Battered Sweet and Sour Pork

sweet and sour pork in a bowl with rice.

5 from 8 votes

Sweet and sour pork, made from scratch. Made with crispy pieces of battered pork, pineapple, onions and capsicum tossed in a tangy sweet and sour sauce. Perfect for dinner and better than takeaway!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Marinating Time (Optional)1

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 571kcal

Author: Andrea Geddes

Ingredients

For the pork marinade

600 grams pork scotch fillet (1.3 pounds). Use neck, shoulder or tenderloins. Cut into 2-3cm/bite sized pieces.
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice ground, flat teaspoon
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
1 tablespoon cornflour

For the pork batter

¾ cup cornflour
¼ cup plain flour
½ - 1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

For the sweet and sour sauce

½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
⅓ cup pineapple juice reserved from canned pineapple
pinch Chinese five spice ground
2 teaspoons cornflour

For the stir fry

canola oil for frying
1 medium onion sliced
3 cloves garlic chopped
½ red capsicum diced
½ yellow capsicum diced
½ cup canned pineapple drained. In chunks or pieces. Remember when draining the pineapple to reserve the pineapple juice for the sauce.

To serve

steamed or fried rice
sesame seeds
spring onions thinly sliced

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Cut the pork into bite sized pieces (approx. 2-3cm pieces) and place into a medium-sized bowl.
Add the soy sauce, Chinese five spice, pepper, shaoxing (Chinese wine) and 1 tablespoon of cornflour and stir until combined.
Cover and refrigerate to marinate (overnight is best, where possible, but otherwise as long as you can).

For the sweet and sour sauce

Mix all of the sauce ingredients except for the cornflour together in a small saucepan over low heat and stir to combine.
Bring to a low simmer, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
Mix the cornflour with a few tablespoons of water and stir to remove the lumps.
Add the cornflour slurry to the sauce and continue to gently simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the cloudiness from the cornflour disappears. The sauce will look glossy, dark and smooth when ready.
Set aside.

For the batter

Whisk the cornflour, flour and salt in a mixing bowl to combine.
Add the eggs and cold water and whisk until just combined. Don't overmix.

Wok/stove top instructions

Place half of the pork into the batter and stir until completely coated.
Pre-heat the oil in a wok to 185 °C/356 F. Fry the pork in batches, turning halfway until browned, crisp and cooked through (around 2-4 minutes).
Coat the remaining pork in the remaining batter and repeat.
Carefully remove the pork from the hot oil and place on a wire rack to drain. **The pork can be twice cooked in the hot oil after it has rested, if desired, for a crisper texture.
Carefully remove the oil from the wok and return to the heat. (It can be poured into a pan to discard or reuse later).
Add the onion and garlic and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, until tender and fragrant. Add the capsicum and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
Add the pineapple pieces and stir until combined.
Quickly add the battered pork pieces to the wok. Pour the sweet and sour sauce over the top and toss until combined.
Remove from the heat and serve immediately over fried or steamed rice. Garnish with spring onion and sesame seeds.

Notes

Marinate the pork overnight, where possible. If you want to prepare and eat it right away, marinate the pork for as long as possible (at least 15-30 minutes) while you prepare the other ingredients. This will allow the flavours to infuse into the pork pieces.
Don’t overmix the batter – this will cause it to become gummy and soak in extra oil when frying, causing it to become soggy.
Serve immediately – the pork will lose its crispness if left in the sauce for too long. Quickly add the crispy pork to the pan and toss it through the sauce and once everything is well coated, remove it from the heat and serve right away.
Don’t overcook the pork – bite-sized pieces should only take 2-3 minutes to cook all the way through. Too long in the oil and the pork will become tough. Pork is cooked through when it reaches 70 C at the centre.
Drain the pork on a wire rack rather than a plate lined with paper towel. Paper towel can make the batter soggy.
The pork can be double fried to produce extra crispy batter. This is an optional step. Once the pork has been deep fried, remove it from the oil and place on a wire rack for a few minutes. Then, put it back in the oil to re-fry for about 30 seconds – 1 minute.
Storage; Sweet and sour pork is best eaten fresh, immediately after cooking. But leftovers can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The batter will lose its crispness when stored this way, but will still taste amazing. Reheat in a wok or microwave until steaming hot.
Freezing; Sweet and sour pork can be frozen for up to 3 months. The batter will lose its crisp texture, but it will still taste amazing. To freeze, allow it to cool completely and then place it into the freezer in a large batch, or divided into individual serves. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or stovetop.
Please note that the nutrition information is based on the stir fry being divided into 4 bowls, with one bowl being one serve. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional toppings, rice or sides served with the stir fry.
This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Any reference to cups or spoons in this recipe is in Australian metric. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary.

Nutrition