This Sweet and Sour Pork is a focused Chinese-style fried pork recipe rather than the familiar vegetable-and-pineapple takeout dish. Its sweet-sour character comes from an overnight marinade of Chinese dark vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, five-spice, and rice wine. Cornstarch and flour create the crisp exterior before deep-frying. The verified recipe serves two and records 15 minutes preparation, 15 minutes cooking, and 30 minutes total, excluding the overnight marination.
Sweet And Sour Pork Ingredients
Main Ingredients: 500 g pork scotch cut into 1cm thick pieces; 2 tablespoon Chinese dark vinegar; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon five spice powder; 2 tablespoon rice wine; 1/4 cup cornstarch; 2 tablespoon flour; 1 L oil for deep frying.
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How to Make Sweet And Sour Pork
- Marinating: Mix pork pieces, Chinese dark vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, five spice powder and rice wine in a container and marinate overnight in the fridge.
- Coating: Mix in the cornstarch and flour. (Drain out half of the marinade sauce if you want the crispy coating)
- Deep frying: Pour oil into a large saucepan or small pot. Heat until pork immediately starts sizzling when you dip it in. Cook until the pork pieces are deep golden brown.
For storage details after serving, the USDA leftovers and food safety guidance.
Why the Order Matters
Cut 500 grams pork scotch into 1-centimeter-thick pieces. In a container, mix the pork with 2 tablespoons Chinese dark vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon five-spice powder, and 2 tablespoons rice wine. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, mix in 1/4 cup cornstarch and 2 tablespoons flour. For a crisper coating, drain out half the marinade sauce before adding those dry ingredients. Pour 1 litre oil into a large saucepan or small pot and heat it until a test piece of pork begins sizzling immediately when dipped in. Fry until the pieces become deep golden brown, then lift them with a slotted spoon and drain before serving.
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Critical Visual and Timing Cues
Pork scotch has enough natural fat to retain moisture during deep-frying; pork tenderloin is the recorded leaner alternative. Keep pieces close to the stated 1-centimeter thickness so they cook at a similar rate. The overnight refrigerator rest is essential source timing even though it is not included in the recorded 30-minute total. The optional half-drain controls how wet the coating becomes: less marinade yields a crisper flour-and-cornstarch shell. Oil is ready when pork sizzles immediately on contact, but it should not smoke. Work in manageable batches so the oil temperature does not collapse. Color is the source's doneness cue: continue until the exterior is deep golden brown and the pork is cooked through.
Serving and Storage
Serve the drained pork while its coating is still crisp. This exact D1 recipe does not add a red sauce, pineapple, bell peppers, onions, or rice, so keep the fried pieces unadorned unless a separate accompaniment is clearly presented as optional. Divide the batch into two servings. Recorded nutrition is 470 calories, 25 grams carbohydrate, 22 grams fat, and 40 grams protein per serving. It is dairy-free but contains wheat from flour and soy from soy sauce. Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Reheating in dry oven or air-fryer heat will protect texture better than a microwave, while ensuring pork returns to a safe steaming-hot center.
Practical Kitchen Notes
Use all exact quantities: 500 grams pork, 2 tablespoons dark vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon five-spice, 2 tablespoons rice wine, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1 litre frying oil. The source recommends quality soy sauce and specifically notes Zhenjiang yellow-label vinegar as its usual Chinese dark vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is an allowed replacement. Five-spice is strong, so the recorded information permits adjustment to taste, but the baseline remains one teaspoon. The equipment list calls for a large saucepan or small pot, mixing bowl, and slotted spoon.
Details Worth Preserving
Mix the marinade thoroughly before refrigerating so sugar dissolves and spices reach all pork surfaces. Use a nonreactive covered container and keep it cold throughout the overnight rest. The next day, choose whether to drain half the liquid before coating based on the desired crispness, but do not discard all marinade and do not invent egg or breadcrumbs. Sprinkle cornstarch and flour across the pieces, turning until no large dry pockets remain. Leave ample headroom in the saucepan because frying oil bubbles when food enters. Dry the outside of the pot and keep water away from the oil. Test heat with the edge of one coated piece as specified. Lower pork carefully, avoid crowding, and allow bubbling to recover between batches. Turn pieces when necessary for even color. Use the slotted spoon to remove each deep-golden batch and let excess oil fall back into the pot. The recipe is suitable for batch cooking and freezing in small portions, but cool portions safely before packing and reheat them thoroughly.
Recorded Recipe Tips
- Pork scotch is a great option because it retains its moisture when deep-fried due to its natural fat content. If you don't want so much fat in your dish, simply use pork tenderloin.
- Use quality soy sauce. Recommend Leekumkee soy sauce.
- Several varieties of Chinese black vinegar are available on the market. We usually use the yellow label one called ZhenJiang vinegar. You can use balsamic vinegar to replace Chinese dark vinegar.
- Five Spice Powder packs a punch with its strong flavor, so a little can go a long way. Feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste preferences.
- This recipe is perfect for batch cooking and freezing in small portions.
Conclusion
Sweet And Sour Pork makes 2 servings in 30 recorded minutes. Preserve every listed quantity, temperature, timing cue, and ordered instruction for the intended result.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → How many servings does Sweet And Sour Pork make?
It makes 2 servings and serves 2.
- → How long does Sweet And Sour Pork take?
The recipe records 15 minutes of preparation, 15 minutes of cooking, and 30 minutes total.
- → Must the pork marinate overnight?
Yes. Mix the pork with vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, five-spice, and rice wine, then refrigerate it overnight before coating and frying.
- → How can I make the coating crisper?
Drain out half of the marinade sauce before mixing in the 1/4 cup cornstarch and 2 tablespoons flour.