Sweet & Sour Pork
I finally made it, Sweet & Sour Pork and boy was it delicious 😋 and it will certainly head into our Sunday meal rotation!!!
This meal was inspired because my husband, David, requested it and I am so glad he did because it was amazing and delivered so much flavor and could easily blow your local takeout, out of the water!
What makes the dish so tasty is the crispy pork, crisp veggies and sweet and sour notes that will have your taste buds singing 🎶!!!
I hope you enjoy and cheers 🥂🍻!
Some Notes
Pork – I used a pork tenderloin and it worked perfect because it’s quite tender and doesn’t contain much fat. You could also use a pork butt or shoulder, I would just remove the excess fat. Cut the pork into bite sized pieces, approximately 1 inch.
Batter – I used rice flour, which made the pork crispy and light. If you don’t have rice flour, you could opt for cornstarch or potato starch. You want flour or starch that will help with creating a crisp and rice flour, corn or potato starch are best to achieve that!
Veggies – Traditional Sweet & Sour use peppers and typically a combination of color, which I went for. Cut your veggies into equal bites at 1 inch, that way they cook evenly.
To Sweeten, To Sour – Many recipes call for sugar. I don’t love cooking with sugar and I tend to find sweetness in other ways. For this recipe I used pineapple juice. Additionally ketchup and oyster sauce have sweet qualities to them. The sour notes come from white vinegar. Cider vinegar would also work well. As you finish the dish, taste and adjust the flavors as needed, add a tsp or two of sugar if you want more sweetness and additional vinegar for sour. Additionally a touch of salt in the final toss might up the flavor profiles.
Serving – We opted for Jasmine Rice, but you could certainly eat this with any rice you like or without rice!
Sweet & Sour Pork
Ingredients
- neutral oil for frying
Veggies, Fruit & Aromatics
- 1 pepper, use any color (best to use a combination of color) and cut into bite sized cubes
- ½ white onion, quartered and cut into bite sized cubes
- 2 green onions, cut the white parts into 1 inch pieces and chop the green tops for finishing
- 3 rings pineapple, cubed
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped
Pork Marinade
- 1 lb pork, cut into bite sized cubes
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 2 tsp ginger, smashed and chopped
The Pork Batter
- 1 cup rice flour
- salt, for seasoning
Sweet & Sour Sauce
- 1 TBSP tomato paste
- 1 TBSP ketchup
- 1 TBSP soy sauce
- 1 TBSP dark soy sauce, if you don't have dark soy sauce, just use soy sauce
- 1 TBSP oyster sauce, if you don't have oyster sauce, add hoisin or goya sauce
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
Cornstarch Slurry, if needed
- 1 TBSP cornstarch
- 1 TBSP cold water
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the pork and marinade for 15-20 minutes.
- Prepare the veggies, fruits & aromatics. Also combine the sweet & sour sauce ingredients in a medium bowl, excluding the tomato paste.
- After the pork has marinated, add the rice flour to a plastic gallon storage bag with the pork. Seal and shake until the pork is well coated.
- In a large heat safe pot or skillet, add cooking oil for a shallow fry. The oil should get warmed to 150 degrees and add the pork pieces and fry until golden brown on all sides. Note, you will need to flip the pork so it cooks on all sides.
- Once cooked, transfer out to paper towels or drying rack and salt lightly.
- Now onto creating the dish! Warm a wok or non stick pan to medium-high with a touch of cooking oil. Add the peppers and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the onions (note: reserve the green onion tops) and cook for another minute or two. Add the pineapple and garlic and continue to stir fry for a few seconds, careful not to burn the garlic.
- Now add the tomato paste and cook off for 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining sweet & sour sauce ingredients and continue to stir fry. Note: If the sauce looks really soupy, add a cornstarch slurry.
- Add the pork and stir fry until well coated. Finish with the green onion tops.
- Serve with rice, enjoy & cheers 🥂🍻!
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