Why pay for takeout if you can make a better and healthier version at home? This delicious and colourful Sweet and Sour Pork recipe features tender pork that’s not coated or deep fried and lots of fresh veggies.
You can load up on any vegetables you want in this recipe. Choose a variety of colours and what’s in season for the freshest and most beautiful looking dish. Think outside the box. Snow peas and asparagus are excellent options in the early summer. Canned water chestnuts, bamboo shoots or whole baby corn are fun to add. It’s totally up to your taste and availability.
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Sometimes green vegetables lose some of their colour when cooked so an optional but highly recommended step is to blanch them first. Just a quick dunk in boiling water, followed by an ice water bath to stop the cooking process will keep them green. Then you just have to add them at the end to heat through with the sauce.
I have to admit, there’s a lot of slicing and chopping involved in the prep but it really is worth it. It takes less time to cook Sweet and Sour Pork than it does to prep all the ingredients. Try to keep the veggies similar sizes so they all cook at the same rate. Pro tip: Slice the carrots on a sharp angle at the narrow end and less of an angle at the thicker end so they’re relatively the same size.
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce
I wouldn’t normally use canned fruit in a recipe, but for this one, the juice left in the can after draining the pineapple is perfect for the sauce. It’s not quite enough so you have to add some orange juice to make up a cup of juice. You can also top up with another citrus juice like grapefruit, lemon or lime. If you don’t have rice vinegar, use regular white vinegar which is a little more acidic but that’s ok. If you like a little heat, add the Sriracha. I always do.
It may seem like a lot of sauce when you first add it to the mixture but it does thicken up and will continue to thicken as it cools. There’s enough to soak into some rice if you decide to serve Sweet and Sour Pork over cooked rice which is the best way to serve it.
Pork tenderloin is the optimal choice here because it’s nice and tender, not fatty and happens to be the right size for four servings. The key to keeping it tender is to sear it quickly on high heat, turn quickly and sear the other side. Then remove the meat to a plate. It won’t be fully cooked but it’s added back in near the end to finish up. If you give the chunks some space they’ll get come caramelization instead of steaming. So you’ll want to cook the pork in a few batches. You can use leftover cooked pork, but I have to be honest, it’s not nearly as tender.
Sesame oil adds some authentic Asian flavour to the dish but you can also use vegetable or peanut oil. I wouldn’t recommend olive oil, you’re cooking at a higher heat and olive oil is best at more moderate heat levels. Cooking the meat first in the oil starts building flavour in the pan before you add the veggies. The veg can all go in at once and only needs a few minutes. Garlic can burn easily so that’s why it’s added at the end along with the ginger and pork.
Give the sauce a stir and pour over everything in the pan. Let it come to a simmer to ensure it’s cooked and thickened. Then stir in the blanched broccoli and pineapple and allow everything to heat through.
Serve over hot cooked rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and minced green onion.
If you make Sweet and Sour Pork, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Sweet and Sour Pork
Ingredients
- 1 lb uncooked pork tenderloin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 tsp sesame oil plus extra if necessary
- 1 head broccoli about 2 cups
- 1 sweet pepper any colour
- 2-3 carrots
- ½ onion red is best for colour
- 8 large mushrooms
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp minced ginger root or 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 can pineapple chunks, drained reserving juice save juice for sauce
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- ⅔ cup reserved pineapple juice amount varies depending on juice in can
- ⅓ cup orange juice or enough to make 1 cup of juice combined with pineapple juice
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar or 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar well packed
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup chicken broth or water
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce if desired for extra heat
- ½ salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Garnish
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- minced green onion
Instructions
- Toast sesame seeds in dry hot pan. Remove to plate to cool, save for garnish.
- Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. Peel and slice stems, saving for stir fry. Blanch broccoli florets in boiling water for 1 minutes, drain quickly and cool in ice water.
- Drain juice from pineapple chunks into measuring cup. Add orange juice to make up 1 cup of juice in total. Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and sriracha (if using) and season with salt and pepper. Combine cornstarch with chicken broth or water, then add to sauce. Stir everything together and set aside.
- Cut pork tenderloin into bite sized chunks, about 1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Sear quickly in wide hot skillet in sesame oil until browned, turn over and quickly sear other side. Pork does not need to be completely cooked. Sear in batches if necessary to avoid crowding meat. Remove to a plate.
- Slice pepper, carrots, mushrooms and onions. Add to hot skillet and stir fry until vegetables are starting to soften, adding more sesame oil if necessary. Add garlic, ginger, and pork. Stir fry for a few more minutes to cook pork through. If using ground ginger instead of fresh ginger root, add to sauce mixture.
- Pour sauce over stir fry mixture and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickening and bubbling.
- Add broccoli and pineapple and stir to combine and heat through.
- Serve hot over rice and garnish with sesame seeds and minced green onion.
Great recipe! If you walk by my house next week you might just smell it cooking….
Well I hope you set an extra plate!
I made this Sweet & Sour Pork tonight for supper. It was delicious!!
I used frozen pinapple and I had some pinapple juice on hand.
We BBQ’D the pork chops.
I really like how this sweet & sour sauce didn’t use ketchup.
I’ve made several of the sweet and sour pork/chicken recipes on Pintrest, this is my favorite.
Thank you so much Colleen! I like the idea of BBQ pork, it would add a nice charred element!