What is Sweet and Sour Pork?
Sweet and Sour Pork is an iconic Chinese recipe and classic Cantonese dish.
Called “咕嚕肉” or “goo lou yok” in Cantonese dialect, this recipe 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.
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Delicious Sweet and Sour Sauce
The secret of an authentic sweet and sour pork dish lies in the perfect balance of the sweet vs. sour taste of the sauce, the soul of this dish.
I am going to teach you how to make perfect homemade sweet and sour sauce and share my secret ingredients!
Secret Ingredients
Other than rice vinegar and ketchup, I also use Chinese plum sauce to add some extra zing, plus a few dashes of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce and oyster sauce to complete the perfect balance of flavor.
Once you master the techniques of homemade sweet and sour sauce, you can make authentic and restaurant quality Chinese food at home!
- Plum Sauce
- Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
- Oyster Sauce
Crispy Frying Batter
The frying batter for the pork is equally important. The fried pork has to be crispy, airy and crunchy, so when they are stir-fried with the sweet and sour sauce, the pork will remain crispy and not soggy and swim in the sauce.
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This recipe is only 402 calories per serving.
Serve Sweet and Sour Pork with:
For a wholesome dinner, I recommend the following dishes.
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Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
Authentic sweet and sour pork recipe that is better than your favorite Chinese restaurants.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. (0.2 kg) pork tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 green bell pepper, about 2 oz. (56 g) and cut into pieces
- 1/2 red bell pepper, about 2 oz. (56 g) and cut into pieces
- 2 stalks scallions, only the white part, cut into 2 inch length
- 1 piece fresh/canned pineapple ring, cut into small pieces
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- oil for frying
Marinade:
Frying Batter:
- 2 oz. (56 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 oz. (30 g) corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 egg
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil
- 1 pinch salt
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon plum sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon Chinese rice vinegar, transparent in color
- 1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Cut the pork tenderloin into pieces and marinate with the ingredients for 15-20 minutes.
- Mix the sweet and sour sauce ingredients well and set aside.
- Strain the dry ingredients of the frying batter and then add in the egg, water, and cooking oil to form a thick batter.
- When the pork is well-marinated, transfer the pork pieces into the batter and make sure they are well coated. In a deep skillet, add in the cooking oil enough for deep-frying. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the pork pieces until they turn golden brown. Dish out and drain on paper towels.
- Heat up a wok and add in some cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir fry until light brown, then follow by the bell peppers and pineapple pieces. Stir fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the peppers and then add in the sweet and sour sauce. As soon as the sauce thickenens, transfer the pork into the wok and stir well with the sauce. Add in the chopped scallions, do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size
2 peopleAmount Per Serving Calories 402Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 115mgSodium 758mgCarbohydrates 52gFiber 3gSugar 11gProtein 29g
Lisa Bynum
Made this last night for dinner and it was delicious! My husband has asked me to make it again.
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome Lisa, I am so glad that you love this sweet and sour pork.
Jon Pearson
OMG what a delicious recipe.
Made it this evening and was outstandingly brilliant.
More sauce was needed so next time will make 4 times more s&s sauce, but all was beautifully perfect.
THANK YOU
Jon & Simone, Gloucestershire, UK
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Jon, thanks for trying this sweet and sour pork recipe.
Jon
Hi,
I’m going to try this recipe tomorrow – a couple of questions, firstly Is rice wine vinegar ok to use instead of just rice wine, also is bicarbonate of soda the same as baking soda – also – could you please explain the twice fried pork method as I’ve seen mentioned so many times please?
Many thanks
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Jon, yes you can use rice wine vinegar. For the baking soda, I don’t think bicarbonate of soda is the same. I am not sure. You can check online. Baking soda is very common and you can get it at any stores. Twice fried pork means the pork is deep-fried twice. First time fried until the batter becomes light brown. Then take them out. Then deep fry again until golden brown.
Jessica Lekki
This is so good. I double the sauce part. I’m making it again next week. I can’t wait!
Patrick
Hello,
First off ALL your recipes are great!! So glad I came across your culinary excellence. I cannot wait to make this for my lovely wife and our two “Eat Everything” boy’s. Quick question, on the ingredient list it has two areas for the frying batter yet I do not see where to add the first area (3 items) in the directions? If you would be so kind to touch on this.
Thanks Patrick
Sally Reardon
Hi,
very tasty sweet & sour pork. first time using plum sauce and without pineapple juice too :)
Delicious ! will repeat this recipe again.
Thank you.
Sally
Christine
I cannot see the recipe on the page. Where is it?
Thanks Christine
Rasa Malaysia
The recipe is where the red bar is “GET RECIPE HERE.”
Bucskiboy
This by far the best recipe. I use left over roast pork
It just needs a bit more sauce double up and it’s perfect
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome, yes, all my recipes taste the best.
Angela
This was so good! I’m like actually surprised how yummy it came out. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll make it again! I did saute the veggies and pineapple with a dash of sesame seed oil.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Angela, sounds super duper good!
Marek
I made this tonight. Nice method and easy to understand. I increased the amount of ingredients and booted up volume rather than 1/2 an egg. I also made more sauce, but I added fresh ground pepper to the batter to add a little pep to the pork.
It all went very well and is an excellent economic meal with no leftovers. Thank you for sharing.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Marek, thanks for trying my sweet and sour pork recipe.