Sweet and Sour Pork

Making Sweet and Sour Pork Ahead

Keeps 2 days but loses crispness. Reheat the pork separately at 200°C / 390°F for 8 minutes, then re-toss in warmed sauce.

Sweet and Sour Pork: The Method

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Marinate the pork in the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and white pepper for 20 minutes.

   Mark done Start 20 min timer

2. Beat in the egg, then add the cornflour and plain flour and toss until each cube wears a thick, craggy coat.

   Mark done

3. Whisk the sauce ingredients except the cornflour slurry together and set aside.

   Mark done

4. Heat the oil to 165°C / 330°F. Fry the pork in two batches for 5 minutes until pale gold and cooked through. Lift out and rest on a rack for 5 minutes.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

5. Raise the oil to 190°C / 375°F and fry the pork again, all together, for 90 seconds until deep golden and hard-crisp. Drain on a rack.

   Mark done Start 90 sec timer

6. In a wok over high heat, stir-fry the onion and peppers in the tablespoon of oil for 2 minutes — they should stay crunchy.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

7. Add the garlic and pineapple for 30 seconds, then pour in the sauce and bring to a hard bubble.

   Mark done Start 30 sec timer

8. Stir in the cornflour slurry and cook 30 seconds until the sauce turns glossy and coats a spoon.

   Mark done

9. Tip in the fried pork, toss for no more than 15 seconds to coat, and serve immediately.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

A Few Pointers

• Fresh pineapple beats tinned for both flavour and acidity, and its bromelain slightly tenderises the pork.
• Serve the moment it is tossed. Every 30 seconds in the sauce costs you crunch.
• Pork shoulder has enough fat to stay juicy; loin will dry out during the double fry.

Why the Method Is What It Is

The first fry cooks the pork and sets the crust; the second, at higher heat, drives out surface moisture so the coating becomes rigid and can survive contact with a wet sauce. Tossing the pork in the sauce for only fifteen seconds before serving is the other half of the trick.

Serving Ideas

A cold lager or a Riesling · Serve with egg fried rice and stir-fried greens · Finish with orange segments

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Stir-Fried Water Spinach, Vegan Fried Rice.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Sweet and Sour Pork FAQ

Sweet and Sour Pork Nutrition Facts

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.