Easy Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe

Gu Lou Rou, also known as Sweet and Sour Pork, is a traditional and distinctive dish from Guangdong, China. It features a delightful sweet and sour flavor profile, with a crispy exterior and tender interior. The taste is rich and complex, combining sweet, sour, and savory elements harmoniously. It's not greasy at all and is very appetizing.

4 Reviews
4 Comments
POSTED:28/06/2024
Level:Medium
Yield:1-2 servings
Total:30 min
(includes chilling time)
Active:5 min

Sweet and Sour Pork is a classic Chinese dish known for its excellent appearance, aroma, and taste. It has a golden color, crispy texture, and a balanced sweet and sour flavor that is widely loved by diners. Now, let's learn together how to make this delicious Sweet and Sour Pork.


1.What is Sweet and Sour Pork?

Sweet and Sour Pork is a classic Cantonese dish known for its unique preparation method. It involves marinating and coating diced pork with a batter, deep-frying it until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The fried pork is then simmered with unique ingredients such as pineapple, sweet peppers, and a sweet and sour sauce. This cooking technique results in a dish with a rich and complex flavor profile, combining crispy texture with a harmonious blend of sweet, sour, salty, and savory tastes, making it very appetizing.


2.What part of the pig is used for Sweet and Sour Pork?

Sweet and Sour Pork typically uses pork belly. Pork belly is located on the belly of the pig and consists of alternating layers of fat and lean meat. The ideal pork belly for Sweet and Sour Pork has a good balance of three layers of fat to two layers of lean meat, which ensures the meat is tender and juicy. Additionally, some traditional recipes may use pure fat or fatty pork, but modern versions often use pork loin , which has a balance of fat and lean meat and is tender, making it suitable for making Sweet and Sour Pork.


3.How to make Sweet and Sour Pork crispy and fragrant?

①Coat the meat with a mixture of starch and flour: Cut the pork into small pieces, marinate with salt and pepper, then mix in a beaten egg until evenly coated. Next, coat the meat pieces with a mixture of flour and cornstarch. This process helps create a crispy outer shell when frying.

②Double frying technique: First, fry the coated meat pieces over medium heat until they turn golden brown. Remove them from the oil and allow the temperature of the oil to rise again. Then, fry the pieces a second time (double frying) to make them even crispier.

③Preparation of sweet and sour sauce: Heat some oil in a pan, sauté minced garlic until fragrant, then add tomato sauce, white vinegar, and sugar. Simmer the mixture over low heat to make the sweet and sour sauce. Adjust the ratio of sugar and vinegar according to personal taste to achieve the desired level of sweetness and sourness.


4.How to store Sweet and Sour Pork?

①If storing Sweet and Sour Pork in the refrigerator, place it in a sterilized container immediately after it has cooled down. Make sure the lid is securely closed before placing it in the refrigerator. When refrigerating, store it on the top shelf to prevent cross-contamination. If you don't have a specific container, you can use a small airtight container or a double-layered plastic bag for storage.

②When freezing Sweet and Sour Pork, place it directly into a sterilized container or a sealed plastic bag. Ensure the container or bag is tightly sealed before placing it in the freezer compartment. If you're using a plastic bag and don't have a container, flatten the Sweet and Sour Pork into a disk shape inside the bag and seal it tightly. You can use the handle of a spoon or the back of a knife to press and create portions (dividing the food into blocks) before laying it flat in the freezer compartment.

When ready to eat, simply break off the desired amount, steam until fully heated, or microwave on high until thoroughly warmed through.


Making Sweet and Sour Pork is relatively simple but requires certain cooking techniques and steps. Here's a common method for preparing Sweet and Sour Pork.

INGREDIENTS

MAIN INGREDIENTS

  • 400g pork belly

ACCESSORIES

  • 120g pineapple
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 45g onion
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 30g cornstarch

SEASONINGS

  • 10g lemon juice
  • Approximately 30g water
  • 10g salt
  • 50g tomato sauce
  • 10g white vinegar
  • 35g granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Dice the onion and green and red bell peppers into chunks and set aside.

Dice onion, green, and red bell peppers into chunks.

STEP 2

Dice the pineapple into chunks and set aside.

Dice the pineapple into chunks for later use.

STEP 3

Choose good quality pork belly. Remove the pork skin and cut the pork belly into approximately 1cm pieces. It's recommended to remove the skin because leaving it on can result in a tougher texture when eaten.

tip:

It's generally recommended to choose pork belly because its alternating layers of fat and lean meat can make the texture smoother and more tender.

