Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple

By
Liv Wan
Liv Wan
Liv Wan is a former professional chef who has published three cookbooks about Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/1/23
Tested by
Lauryn Bodden
headshot for associate food editor Lauryn Bodden headshot for associate food editor Lauryn Bodden
Tested by Lauryn Bodden
Lauryn is Food Editor for The Spruce Eats, creating recipes and cooking guides for all palates and expertise.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Marinate Time: 40 mins
Total: 90 mins
Servings: 4 servings

This sweet and sour pork with pineapple recipe is a favorite Cantonese dish in both America and China. Adding a bit of pineapple gives it an extra-sweet kick of flavor that anyone would enjoy. This style of cooking with sauces is popular in much of Cantonese cuisine. The sauce recipe included here can be incorporated into other meals if desired. While this dish takes some time to make, the outcome is truly worth the effort.  

Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

"This saucy dish requires a good amount of time to prepare, but the actual prep is a breeze. It's a sticky, sweet delight, sure to be a crowd-pleaser." —Lauryn Bodden

Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple
A Note From Our Recipe Tester
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Ingredients

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:

  • 1 cup water

  • 1/2 cup ketchup

  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar

  • 1/2 cup rock sugar, or granulated sugar

  • 1/2 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

  • Kosher salt, to taste

For the Pork Marinade:

  • 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon rice wine

  • 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

  • 3 tablespoons corn flour, or cornstarch

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

For the Stir-Fry:

  • 3 cups neutral cooking oil, for deep-frying the pork

  • 1 clove garlic, sliced

  • 1/2 small white onion, finely diced

  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch diamond shapes

  • 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch diamond shapes

  • 3 1/2 ounces fresh pineapple, or canned pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks

  • 1/2 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for garnish

Steps to Make It

Prepare Sweet and Sour Sauce

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Sweet and Sour Sauce ingredients Sweet and Sour Sauce ingredients

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and stir to mix evenly. Place over medium-high heat.

    Sweet and sour sauce cooking in a pot Sweet and sour sauce cooking in a pot

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Stirring constantly, bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the sauce, continuing to stir, until the texture has turned thick and sticky, about 25 minutes.

    Sweet and sour sauce in a saucepan Sweet and sour sauce in a saucepan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Marinate the Pork

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Marinade ingredients Marinade ingredients

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Place the pork in a bowl and add both kinds of soy sauce, rice wine, five-spice powder, ground white pepper, and minced garlic; marinate for 10 minutes.

    Marinate pork with soy sauce, rice wine, five-spice powder, ground white pepper, and minced garlic Marinate pork with soy sauce, rice wine, five-spice powder, ground white pepper, and minced garlic

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Add the egg, corn flour, and all-purpose flour into the pork marinade and mix evenly. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

    Add egg, corn flour, and plain flour into pork marinade mixture Add egg, corn flour, and plain flour into pork marinade mixture

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Stir-Fry the Pork

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Stir-fry ingredients Stir-fry ingredients

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Heat the oil to 325 F/170 C in a wok or deep saucepan.

    Wok with oil Wok with oil

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Gently slide in some of the pork tenderloin cubes, without overcrowding, and deep-fry, in batches if necessary, until golden brown in color, stirring occasionally. Make sure the oil comes back up to temperature before each batch.

    Pork cooking in a wok Pork cooking in a wok

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Place the cooked pork on a plate lined with a couple of sheets of paper towel.

    Cooked pork on a paper towel lined plate Cooked pork on a paper towel lined plate

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the wok and stir-fry the garlic and onion over medium-high heat until fragrant.

    Onions cooking in a wok Onions cooking in a wok

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  6. Add the bell peppers and pineapple to the wok and stir-fry for a minute or two.

    Add bell peppers and pineapple into the wok and stir-fry Add bell peppers and pineapple into the wok and stir-fry

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  7. Return the pork to the wok, along with the sweet and sour sauce, and mix evenly. You can add as much sweet and sour sauce as you prefer.

    Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple cooking in a wok Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple cooking in a wok

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  8. Garnish with the sesame seeds. Serve with cooked white rice, if desired.

    Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple in a wok, garnished with sesame seeds Sweet and Sour Pork With Pineapple in a wok, garnished with sesame seeds

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Tip

  • You can test the oil temperature by dipping a chopstick into a little bit of the pork marinade and then putting it in the oil; if the oil immediately bubbles, then the temperature is correct.

What's the difference between light soy sauce and dark soy sauce?

Light soy sauce is the most common type used in Chinese cooking and is what most North Americans would think of as "regular" soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is, as the name suggests, darker, richer, and sweeter in flavor, thanks to a longer aging period and the addition of caramel and sometimes molasses. For this recipe, if you only have light soy sauce in your pantry, feel free to use it in place of the dark soy sauce.

Recipe Variation

  • This recipe will not have the red tint found in typical Chinese restaurant sweet and sour dishes; if you would like your dish to look the same, add some red food coloring to the sauce.

Is sweet and sour pork unhealthy?

Because of the amount of ketchup, sugar, and pineapple in the recipe, the sugar content is higher compared to other Chinese dishes; there are 35 grams of sugar per serving in this sweet and sour pork, while in a recipe such as orange pork stir-fry there are only 5 grams. Therefore, it is best to eat this dish in moderation.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
571 Calories
25g Fat
52g Carbs
34g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 571
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 129mg 43%
Sodium 852mg 37%
Total Carbohydrate 52g 19%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 35g
Protein 34g
Vitamin C 121mg 604%
Calcium 57mg 4%
Iron 3mg 15%
Potassium 829mg 18%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)