Looking for the best Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese Style recipe?
Our Chinese restaurant style Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork is quick & easy to make at home, ready to serve in under an hour.
Chunks of tender pork shoulder are dipped in batter and deep fried until crispy then tossed in a sweet and sour sauce featuring onions, sweet bell peppers and juicy pineapple.
If you’re a Chinese restaurant fan we know you’ll love making this Cantonese style Sweet and Sour Pork recipe at home for friends and family.
It’s a mouth-watering main course best served with steamed rice or stir fried noodles!
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What Is Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork?
Sweet and Sour Pork is a Chinese dish consisting of chunks of pork that are deep-fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
The cooked pieces of pork shoulder are mixed with a bright red, sticky, sweet and sour sauce, and vegetables such as onions, sweet bell peppers and usually a tropical fruit like pineapple or lychee. The sauce gets its red colour from tomato paste and ketchup. The tangy sauce is also typically flavoured with orange or pineapple juice.
So what exactly is sweet and sour pork cantonese style?
Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine showcases the culinary traditions of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Macau.
Historically Guangdong and Hong Kong in the Canton region were home to one of the biggest and busiest ports in China. The region welcomed foreign products, such as the tomatoes, pineapples, and bell peppers used to make Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork.
Local culinary historians can trace the dish as far back as the 1800s. It is documented that chefs used local hawthorn berries and preserved plums to colour the vinegar and sugar sauce in the dishes earliest iteration. Later, Hong Kong restaurants used ketchup and Worcestershire sauces as their blend.
Fun Fact: the origins of ketchup and anchovy-based Worcestershire sauce came from ancient China.
Today Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork is a popular dish at restaurants in Hong Kong. The regional dish is slightly different as the chunks of pork are dipped in cornstarch or a batter before being deep fried. This gives the dish its distinctive crispy and crunchy texture. The ultime Cantonese comfort food!
Travel to Hong Kong by Cooking Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese Style at Home
I love traveling through Asia.
My first visit to Asia had me living in South Korea for a year as a teacher and it’s where I was first introduced to fermented vegetables like kimchi.
After my contract ended in Seoul I travelled throughout southeast Asia for 6 months, visiting the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Growing up in Markham, home to Canada’s largest community of Hong Kongers, helped me fall in love with Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork at a young age. The dish is most commonly served at Chinese restaurants, of which there are a plethora in Vancouver, Mississaugua, Scarborough, Markham and Montreal.
I’ve eaten my way through some of Hong Kong’s best Cantonese restaurants during my 5 visits to the bustling East Asian city. After chowing down on Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese style in the iconic dishes birthplace, it became one of my favourite Chinese restaurant take out dishes to order at home.
Whether you’ve gobbled up steaming bowls of steaming Sweet and Sour Pork in Hong Kong or your local neighbourhood Cantonese restaurant, it’s no wonder the mouth-watering pork dish is revered around the world as one of the best Chinese comfort foods.
My Family Loves Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork
My family has always loved ordering Chinese takeout. It helped that we lived in Markham with so many Cantonese restaurant options at our doorstep.
We typically order Chinese takeout on Christmas Eve as my mom likes to avoid having to do a lot of dishes around the holidays. Christmas dinner takes an entire day for us to prepare so enjoying Cantonese take out the night before the big day is a yummy tradition, which involves very little clean up!
I love asking friends what their families favourite Thai, Indian or Chinese takeout orders were growing up. So much of our love for food is passed down by our parents. When a friend mentions a family-favourite Chinese takeout dish I’ve ever tried I always add it to my to do list!
My family’s classic Chinese takeout order always included Egg Rolls, Crispy Ginger Beef and Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese style.
I wanted to recreate the popular dish at home and was delighted that it tasted exactly like what we order at our local restaurant.
After eating their first bite, every member of my family smiled from ear to ear, exclaiming that I have to make this dish every year around the holidays. So now it’s a tradition!
Where To Eat Sweet and Sour Pork
If you live in a large North American city you’ll likely have access to a local Chinese restaurant that serves traditional Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese style.
Haven’t traveled to Hong Kong before? It may be helpful to first sample Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork at a local restaurant to better understand how it is served. You can assess the ideal pork to vegetable ratio, how thick or thin to make the tangy sauce and other dishes to serve at the table.
