Subscribe to FeedSweet and sour pork or 咕噜肉 is undisputedly one of China's most famous dishes and exports. Of Cantonese origin, this winning combination of crispy and crunchy pork bites coated in a vibrant sweet and sour sauce has captured the appetitites of many both in and out of China. I am so excited today to announce that I have finally discovered the perfect recipe for sweet and sour pork! The secret? Instead of using vinegar for the sour element in the sauce, I used plum sauce (苏梅酱) which lends a deeper and more natural fruity sourness to the sauce. Sauce solved, what about the pork? One of my pet peeves when it comes to sweet and sour sauce is soggy and greasy pork - for a guaranteed crunchy and non-greasy bite, fry the pork twice. This is also a two-part batter in that the pork is first marinated in egg, a little custard powder, corn flour and a tiny bit of water then dredged in a mixture of all purpose flour, corn flour and rice flour. Perfectly crispy golden nuggets have never been this easy!
Although sweet and sour pork is a commonly seen dish in every Chinese eatery including many takeout places, it is not easy to cook sweet and sour pork well. Hence, it should be of no surprise that a Cantonese chef is often tested based on the quality of his sweet and sour pork and another classic Cantonese dish, stir-fried flat rice noodles with beef (干炒牛河).The pork has to stay crunchy, yet well infused with the sweet and sour sauce and must not be soggy. Another similar dish that is also one of my favourites is Peking spareribs, the Northern cousin (and some say the ancestor) of sweet and sour pork. There are also many variations of sweet and sour pork now - for instance, when sweet and sour pork migrated to Korea, it became known as tangsuyuk (탕수육) and can actually be made with beef or pork.
If you are a fan of sweet and sour pork, you absolutely have to make this - satisfaction guaranteed by Tastes of Home!
Ingredients:
1 pound worth of pork (semi-lean), cut into 3 inch cubes (if you are going to an Asian grocery store, just tell the butcher you are making sweet and sour pork and he will know which part to sell to you)
Enough oil for deep-frying
Sauce:
4 tbsps ketchup
3 tbsps chilli sauce
3 tsps plum sauce (I like the Yuen Chun brand)
1 tsp of light soy sauce
2 tbsps water
1-2 tbsps sugar (add sugar tablespoon by tablespoon and do a taste after the first to see if you want to add more sugar)
Marinade for pork:
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp custard powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps water
Mixture for Dredging:
3 tbsps all purpose (plain) flour
3 tbsps corn flour
2 tbsps rice flour
Vegetables:
1 large onion (I used red onion, but you can use yellow onion as well)
1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
1 small capsicum
1 red chilli pepper
It is also customary to add pineapple into sweet and sour pork but I ran out so I skipped it this time.
Method:
1. Prepare the sauce first by mixing all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil mixing well. Remove from heat once well-mixed and pour into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Marinade the pork in the above ingredients for about 10 minutes. Use your hands to mix the marinade well into the meat. Set aside.
3. Prepare the vegetables listed above.
4. Heat up enough oil for deep-frying. Turn heat to medium. Fry the pork cubes batch by batch after dredging through the mixture above. Fry until 60-70% cooked, remove from oil and drain on prepared paper towels. I changed my oil once as some of the flour may come off the pork and will burn easily, hence the oil will blacken and will need to be changed. Allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes. Fry again until cooked and crispy! Repeat for the remaining cubes. Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Clean your pan or wok. Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in the wok again. Saute the onion and red chilli peppers until fragrant.
6. Pour in the prepared sweet and sour sauce earlier. Bring to a boil. Pour in the fried pork earlier. Mix well to coat the pork with sauce evenly. Pour in the cucumber and capsicum (and pineapple if using). Mix well to coat.
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26 comments:
Looks so delicious and I love love 咕噜肉!
Yummylicious and first time to see plum sauce and custard powder used in the recipe. Bookmarked and will try it out. :))
This is one of fave dishes to order at zi char and you made it so beautifully
Very nice. Surprised to see custard powder being used in addition to corn flour. Is it for flavour?
LICM - thanks!
Belly Good Cooking - thanks! yes the plum sauce gives a more natural flavour to the sauce compared to vinegar. Hope you will like this! Let me know how it goes..
Wiffy - I learnt a new word re: zi char! thanks!
Three-Cookies - thank you. Custard powder is made of corn flour actually and I used it to provide a deep golden colour while acting as a good starch.
I am so excited to find so many Asian recipes to try.
Me too love love 咕噜肉! Been so long since I have eaten an excellent 咕噜肉! This is it.
This is one of my favourite dish. So well said about having great crunchy pork and just the right amount of sweetness and sourness to the dish. This looks stunning!
Good tip about using custard powder. Must try this next time. Thanks!
A Busy Nest - hope you'll like some!
TF - haha, I promise this is good :D
dinewithleny - thanks! I really loved this sweet and sour pork
Charmaine - hope you'll like my version, do let me know how it goes!
So glad I stumbled upon this. I love sweet and sour pork, and your version looks and sounds beauiful. I've never heard of using custard powder and plum sauce in this dish before. I shall have to bear them in mind now!
I noticed you fried the pork twice (fry, let cool, fry again). Is there any particular reason for this? Thanks!
Elsie - thanks for your kind words! I'm not sure of the science behind it but this was something I discovered and I think I have heard other chefs mentioning on their shows too, it's to make it extra crispy, somehow it worked for me..hope it does for you too!
The science/reasoning is probably similar to twice cooked fries.
Three-cookies, thanks for chiming in! you're totally right!
Mmmm! Looks yummy!!
Sweet and sour pork -- one of my guilty pleasures. Who can resist that sticky wonderful sauce and crunchy goodness? ;)
Jess - thank you!
Carolyn - same here, totally one of my guilty pleasure too!
Wow! Thanks for sharing the secrets!! I think another secret you should add in is the cooking skill because you have them all! Your 咕噜肉 is really “无得顶" (= perfect 10!!!)．
What a beautiful dish, and the photo is stunning!
LK - thanks!! you're too kind to me as always! :D I hope you like this!
Lyndsey - thank you!
Chinese cuisine is really my favorite. Can't wait to try this some time! If looking for barbecue rib recipes , feel free to visit my site. Thanks.
Chinese cuisine is really my favorite. Can't wait to try this some time! If looking for barbecue rib recipes , feel free to visit my site. Thanks.
This recipe is Really yummy! I omit the capsicum and substitute corn flour with corn starch. Also if u don't have plum sauce you can adjust with vinegar, brown sugar and sugar and add couple Tbsps more ketchup. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
thanks for your comment ...but corn starch is exactly the same thing as corn flour, it is just how it is labeled in the US as opposed to say Europe. Thanks for sharing on the substitute for plum sauce but as I mentioned..the plum sauce gives this dish much more depth than the usual ketcup mix ;)
Thank you for sharing your recipe. This is my husband's favorite chinese dish and I look forward to him trying this version.
I was unable to find custard powder in our area. What would be a good substitute or shall I just increase the cornstarch in the marinade by the same amount as the custard powder?
The chili sauce in the recipe is sriracha, tabasco or heinz-type chili sauce?
Thank you for sharing your recipe. This is my husband's favorite chinese dish and I look forward to him trying this version.
I was unable to find custard powder in our area. What would be a good substitute or shall I just increase the cornstarch in the marinade by the same amount as the custard powder?
The chili sauce in the recipe is sriracha, tabasco or heinz-type chili sauce?
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