Sweet and Sour Pork
Whenever in doubt of what to order at a new restaurant, I find myself reverting back to familiarity. Sweet and sour pork is a staple in any Chinese restaurant. A “safety first” option, since I am certain everyone is fond of it, especially kids.
Honestly, this dish is the complete package. A wholesome dish that can be eaten on its own or with a bowl of rice. A dish that is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Tangy, sweet, savory, refreshing, it ticks all the right boxes. If there is one pork dish to have up your sleeve in the kitchen, it has to be this.
Not only is sweet and sour pork a quick dish to cook, it also uses fairly basic ingredients. What you see in the spread below is all you need. Just a bit of cutting and you are all set. Cut the pork against the grain so that it will be easier to chew. Also, as the meat shrinks a little when deep fried, you should cut the chunks slightly larger than you picture it.
Deep frying the pork to crisp perfection
Opting for rice flour dusting as oppose to regular flour helps crisps up the exterior even more. An important tip when deep frying is to make sure the pieces of pork are coated entirely with the batter and flour. The idea is to give it a full, even layer casing. Otherwise, the juices of the meat would just seep out and dry up the meat. Double frying pork will ensure you get a nice crunch.
Ideally, you would want to use pork belly for this, as it has a good fat to meat ratio. Remember to trim off the skin, otherwise it will be rubbery once fried.
The best accompaniment to deep fried meat is a tangy sauce with an array of fresh vegetables to cut the grease.
The choice of vegetables is up to you. I often opt for the usual capsicum, onion, and cucumber combo. Not only does it give a balance of texture to the dish, but it helps liven up the plate with a beautiful medley of colors.
I like to add some bite size fruit in as well, either fresh or canned. A personal favorite addition of mine is to add canned lychee into my sweet and sour pork, along with some of the liquid. I love how it adds an extra dimension of sweetness to the dish. It can be substituted with pineapple or honeydew.
Along with a bowl of rice, this sweet and sour pork is all I need. A simple dinner in a jiffy, hope you will give it a go.
Here’s a quick video to demonstrate how I cook my favourite childhood dish that I still love to this day:
Lychee Sweet & Sour Pork
Ingredients
Pork
- 250 g pork belly
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp potato or corn starch mix with 1 tbsp water
- 5 tbsp rice flour for coating
Vegetables
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1-2 red onion quartered
- ⅓ red capsicum chopped
- ⅓ green capsicum chopped
- ⅓ yellow capsicum chopped
- ⅓ cucumber chopped
Sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp plum sauce
- 2 tbsp canned lychee syrup
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp water
Fruit
- 8-10 pieces canned lychee
Instructions
Pork Belly
- Remove skin off pork belly and cut meat into bite sized pieces.
- Mix potato/corn starch with water to make into starch flurry and mix with all of the ingredients to season pork belly.
- Coat each piece of pork belly in rice flour.
- Heat up a pan with hot boiling oil, then deep fry coated pork belly. Work in 2-3 batches if required to ensure you do not overcrowd the pan.
- Remove when pieces are golden brown. Set aside on draining rack.
- If you like really crunchy pork pieces, I highly recommend double frying the pork pieces. For this additional step, when sauce is almost done, deep fry pork pieces in hot oil for 1-2 minutes, drain and mix into sauce.
Vegetables
- Vegetable portions in recipe above can be adjusted to suit your family's preference.
- Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil, and saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add in all other vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes until 80% cooked. Remove and set aside.
Sauce
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and pour into wok. Bring to boil to thicken sauce.
- Return cooked vegetables to the sauce, saute quickly to coat in sauce.
- Add lychee pieces, give it a quick stir.
- Finally add pork and stir to coat well. Serve immediately with white rice!
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