking. Don't crowd the pot with too many pieces. I usually add 5 to a batch. The instant-read thermometer will tell you when the pork is pale and reaches 145 degrees F in the middle. The crust should be lightly crispy. Transfer the fried crust to a clean, paper towel-lined cooling rack. Continue to fry the remaining pork. Left: Pork fried once; right: Pork fried twice
- Second fry: Place the fried pork pieces back in the oil. Continue to fry for approximately 2 minutes, or until they are light brown and about 200 degrees F. After you take them out of the oil, their color will become slightly darker. Place them back on the cooling rack after you have removed them from the oil. Continue to fry the remaining meat until it is fully cooked.
SAUCE
- Place the garlic oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir fry for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Stir in the tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar and sugar to the pan.
- Combine the cornstarch with water in a separate bowl until well combined. Combine the mixture in a separate bowl and heat on medium-high to bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir continuously until it becomes maple syrup-like consistency. At this point, the sauce should have a darker orange-red color. The final texture should be as shown in the photo.
- Taste and add the msg. You can adjust any flavors as you like. You can make it sweeter by adding sugar or vinegar.
- Cook the onion for approximately 1 minute. Next, add the bell pepper and pineapples. Combine the sauce and mix well.
- Stir in the fried pieces of pork and continue to stir until the pork is coated. The sauce should not be too thick to cover the fried pork. Serve immediately
great, I added roasted sesame to make it more flavorful