Sweet and Sour Pork (2024)

Home Recipes Ingredients Meat & Poultry Pork

I stir up a homemade sauce for this colorful combination of tender meat, crunchy vegetables and tangy pineapple. Serve my sweet-and-sour pork over hot rice, chow mein noodles or both. —Eleanor Dunbar, Peoria, Illinois

  • Rate
  • Reviews
  • SaveSaved
  • Print
  • Rate
  • Reviews
  • SaveSaved
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced
  • 1 medium green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
  • Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup and soy sauce. Pour half into a large resealable plastic bag; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Set remaining marinade aside.
  2. Drain and discard marinade from pork. In a large skillet, cook pork in oil for 3 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, green pepper, garlic and ginger; saute until pork is tender. Add reserved marinade. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the pineapple. Serve with rice if desired.

Can you freeze sweet and sour pork?

Cool pork mixture. Freeze in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through slowly in a covered skillet, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary. Serve over rice.

Sweet and Sour Pork Tips

Can you use other cuts of pork to make this sweet and sour pork recipe?

This sweet and sour pork marinade could easily be used for other meats. You should be able to use the same cooking time when using meats of similar densities, like chicken breasts or thighs. For quick-cooking proteins like fish or this sweet and sour shrimp, add the protein in the last step. To prevent overcooking, only simmer the mixture until the seafood is cooked through.

Can you deep-fry or bake sweet and sour pork?

If you want the pork to turn out extra crispy, add about 1 inch of oil to pan-fry the pork. Coat the pork pieces with a little cornstarch and fry them in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Drain the excess oil and wipe out the pan before proceeding with the remaining steps, adding the crispy pork back in at the end. If this method sounds like too much work, try making slow cooker or pressure cooker sweet and sour pork.

Why isn’t the sweet and sour sauce red?

Restaurant-style sweet and sour sauce gets its vibrant red color from food coloring. The color doesn’t affect the flavor of the dish, so don’t worry that your recipe doesn’t look quite the same!

How do you store sweet and sour pork?

When stored properly, sweet and sour pork lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. This recipe makes 4 servings, but you can double the recipe if you want to meal prep for the week. Divide the leftovers into airtight containers and reheat the dish in a microwave-safe bowl until warmed through.

Lindsay Mattison, Taste of Home Contributing Writer

Nutrition Facts

1-1/4 cups: 389 calories, 10g fat (3g saturated fat), 55mg cholesterol, 490mg sodium, 53g carbohydrate (44g sugars, 3g fiber), 24g protein.

Sweet and Sour Pork (2024)

FAQs

How do Chinese make pork so tender? ›

How do you tenderise pork for stir fry? Velveting is a Chinese technique that helps keep meat tender during stir frying. Adding cornstarch and bicarb to your meat during the marinating process helps to coat your meat, giving it a velvety feel that makes the meat feel extra soft.

What is the story behind sweet and sour pork? ›

But one thing is for sure and that is that the dish originated in China, took a journey around the world and came back to Hong Kong stronger than ever. “It actually evolved from a dish made with spare ribs braised in sugar and vinegar. It was a Shanghainese dish that used to be served to the emperor.

What are the ingredients in sweet and sour pork? ›

Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar.
  • 2/3 cup cider vinegar.
  • 2/3 cup ketchup.
  • 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce.
  • 1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes.
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil.
  • 1 medium onion, cut into chunks.
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced.
Aug 9, 2023

Where does Gu Lao Rou come from? ›

It originated from China's Canton or Guangdong province during the imperial Qing dynasty. Because the Cantonese were the earliest immigrants from China to the West, and because people in the West especially like the sweet and sour taste, this Chinese dish became widespread and popular in the US and Europe.

What liquid tenderizes pork? ›

Soak your pork in a salt-based brine before cooking it using your desired method. Pork chops need to soak between 12–24 hours, an entire pork tenderloin needs to soak for 6–12 hours, and an entire pork loin requires 2–4 days of soaking. Rinse the brine from the meat after the brining period is complete.

