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(Popular and All-Time Favorite Chinese recipes: Broccoli Beef, Chow Mein, Egg Drop Soup, Kung Pao Chicken, Cashew Chicken, Fried Rice, Orange Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and more.)
Sweet and Sour Pork, the ubiquitous and arguably the most well-known Chinese recipe in the world, is a classic Cantonese dish. Called “咕嚕肉” or “goo lou yok” in Cantonese dialect, sweet and sour pork is very pleasing to the palate because of the flavorsome sweet and sour sauce–the sweetness from sugar plus the tangy ketchup and sharp rice vinegar–with the crispy fried pork pieces. The green and red bell peppers and pineapple pieces are just icing on the cake.
The secret of an authentic sweet and sour pork dish lies in the perfect balance of the sweet vs. sour taste of the sauce. To master this dish, it’s not about the technique of stir-frying nor the use of the freshest ingredients, although both are equally important and wouldn’t hurt. To me, the sweet and sour sauce is the soul of this dish. If you fail the sweet and sour sauce, you fail the dish. With that in mind, I will teach you how to make that perfect sweet and sour sauce and share with you the secret ingredients I use.
While traditional Chinese/Cantonese sweet and sour pork recipe calls for the use of rice vinegar and ketchup to bring out the sour taste, I also use plum sauce to add some extra zing, plus a few dashes of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce and oyster sauce to complete a harmony balance. They are my secret ingredients and do make a nice difference in terms of taste, in my honest opinion.
Other than the sauce, the frying batter is no less important. A great batter recipe promises crispy and crunchy coating for the pork. In my recipe below, you will also find the instructions and exact measurement to make the batter. It is simply awesome!
Rasa Malaysia’s Secret Ingredients for Sweet and Sour Pork:
- Plum Sauce
- Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
- Oyster Sauce (my not-so-secret seasoning medium)
So, discard the canned pineapple juice or orange juice in the Americanized sweet and sour pork recipe. Do try out my secret ingredients above the next time you prepare sweet and sour pork.
Anyway, once you master the techniques of making sweet and sour sauce, you can pretty much whip up any sweet and sour dishes in a jiffy: pork, chicken, fish, or shrimp…just don’t tell Panda Express my secret recipe! *wink*
If you like my sweet and sour pork recipe, you might also want to check out the Chinese recipes on Rasa Malaysia:
CHINESE RECIPES: POPULAR & ALL-TIME FAVORITES
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| Chow Mein | Broccoli Beef | Sweet and Sour Pork | Egg Drop Soup |
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| Kung Pao Chicken | Cashew Chicken | Fried Rice | Orange Chicken |
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| Crab Rangoon | Mongolian Beef |
(Click Page 2 for the Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe)
Pages: 1 2
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Tried cooking this scrumptous recipe this evening and it was really good!
Been actually trying on the recipies posted here,for four dinners in a row! My little son and my husband just love it! Thank you so much rasamalaysia for sharing your great cooking skills to all of us!
Keep cooking and keep posting!
how do I get to the actual recipe? I have read through the sweet and sour pork info and it says after the jump???What is after the jump? most confusing…
The recipe is on page 2 or here: http://rasamalaysia.com/chinese-recipe-sweet-and-sour-pork/2/
I tried this recipe this evening. My pork was crispy when I finished frying it, but once I combined it with the rest of the ingredients, the pork fell flat and the batter was soggy. I even used a temp to monitor my frying temp. so I don’t think that is the problem. Should I be frying it even longer? My pork was golden brown once I fried them….so I don’t understand what I may be doing wrong.
The sauce however, is very nice. It has more complex flavours in it than just ketchup. I will be def. be keeping that as base recipe for sweet and sour. Thanks!
Try to fry the pork two times.
The same thing happened to me…The pork was very crispy until added to the sauce…I was wondering if we should let the sauce cool down a little before adding the pork? I should mention that the pork was nice and cripy when I took them out from the oil..Will try to fry them twice before next time…
Hello. I was wondering what you meant by half an egg? Does that mean the egg white or the egg yolk?
beat one egg and use only half.
hi, just tried the recipe. what a disaster! haha the batter ended up sticking on my wok. when i took out the pork, it was as if i was frying the pork without any batter. the batter just wont stick to the pork when frying….help…what’s the trick??? :S
It means your oil wasn’t heated or hot enough.
You can first add a little flour to the meat before dipping it in the batter. The flour works like an adhesive to help the batter stick. It commonly used for frying fish and chicken.
what’s the difference between baking powder and soda bicarbonate?
hey, this is making my mouth water as we speak…is there a way to pan fry the pork instead of deep fry?-(don’t have enough oil)
Baking powder also has cream of tartar in it. Since it contains other ingredients that I don’t want as well, I make my own using one-third sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and two-thirds cream of tartar. Since it’s not easy to measure out when you want only 1 teaspoon of baking powder, I use a quarter teaspoon (slightly rounded) of baking soda and a half-teaspoon (slightly rounded) of cream of tartar for each teaspoon of baking powder that the recipe requires. It’s worked for me for nearly forty years.
hi, i did it after trying 2nd time. Thks! planning to try your kung pao chicken soon… :)
can i omit 1/8tsp of chinese rice vinegar for this sweet ans sour pork recipe? will this make the taste different?
