Sweet and Sour Pork (The Best Recipe) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

FAQs

What are the main ingredients in sweet and sour pork? ›

A Chinese stir-fry dish made with juicy pieces of pork tenderloin, bell peppers, onion, and pineapple. Battered pork gets fried until crispy then tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce.

Sweet and sour pork is a Chinese dish particularly popular in Westernised Cantonese cuisine and may be found worldwide. Several provinces in China produce various dishes that claim to be the ancestor, including a traditional Jiangsu dish called “pork in a sugar and vinegar sauce” (糖醋里脊; pinyin: táng cù lǐjǐ).

Sweet and sour pork (咕噜肉) sits among some of the most well-known Chinese dishes outside of China. It's widely believed to be a Cantonese dish, known colloquially as gú lóuh yuhk, which roughly translates to “ancient pork.”

However, it is believed that the sweet and sour pork dish was originally made with ribs rather than sliced pork. After eating the dish, these foreigners enjoyed it but didn't like the bones, so they modified the recipe, and chefs ditched the ribs and replaced it with a well-marbled pork shoulder.

While sweet and sour can be found in diverse forms in China, the American version builds upon the simple mixture of sugar, vinegar, and spices with the addition of fruit juice—most commonly pineapple—and ketchup, giving the sauce both its red hue and uniquely Western flavor.

How do you tenderise pork for stir fry? Velveting is a Chinese technique that helps keep meat tender during stir frying. Adding cornstarch and bicarb to your meat during the marinating process helps to coat your meat, giving it a velvety feel that makes the meat feel extra soft.

It is said that this sauce evolved from the Cantonese culinary tradition, emigrating to the United States in the late 1800s and evolving into what we know today. However, China is a massive country with a long history and huge variety of food cultures; each province has its own sweet and sour cooking traditions.

Sweet and sour pork: how one of the most beloved Chinese dishes went global. From takeaway shops to Michelin-starred restaurants, sweet and sour pork is globally one of the most iconic and beloved food items in Cantonese cuisine.

Our host explains that shocking the freshly fried meat with ice helps to seal its crisp edges. The sweet and sour sauce that forms a thin glaze around the meat has a lovely rounded balance.

Cornflour/cornstarch – for thickening. Sweet and sour sauce is thicker than most stir fries so it clings to the pork pieces!

Who invented sweet and sour? ›

Sweet and sour sauce is usually associated with the authentic Chinese combination of rice vinegar and sugar. The probable origin of this sweet and sour mixture is the Chinese province of Hunan, where it was originally used as a condiment or a sauce for fish, meat, and vegetables.

Swap the pineapples for these instead: the sourness with vinegar and the sweetness with sugar. Vinegar is just as sour as pineapples but without the sweetness. That can be remedied by using sugar. Both are an easy and simple ingredient substitutes that you already have!

Shoulder (spare rib)

It has a really excellent flavour, as meat from nearer the head of the pig is always more succulent, with a little more fat to keep it moist. The skin is dry with a reasonable layer of fat underneath, making this one of the best joints to get good crackling from.

Marinades aren't just great for imparting flavor — they also help lock in moisture and tenderize your meat. For pork, you can marinate for up to 12 hours prior to cooking. Just be sure to store marinating pork in the refrigerator and do your best to cover all sides of meat with liquid or turn the meat occasionally.

Boar taint is the offensive odor or taste that can be evident during the cooking or eating of pork or pork products derived from non-castrated male pigs once they reach puberty. Boar taint is found in around 20% of entire male finishing pigs.

There are a few sweet pork recipes out there but I've found the best one to be this near-perfect imitation of Cafe Rio's sweet pork. The key ingredients are (besides pork, of course) Coca-Cola, brown sugar, chilis, enchilada sauce, and spices. Accept no substitutions!

Sweet and sour chicken, one of the most popular Chinese takeout dishes, is made of puffy, golden brown pieces of fried chicken nuggets with pineapple chunks, onion, bell pepper, carrot, and a side of iconic red, sweet and sour sauce. Serve it with egg rolls or some egg drop soup and egg fried rice to complete the meal!

The sweet and sour pork in China is quite different from the American version, though. The takeout style is usually heavily battered, deep fried, and swamped in a pool of very sugary sauce. On the other hand, in the Chinese version the pork is cut into thin strips, lightly coated with a batter and fried until crispy.

Nov 8, 2023 • Author: Joyce Lee • 29 Comments • This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. This classic Chinese sweet and sour chicken (Hong Kong Style) is made with pineapple, peppers, onions, and crispy chicken, tossed in a sweet and sour sauce with the perfect balance of tanginess to sweetness.