Sweet and sour sauce with pineapple for pork

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(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This sweet and sour pork with pineapple recipe is a favorite Cantonese dish in both America and China. Adding a bit of pineapple gives it an extra-sweet kick of flavor that anyone would enjoy. This style of cooking with sauces is popular in much of Cantonese cuisine. The sauce recipe included here can be incorporated into other meals if desired. While this dish takes some time to make, the outcome is truly worth the effort.  

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"This saucy dish requires a good amount of time to prepare, but the actual prep is a breeze. It's a sticky, sweet delight, sure to be a crowd-pleaser." —Lauryn Bodden

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup ketchup

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar

• 1/2 cup rock sugar, or granulated sugar

• 1/2 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

• Kosher salt, to taste

For the Pork Marinade:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon rice wine

• 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 3 tablespoons corn flour, or cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

For the Stir-Fry:

• 3 cups neutral cooking oil, for deep-frying the pork

• 1 clove garlic, sliced

• 1/2 small white onion, finely diced

• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch diamond shapes

• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch diamond shapes

• 3 1/2 ounces fresh pineapple, or canned pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks

• 1/2 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for garnish

Prepare Sweet and Sour Sauce

1. Gather the ingredients.

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2. Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and stir to mix evenly. Place over medium-high heat.

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3. Stirring constantly, bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the sauce, continuing to stir, until the texture has turned thick and sticky, about 25 minutes.

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Marinate the Pork

1. Gather the ingredients.

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2. Place the pork in a bowl and add both kinds of soy sauce, rice wine, five-spice powder, ground white pepper, and minced garlic; marinate for 10 minutes.

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3. Add the egg, corn flour, and all-purpose flour into the pork marinade and mix evenly. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

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Stir-Fry the Pork

1. Gather the ingredients.

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2. Heat the oil to 325 F/170 C in a wok or deep saucepan.

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3. Gently slide in some of the pork tenderloin cubes, without overcrowding, and deep-fry, in batches if necessary, until golden brown in color, stirring occasionally. Make sure the oil comes back up to temperature before each batch.

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4. Place the cooked pork on a plate lined with a couple of sheets of paper towel.

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5. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the wok and stir-fry the garlic and onion over medium-high heat until fragrant.

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6. Add the bell peppers and pineapple to the wok and stir-fry for a minute or two.

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7. Return the pork to the wok, along with the sweet and sour sauce, and mix evenly. You can add as much sweet and sour sauce as you prefer.

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8. Garnish with the sesame seeds. Serve with cooked white rice, if desired.

   The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Tip

• You can test the oil temperature by dipping a chopstick into a little bit of the pork marinade and then putting it in the oil; if the oil immediately bubbles, then the temperature is correct.
  

What's the difference between light soy sauce and dark soy sauce?

Light soy sauce is the most common type used in Chinese cooking and is what most North Americans would think of as "regular" soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is, as the name suggests, darker, richer, and sweeter in flavor, thanks to a longer aging period and the addition of caramel and sometimes molasses. For this recipe, if you only have light soy sauce in your pantry, feel free to use it in place of the dark soy sauce.

Recipe Variation

• This recipe will not have the red tint found in typical Chinese restaurant sweet and sour dishes; if you would like your dish to look the same, add some red food coloring to the sauce.

Is sweet and sour pork unhealthy?

Because of the amount of ketchup, sugar, and pineapple in the recipe, the sugar content is higher compared to other Chinese dishes; there are 35 grams of sugar per serving in this sweet and sour pork, while in a recipe such as orange pork stir-fry there are only 5 grams. Therefore, it is best to eat this dish in moderation.

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