Quick question: regarding this marinade ingredient:
1/2 teaspoon corn flour
Is corn flour different from cornstarch?
Thanks!
You can use either one.
Is the sweet and sour sauce appropriate to use as a dipping sauce?
Yes. :)
Fantastic! I’m going to make some today for loompia!
How many serves does this make? Just for 1?
Serves 2.
Hi, Bee
Thanks for all your fun recipes. I may have a silly question but I hope you don’t mind :) I noticed that you have 2 different marinating, batter and ingredient instructions for your Sweet & Sour Pork and Chicken recipes…may I ask why? Why no pineapples for the chicken? Why is the batter different? I mean what would happen if I used chicken indtead of Pork with your S&S Pork recipe?
Much thanks,
Joy
Hi Joy – I don’t cook the same dish with the same exact recipe, because cooking is an art and also depends on what I have in the fridge, and what I am in the mood for that particular day. Both recipes taste good, but the sweet and sour chicken recipe is simpler with less ingredients. You can add pineapples to the chicken if you like, again as I said, my recipe is based on what I have. Of course, you can use chicken for the Sweet and Sour Pork recipe, you can even modify it to your liking. Don’t be afraid of experimenting and always have fun cooking. :)
hi!! i want to make a bigger batch and i was wondering whether we can store any leftovers in the fridge and, if yes, for how many days??
Yes, you can store but it won’t be good as the pork will become soggy drenched in the sauce for days.
Hi,
We had Chinese out last night and it was $65. We love it but can’t afford it very often. Your recipes are wonderful, easy enough for me who is not an accomplished cook and you are so good about answering questions. Wow. This website is quite the find for me. You are terrific.
Many thanks,
Deb
Thanks Deb, great to have you as a reader. :)
Hi Rasa Malaysia. I absolutely love your website. I have a question about the the cut of pork used in the recipe. Can I use boneless sirloin pork chops in place of the pork loin?
ill try this recipe tonite.. It looks yummeehhh.. Cant wait *drools*
I disagree. I live in Guangzhou, Guangdong (Capital of Cantonese) and to get 咕嚕肉 or various varieties of sweet and sour pork (there are several) you almost always have to go to a “DongBei” (North-East) China cuisine restaurant.
Hi, can I know how much is a cup of water?
My educated guess would be 8 ounces.
I used this recipe as the base of last nights meal. Upped the quantities and added extra veg, Onion, Carrot and some thinly sliced fresh ginger.
Overall very good. It will be made again.
Batter was a little soggy not crispy. I noted your comments on frying twice.
Do the oz of flour and cornstarch refer to volume or weight, and would it be possible to provide us with a conversion to tablespoons?
Weight.
rasamalaysia i love your recepies.
Thank you!
Hey i was wondering how many people this recipe serves?
Hi, thank you for sharing your recipe. The sweet & sour sauce is very good, my family love it. Keep posting!
I look forward to making this sauce. Many years ago my family was a yearly guest of an Asian restaurant that served us an amazing family style Christmas dinner. I took for granted the DARK & RICH sweet and sour sauce I grew up with (not the sticky red goo). So wish I’d asked for their recipes 30 odd years ago. And thier egg foo yung is unmatched as well.
I’m excited to try this tonight since sweet and sour pork is a family favorite. I’ve tried so many sweet and sour recipes but none tasted like the one in Chinese restaurants. Just wondering if i could use the Japanese rice wine & rice vinegar because it’s all i have in my kitchen. Will it change the authentic Chinese sweet and sour taste? I am so glad I stumbled upon your very informative website. There are so many recipes I want to try. By the way, is there any brand of plum sauce that you can recommend? This is my first time to use this ingredient. Thank you very much Rasa for sharing not only your wonderful recipes but your cooking secrets as well.
Yes on using the Japanese rice wine and rice vinegar. For plum sauce, use Lee Kum Kee.
Hi whats the difference between lee kum kee plum sauce and light colored plum sauce?can i use the light colored one? (Light colored plum sauce is a diff brand)tnx
OK.
Hi again! I’m wondering if the baking soda in the frying batter should be baking powder instead. I noticed a slight bitter taste in the cooked batter & I think it might have come from the baking soda. I’ve encountered frying batter recipes using baking powder. Just asking
You can use baking soda or baking powder.
At this moment I am ready to do my breakfast, once having my breakfast coming again to
read additional news.
This has become my go-to recipe for Ku Lou Yuk. Only thing I do different is up the amount of rice vinegar, wooster sauce by quite a lot. And use potato flour for the deep-fry batter.
My wife likes it more than those served in restaurants around my place. Thanks.
Very quickly this site will be famous among all blog people, due to it’s nice content