sweet and sour pork

Sweet and sour pork (咕嚕肉, goo lou yuk in Cantonese) is a Cantonese dish consisting of crispy and juicy deep-fried pork with vibrant vegetables such as bell peppers, onions and pineapple all coated in a sticky, red, sweet and sour sauce. This dish originated from Guangdong, China, and was then popularised and spread to the US by Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century.

My mom orders sweet and sour pork almost every time we eat at a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong diner). Since it’s her favourite dish, I wanted to try make this for her at home. And it was actually a lot easier than I thought. Simply double fry the pork, sauté the vegetables, and coat everything in the sticky sweet and sour sauce. Keep reading to find out how to make it!

ingredients for making sweet and sour pork:

• 2 pork shoulder steak (~300g)
• 200g chopped pineapple (fresh or canned)
• 1 cup plain flour
• ⅓ red bell pepper
• ⅓ green bell pepper
• ⅓ yellow bell pepper
• ¼ white onion

Pork marinade:

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• A pinch of salt
• Dash of white pepper powder
• 1 egg

Sweet and sour sauce:

• 5 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp pineapple syrup from canned pineapple (or water)
• ¼ tsp salt

steps:

part 1: prepare the ingredients

1. Chop the pork shoulder steaks into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Combine the marinade ingredients to the pork and let it marinate while prepping for the other ingredients.
2. Chop bell peppers, onion and pineapple into small triangular shapes. Save the syrup from the canned pineapples to use for the sweet and sour sauce. Set aside.
3. Mix the sweet and sour sauce. Set aside.

part 2: deep-fry the pork

1. Cover the marinated pork pieces well in cornstarch.
2. Heat up about 2 inches of oil. Fry the pork on medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes until lightly golden. Do not move the pork for the first minute or so to prevent the cornstarch from falling apart. After frying, remove and drain.
3. For the second fry, increase heat and add the pork back in. Fry for 1-2 minutes until crispy and golden. Remove and drain.
   

part 3: stir-fry the vegetables + combine everything

1. Heat some oil in a frying pan. In medium-high heat, stir-fry the chopped bell peppers for 1-2 minutes. Then add onions and cook for another minute. Add pineapple slices and cook for another minute. Remove the vegetables and set aside.
2. Add the sweet and sour sauce into the frying pan. Stir and reduce the sauce for 1-2 minutes until it becomes a thick and sticky consistency.
3. Throw the vegetables in the pan and mix well, then add the fried pork. Stir until the vegetables and pork are well coated in the sauce.
4. Serve immediately on a plate and enjoy!

tips for making the best sweet and sour pork:

1. I personally prefer the taste of fresh pineapple, but for convenience I used canned pineapple. You can also reserve the pineapple syrup from the can and add that when making the sweet and sour sauce.
2. Do a taste test for the sweet and sour sauce to see if you prefer it to be more sweet or sour.
3. To make the pork extra crispy, we’ll be frying it twice. The first fry will be at a lower heat for 5-8 minutes to cook the pork. The second fry will be at a higher heat for 1-2 minutes to make it extra crispy.
4. Before deep-frying, you can check if the oil is hot enough by inserting a wooden chopstick/ skewer into the oil. If bubbles form around the chopstick, then the oil is ready for frying.
5. Once you add the pork into the oil, let the pork fry for about 1-2 minutes without moving it around, to prevent the flour from coming off the pork.
6. To ensure a rich, sticky, sweet and sour sauce, we’ll reduce the sauce separately before adding in the vegetables and pork back in for a final mix.
7. Once the vegetables and pork are well coated in the sweet and sour sauce, immediately remove from heat and serve to prevent the pork from going soggy.

more classic Hong Kong recipes:

• Singapore stir-fried vermicelli
• Hong Kong baked pork chop rice
• Satay beef noodle soup

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