This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure policy here.
Sweet and Sour Pork is a classic on any Chinese restaurant menu and is so easy and quick to recreate at home. The secret to this recipe is in the sweet and tangy sauce.
Because we don’t have a good Chinese restaurant close to home it is easier for me to make some of our favorite dishes. A couple of our favorites are Mongolian Beef and Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken.
Chinese New Year is coming up in a few weeks, January 25, to be exact so if you want to celebrate, today’s recipe would be a great thing to have for dinner. This is the year of the Rat. I was born in the year of the Rat and always loved reading about the Rat on the paper placemat at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The rat is “ambitious yet honest, prone to spend freely. Seldom make lasting friendships.” Liked the first part, not the second part.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Pork
- Pork. I have used both pork tenderloin and a nice lean pork chop for the recipe. I love the pork tenderloin the best but it is more expensive.
- Veggies. I use red, yellow and green peppers as well as green onions but you could also add in some carrots. This dish is both pretty and delicious, a perfect combination.
- Sauce. The sauce for this dish get’s it sweet and sour taste from Hoisin sauce. You can find this in the Asian aisle of your local grocery store.
- Pineapple. It wouldn’t be sweet and sour pork without the pineapple. I like to use pineapple chunks but tidbits also work well.
What is Hoisin Sauce?
Hoisin sauce is often referred to as a Chinese BBQ sauce. It is a thick soybean sauce that is slightly sweet and also a bit sour. If you can’t find Hoisin Sauce you could substitute Black Bean Paste but it may be a bit spicier.
If you don’t care for pork this recipe would also be great made with chicken. I have a great sweet and sour chicken recipe as well as a Sweet and Sour Beef Brisket recipe. Most sweet and sour pork dishes you get at a restaurant are heavily breaded and fried. You usually end up with more breading than meat. This recipe calls for a light coating of corn starch and then a quick fry in some oil. It’s nice and light with no heavy breading.
For all of my other favorite kitchen products and tools visit my Amazon Store.
Did you know I wrote a cookbook? Check out the Holiday Slow Cooker Cookbook for 100 delicious recipes.
Other delicious Chinese takeout recipes are:
Sweet and Sour Pork
Ingredients
- 1 lb. pork tenderloin or pork chop cubed
- 1/4 cups cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp sesame oil divided
- 1 20 oz. pineapple chunks drained and reserved
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 4 green onions sliced
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp Asian chili garlic sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds toasted
Instructions
- Coat pork in cornstarch.
- Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in wok or frying pan over medium heat and cook pork in batches until browned. Remove pork and set aside.
- Drain pineapple and reserve 1/4 cup of juice.
- Add the juice and the soy sauce to the pan and stir to loosen up the browned pieces on the bottom of the pan.
- Add remaining oil and stir fry pineapple, peppers and green onions for about five minutes or until the peppers are tender but just crisp.
- Add together the hoisin sauce and chili garlic sauce and add to pan.
- Add pork back in and stir for about 5 minutes.
- Serve over hot rice. I prefer jasmine or basmati.
- Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
Nutrition Facts:
Nancy McPhee says
Made this recipe and loved it. I added a few strawberries for a change the second time and found they were delicious , but the basic recipe is great. Thanks so much.
Yvette Pugliese says
Happy Birthday!! Majestic yellow is beautiful!
The Queen Vee says
I also tried to leave a comment at Portland Mama and it wouldn’t let me.
I don’t eat chinese very much anymore (although I love it) because it is so high in calories and fat. Believe it or not my favorite is soup, I really love a bowl of Hot and Sour soup, I like to eat it over rice.
Your recipe looks really yummy, I like that the pork is not breaded and deep fried.
Tamara says
This recipe looks amazing. I tried 4 times to leave a comment over at Portland Mama and never was successful. The recipe is printed out and in the “to try” file. THANKS!
Michelle says
Thanks for the tip on using Internet Explorer to vote. I have been trying for days to vote and have never been successful (I use AOL), I thought it was just me! I will keep voting EVERY day! Go Northwest Tailgater!