Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe: Better Than Takeout

Forget about ordering takeout! This sweet and sour pork recipe is so easy and delicious. Better than takeout and ready in no time! Make this sweet and sour pork tonight and impress your family and friends!

Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe

Serving: 2 to 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

For the pork:
1 ½ pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/6 teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, or replace it with others
1 large egg white
1 cup cornstarch, separated
4 cups oil, for frying

For the sauce:
1 cup water
4 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/6 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water

For the stir-frying:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 medium onion, cubed
1/2 medium green bell pepper, cubed
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cubed
1/2 cup pineapple, cubed

Sweet and Sour Pork Instructions

To marinate the pork:

• In a large mixing bowl, place the pork inside.
• Season it with salt, white pepper, Shaoxing wine, and egg white (egg white helps to tenderize the pork). Mix well.
• Marinate it for 15 minutes.

To coat the pork:

• Coat the pork with 1/2 cup of cornstarch. Mix together. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
• Coat the pork with another 1/2 cup of cornstarch. Combine. (The cornstarch will coat the pork better this way, and the result is crispier.)

To combine the sauce:

• In a bowl, mix together the water, ketchup, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Whisk.

To fry the pork:

• In a pot over high heat, pour the oil inside. Heat it up to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Carefully place the pork inside, and fry for about 3 minutes. Remove.
• Heat the oil to 375 degrees F (191 degrees C). Return the pork and fry until crispy for 1 minute. (Double frying makes it super crispy and less oily. When the external temperature is hotter than the internal temperature. It forces the oil from the inside to go out So, the pork is crispy and not greasy.) Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

To stir-frying:

• In a wok over high heat, add oil, onion, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Remove.
• In the same wok over medium heat, pour the sauce inside, and add the cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water). Stir until it’s thickened.
• Return vegetables and pork. Also, place the pineapple inside. Toss everything together.

Sharing a few thoughts at the end:

The beauty of life is that there are many ups and downs. I’ve been going through some emotional rollercoaster in the past few days. Eventually, when I took a step back, changed my mindset, and simply enjoyed my sweet and sour pork for a few minutes. In the end, I noticed when my mindset was in the right place everything just seemed perfectly beautiful.