Select high-quality pork belly, remove skin, cut into 1cm pieces for tender texture. Ideal for smoother texture.

STEP 4

Add 10 grams of salt and 10 grams of granulated sugar.

Add 10g salt and 10g sugar for recipe.

STEP 5

Add one beaten egg yolk and mix well.

Instruction: Add beaten egg yolk to mixture and combine thoroughly.

STEP 6

Then add a small amount of cornstarch and mix well.

Mix a small amount of cornstarch well.

STEP 7

Coat the evenly mixed pork belly with a layer of cornstarch. Squeeze it firmly with your hands to ensure the coating sticks well. This will help keep the coating intact during frying, resulting in a crispy outside and tender inside texture.

Coat pork belly with cornstarch for crispy, tender texture when frying.

STEP 8

Heat oil in a pan until it reaches 120°C. Carefully add the pork belly pieces into the hot oil. Fry them over low heat until they are golden and cooked through, flipping them halfway through to ensure even frying. Once cooked, remove them from the oil.

Fry pork belly in hot oil until golden and cooked through.

STEP 9

Heat the oil again until hot. Refry the pork belly pieces for about 20 seconds, just until they become crispy again. This second frying enhances the crispiness of the dish.

Refry pork belly for 20 seconds to enhance crispiness.

STEP 10

Heat a small amount of oil in the pan. Add tomato sauce, granulated sugar, lemon juice, water, and white vinegar. Stir fry over low heat until the sugar melts.

tip:

The amount of sauce ingredients can be adjusted according to personal preference. Add more sugar for sweeter flavor or increase tomato sauce and lemon juice for a tangier taste.

Tip for adjusting sauce flavors: Heat oil, add tomato sauce, sugar, lemon juice, water, vinegar, and tweak amounts to taste.

STEP 11

Add the diced onion, green and red bell peppers, and pineapple into the pan. Stir-fry together.

Stir-fry diced onion, green and red bell peppers, and pineapple in a pan.

STEP 12

Continue cooking over low heat. Add the fried pork belly pieces into the pan and quickly stir-fry until they are evenly coated with the sauce.

tip:

Remember to keep the heat low to prevent the sauce from penetrating the pork belly too quickly. This helps maintain a crispy exterior and tender interior texture.

Stir-fry pork belly in low heat with sauce for crispy texture.

STEP 13

Stir-fry well and then you can take out of the pan.

Instruction to stir-fry ingredients and remove from pan.

Recipe analyzer

  • Recipes: Easy Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
  • Main Ingredients:7
  • Servings per recipe:1
  • Servings size:702 g
Nutritional Summary of Recipe
Amount per 702 g= 1 serving(s)
  • Energy (calories):2367 kcal
    108%
  • Protein:42.87 g
    79%
  • Fat:217 g Why gray?
    447%
  • Carbohydrates:59.26 g
    24%
Calorie breakdown
  • Protein: 8%
    179 kcal
  • Fat: 83%
    1957 kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 10%
    231 kcal
The chart shows the percentage of calories intake (energy) coming from the respective macronutrients (fats, protein and carbohydrates).
Omega 6 : Omega 3
1:1
20:1
11:1
Both fatty acids are essential, but nowadays the majority of western diets include excessive amounts of Omega 6 acid.

The ratio shows whether the proportion of both fatty acids in your diet is optimal. Red color means too much of Omega 6 or too little of Omega 3. The data are rounded off and approximate.

4 REVIEWS

Review
Your rating:
PhoebeSeptember 29, 2024

How can I tell if the pork is cooked when frying?
reply:
October 02, 2024
It takes about 5 - 7 minutes to deep-fry the pork until the surface is golden brown. You can also insert chopsticks into a piece of pork and feel that it is basically cooked when there is no blood oozing out.
MauriceSeptember 15, 2024

What shape should the pork be cut into?
reply:
September 17, 2024
Cut the pork into small pieces of about 2 - 3 centimeters, this will ensure even heat during cooking.
PatriciaJuly 23, 2024

This recipe taught me how to easily make crispy, sweet and sour sweet and sour pork at home that doesn't taste like a takeout place at all.
AbnerJune 30, 2024

Sweet and sour pork ✨|Sweet and sour|Super rice 🍚
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