Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe

This is the sweet and sour pork I have cooked at home for years. This is the exact recipe that I follow when I make it for birthday parties and Sunday lunches, usually beside pancit and lumpia. Crispy pork, a red sweet and sour sauce, and the usual vegetables make it feel complete on the table.

I make this with ingredients I usually already have at home: pork, soy sauce, egg, flour, cornstarch, ketchup, vinegar, and sugar. I made it often when we were still in Chicago and Tampa, and I still cook it now that I am back in the Philippines. Same method, same flavor, same reason I keep coming back to it. It works.

The nice thing about making sweet and sour pork at home is that you can adjust it the way you like. Add a little more vinegar if you want it sharper, or a little more sugar if you want the sauce sweeter. I like mine with enough sauce to coat the pork, but not too much that the crispy coating disappears right away.

What is Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork is a Chinese dish of battered, fried pork coated in a sauce that balances sugar against vinegar. It comes from Cantonese cooking in southern China, where the sweet and sour pairing has been used for generations, and it spread around the world through Chinese restaurants and migration. In the Philippines it arrived with Chinese traders and settlers and became part of everyday Filipino Chinese home cooking.

The Filipino version I grew up eating leans on ketchup and vinegar for the sauce instead of the pineapple juice many Western recipes call for. It is tangier and a little less sweet, and it comes together fast. It uses the same idea as our sweet and sour sauce, the one we also keep around as a dip for fried fish and spring rolls.

You will find sweet and sour pork at birthdays, fiestas, and ordinary family dinners, usually served hot over rice. It is one of those dishes that feels special enough for a celebration but easy enough for a weeknight.

Ingredients

The ingredients are simple and easy to find. Here is what I use and what to look for.

For the pork:

• Pork – I use kasim, which is pork shoulder, cut into small pieces. The bit of fat keeps it juicy after frying. Pork belly works if you want it richer.
• Soy sauce – Just for a short marinade. Ten minutes is enough to season the pork before it fries.
• Egg – Beaten, for dipping. Skipping it is the usual reason the coating slides off in the oil.
• Flour and cornstarch – I use both, not flour alone. The cornstarch is what keeps the coating crisp longer once it meets the sauce.
• Cooking oil – Enough to cover the pork for deep frying.

For the sweet and sour sauce:

• Tomato ketchup – This is what makes the sauce red and gives it the familiar tang, so you do not need food coloring.
• Vinegar – Plain white vinegar gives the cleanest sour. Cane vinegar or rice vinegar also work.
• White sugar – Start with the amount in the recipe, then adjust to taste depending on your ketchup.
• Bell peppers, carrot, and red onion – I add these near the end so they keep some bite instead of going soft.

Making sweet and sour pork at home is straightforward once you fry the pork and have the sauce ready. Take it one part at a time and it comes together quickly.

1. Place the sliced pork in a bowl, add the soy sauce and a little salt, and marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Combine the flour and cornstarch in a bowl, then dip each piece of pork in beaten egg and dredge it in the flour mixture.
3. Heat the cooking oil in a pan and deep fry the pork until medium brown, about 10 minutes.
4. Set the fried pork aside on a plate while you make the sauce.

Fry in batches so the oil stays hot. Crowding the pan is the quickest way to a soft coating.

1. Heat a separate pan and pour in the water, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, and a little salt and pepper, then let it boil.
2. Add the carrots and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add the onions and both bell peppers, then cook for 4 minutes, adding a splash of water if the sauce gets too thick.
4. Let the sauce simmer until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

1. Add the fried pork and stir, then cook for 2 minutes so the sauce coats every piece. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot with plenty of rice.

What to Serve with Sweet and Sour Pork

I usually serve this with rice and one or two more dishes when there is a crowd.

• Steamed white rice – The plain base that soaks up the sweet and sour sauce.
• Yang Chow Fried Rice – A loaded fried rice for when you want the meal to feel more complete.
• Pancit Canton – Stir fried noodles that round out a party spread.
• Lumpiang Shanghai – Crispy spring rolls that share the same sweet and sour dip.
• Atchara – Pickled green papaya that cuts the richness of the fried pork.

• Pork – Pork chops, spareribs, or pork tenderloin all work with the same sauce. Cuts with bone, like chops and ribs, need a longer cook to get tender.
• White vinegar – Cane vinegar or rice vinegar both work. Rice vinegar is a little milder.
• White sugar – Brown sugar works too and gives a slightly deeper color and flavor.
• Pineapple – For the sweeter Chinese restaurant style, add pineapple chunks and a little of their juice to the sauce.

Storage and Leftovers

Sweet and sour pork is best right after cooking, while the coating still has some crunch. Leftovers still make a good lunch the next day.

• I keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and finish them within 3 days. The pork will soften as it sits in the sauce.
• For reheating, a hot pan works better than the microwave. A few minutes over medium heat brings back some texture, while the microwave tends to make the pork softer.
• If I know we will have extra, I set some fried pork aside before adding the sauce. Plain fried pork keeps its crunch better, and the sauce can be added later when ready to eat.
• You can also fry the pork and make the sauce earlier in the day. Combine them just before serving so the coating stays crisp.
• I do not recommend freezing this dish. The coating and sauced pork do not come back well from the freezer, and the carrots and peppers turn limp.

More Recipes

• Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet – The same sauce served over crispy fried fish.
• Sweet and Sour Tofu – A meatless version made with fried tofu.
• Sweet and Sour Meatballs – Pork meatballs cooked in the same sweet and sour sauce.
• Pork Hamonado – Filipino pork braised in pineapple, sweet and savory in a similar way.
• Chop Suey – A Filipino Chinese vegetable stir fry that rounds out the same kind of meal.

This Sweet and Sour Pork is simple, tasty, and good with a lot of rice. The pork is best while it is still freshly cooked, and the sauce made with ketchup and vinegar gives it that sweet and tangy taste many of us know from Filipino parties. Try it and let me know how it turned out.