Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork with crispy pork, pineapple, bell peppers and onions just like your favorite Chinese takeout.

We love Chinese recipes in our house and on the blog including our favorites, Chicken Lo Mein, Easy Mongolian Beef, Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat) and Crab Rangoon.

 Sweet and Sour Pork recipe

Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork is an easy classic Chinese recipe that always looks more intimidating than it is. With an easy batter and quick sauce, this recipe is delicious and crispy.

One of the most frustrating things about ordering Chinese food from your local takeout place is the steam factor. You know, the second that food is packed in a to-go container it immediately starts STEAMING.

Make this Sweet and Sour Pork and avoid the mushy steamed fried pork bites that super glue to each other! Homemade crispy battered Sweet and Sour Pork (or chicken, shrimp, tofu or beef) is the next best thing to going out to eat at your favorite Chinese restaurant.

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How do you make Sweet and Sour Sauce?

Sweet and Sour Sauce is as easy as bringing a few ingredients including pineapple juice, brown sugar, mirin and soy sauce to a boil before adding a cornstarch slurry to the mixture to thicken it. The classic red color from sweet and sour sauce comes from red food coloring (which is completely optional).

Sweet and Sour Pork Vegetables:

Picking the vegetables for Sweet and Sour Pork is not hard, a good mixture of green, red and sometimes yellow bell pepper chunks with onion and pineapple mixed in. With vegetables some refer to this recipe as a Sweet and Sour Pork Stir-Fry, so go ahead and add any vegetables you’d like.

• If you want all sweet flavors skip the green bell pepper chunks which can be bitter.
• If you want the onion to not be as strong, soak the chunks in ice water for 20 minutes before adding to the pan.
• Use ripe pineapple chunks. If you worry about the acidity, cook the chunks for 2-3 minutes longer.

Sweet and Sour Pork with pineapple chunks and juice make this recipe a huge hit in our house. I use fresh pineapple chunks in the skillet and canned pineapple juice for the sauce.

If you have a particularly juicy pineapple you could of course juice the rest of it yourself but I prefer to snack on the rest of the pineapple while cooking.

Tools used in this Sweet and Sour Pork recipe:
Wok: Great for high heat, quick cooking. This wok is a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir fries in general.
Large Frying Pan: I use this Cuisinart for most of my non cast iron cooking unless I am going with a stainless steel option, then I choose my All Clad.
Frying Spider Strainer: This frying spider strainer is the quickest and easiest way to scoop out items that are fried without wasting too much time or getting too much oil out of the pan. You won’t have pieces burning like you would with a smaller strainer, plus it is SO inexpensive. I use it for almost all of my small fried items.

Recipe

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Sweet and Sour Pork

• Yield: 6 servings
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Course: Main Dish
• Cuisine: Chinese

Sweet and Sour Pork with crispy pork, pineapple, bell peppers and onions just like your favorite Chinese takeout.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 3 drops red food coloring (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 pounds pork butt cut into 3/4" chunks
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 1/4 cup flour
• canola oil for frying
• 1 red bell pepper (cut into 1” chunks)
• 1 green bell pepper (cut into 1” chunks)
• 1/2 yellow onion (cut into 1” chunks)
• 1 cup pineapple chunks

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

1. To make the sauce, whisk together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ketchup, food coloring (if using) and cornstarch.
2. Heat three inches of cooking oil on medium high heat until a piece of pork would immediately start bubbling when added.
3. Coat the pork in the cornstarch, then dip in the egg and into the flour before dropping into the hot oil one piece at a time.

4. Cook the pork for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through and crispy.

5. Cook in batches until done, removing to cookie sheet.

6. To a large skillet on medium high heat add 2 tablespoons canola oil, the bell peppers, onion and pineapple and cook for 2 minutes, until crisp-tender.

7. Add in the sauce and let thicken, then add in the pork and toss just before serving.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 6 servings, Amount per serving: 415 calories, Calories: 415g, Carbohydrates: 58g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 130mg, Sodium: 287mg, Potassium: 721mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 39g, Vitamin A: 17.7g, Vitamin C: 66.9g, Calcium: 6.5g, Iron: 15g

All images and text © for Dinner, then Dessert, Inc.

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