Do Chinese people eat sweet and sour pork? ›

The dish generally comprises cubes of white meat chicken deep-fried in batter and served with sweet and sour sauce. Sometimes it is topped with pineapple, green pepper, carrot, or sweet pickles. Sweet and sour pork is a Chinese dish particularly popular in Westernised Cantonese cuisine and may be found worldwide.

What is a fun fact about sweet and sour pork? ›

However, it is believed that the sweet and sour pork dish was originally made with ribs rather than sliced pork. After eating the dish, these foreigners enjoyed it but didn't like the bones, so they modified the recipe, and chefs ditched the ribs and replaced it with a well-marbled pork shoulder.

What is the Chinese pork scandal? ›

The tainted pork case involved pork tainted with a chemical that made 70 people ill in southern China's biggest city. It was approximately two months ago when Chinese officials started to investigate the pork case when 70 people became sick after eating pig organs in Guangzhou.

Why is sweet and sour pork so red? ›

How do you make sweet and sour pork red? Restaurants often put a drop of red food coloring to brighten up the color of the dish. You can add this when mixing the sauce. If you don't mind a more natural color, the sauce will get its color from the ketchup and brown sugar.

Why sweet and sour pork on ice? ›

Hong Kongers really take their sweet and sour pork seriously, and one of the things some of the restaurants do is serve the dish on ice to make the pork more crunchy.

What is a substitute for pineapple in sweet and sour pork? ›

Swap the pineapples for these instead: the sourness with vinegar and the sweetness with sugar. Vinegar is just as sour as pineapples but without the sweetness. That can be remedied by using sugar. Both are an easy and simple ingredient substitutes that you already have!

What does Zhu Rou mean in Chinese? ›

zhu rou : pork... : zhū ròu | Definition | Mandarin Chinese Pinyin English Dictionary | Yabla Chinese.

What is Gu Lao in English? ›

Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary

Search with English, Pinyin, or Chinese characters. 古老 gǔ lǎo. ancient old age-old.

What is kou rou in Chinese? ›

kou rou : steamed pork... : kòu ròu | Definition | Mandarin Chinese Pinyin English Dictionary | Yabla Chinese.

How to make pork extremely tender? ›

How to Make Tender Pork Chops
  1. Opt for Thick-Cut Bone-In Pork Chops. Thin-cut pork chops won't sear properly in the time it takes to cook them through. ...
  2. Skip the Brine, but Season Liberally. ...
  3. Let the Pork Chops Rest. ...
  4. Sear Pork Chops Over Medium-High Heat. ...
  5. Baste the Pork Chops. ...
  6. Let the Pork Chops Rest, Again. ...
  7. Serve.
Feb 14, 2018

What makes pork generally very tender? ›

Pork is generally more tender than beef because pigs are usually slaughtered at a younger age than cows, and so their muscles are less developed and have less collagen than do those of cows. Fish muscles are quite different from those in mammals.

Do Chinese use baking powder to tenderize meat? ›

This is how to tenderise beef with a Chinese restaurant method called “velveting beef”. Also used for chicken, it's a simple, highly effective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so it's incredibly tender in stir fries and stir fried noodles.

Is velveting meat unhealthy? ›

Velveting chicken is a perfectly healthy meat preparation method since the core ingredients are cornstarch and oil, each of which is perfectly fine for you to eat. So, velveting can deliver delicious, tender meat without sacrificing quality when it comes to taste or health.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Duane Harber

Last Updated:

Views: 6492

Rating: 4 / 5 (71 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Duane Harber

Birthday: 1999-10-17

Address: Apt. 404 9899 Magnolia Roads, Port Royceville, ID 78186

Phone: +186911129794335

Job: Human Hospitality Planner

Hobby: Listening to music, Orienteering, Knapping, Dance, Mountain biking, Fishing, Pottery

Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.