In Toronto, popular Chinese restaurants that may serve an authentic Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese style recipe include Not Just Noodles, Rol San, Chop Chop, Swatow, Hutaoli, Yueh Tung Hakka Restaurant and Crown Princess.
Health Benefits
Our homemade Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
Pork is an excellent source of protein and provides several important vitamins and minerals. It’s an excellent source of thiamin, selenium, niacin, vitamin B-6 and phosphorus, zinc, riboflavin and potassium.
Eggs contain two vital nutrients that are not present in many foods: iodine and vitamin D. Eggs are also rich in tissue-building protein and vitamin B12, which helps your body manufacture blood cells.
Oranges are known as an excellent source of Vitamin C, vital for the proper function of a healthy immune system.
Rich in a group of phytochemicals called carotenoids, tomatoes may help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and provide protection against cancer. Tomatoes are also a good source of immune-boosting vitamin C.
Bell Peppers are an incredible source of vitamins C and A, which support your skin and immune system. They also provide beneficial carotenoid compounds such as beta-carotene, which has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Onions are a member of the onion family, a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of leeks can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
Pineapple features vitamins and minerals that are known to help shorten viral and bacterial infections and strengthen bones. There’s also evidence that the tropical fruit may help prevent cancer and help fertility by improving the quality of sperm.
Cooking Tips
This restaurant-style Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork recipe is quick and easy to make at home.
- As with every deep fried recipe use a large wok when cooking to avoid the splatter of hot oil on the stove.
- Traditional recipes use pork shoulder. Some butchers use the term pork butt, which is the same thing.
- We’ve used red bell peppers in this recipe but you can substitute with green, yellow or orange peppers.
- We’ve used regular cooking onions in this recipe but swapping for sweet Vidalia onions tastes great.
- We’ve used pineapple chunks which is the most common but some high end Cantonese restaurants use lychee instead so feel free to experiment.
- The sauce is flavoured with orange juice but you can use pineapple juice as a substitute.
- We’ve used apple cider vinegar in this recipe but you can use rice wine vinegar if you prefer.
- Add the cornstarch to the sauce slowly. Let it simmer a little before adding more to ensure it doesn’t get too thick. You can always thin it out with more orange juice.
What To Serve with Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese Style
There’s nothing more comforting than cozying up to a bowl of Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork!
We typically serve the dish as a main course with steamed rice or noodles.
If you’re hosting a large Asian-themed dinner party we suggest serving our Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese style recipe alongside a buffet featuring Osaka Okonomayaki, Vietnamese Crepe Bánh Xèo, Gochujang Chicken Wings and Ssamjang Chicken.
Storing Leftovers
If you have leftovers you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. To reheat simply zap it in the microwave or simmer in a small saucepan on the stove with the addition of a little orange or pineapple juice to help thin out the tangy sauce.
You May Also Enjoy These Chinese Recipes…
- Air Fryer Dumplings
- Chicken Yuk Sung Chinese Lettuce Wraps
- Singapore Chow Mei Fun Noodles
- Spicy Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup
- Chinese Wonton Egg Drop Soup
- Chinese Ginger Garlic Soup Recipe for Colds
- Green Onion Cake Cong You Bing
- Chinese Cucumber Salad
- Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs
How To Make Sweet and Sour Pork Cantonese Style
Cantonese Restaurant Style Sweet and Sour Pork
Equipment
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Wok
- French knife
- Mixing bowls
- saucepan
- Wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
- 600 g Pork Shoulder chopped into 3/4 inch cubes
- 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Cornstarch
- Canola Oil for frying
- 2 Scallions finely sliced
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1.5 cups Orange Juice
- 4 tbsp White Sugar
- 3 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 4 tbsp Ketchup
- 5 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Red Bell Pepper roughly chopped
- 1 Spanish Onion roughly chopped
- 1.5 cups Pineapple Chunks
- 4 tbsp Cornstarch mixed with 6 tbsp water
Instructions
- Place the pork chunks in a large bowl, add the beaten egg, soy sauce and salt and mix well, ensuring all the pork is coated in the egg mixture.
- Tip the cornstarch into a seperate bowl then add the pork and stir to coat in cornstarch, shaking off any excess.
- Fill a wok 2/3 full of oil and heat to 350 F. Fry the pork pieces in batches for about 2 to 3 minutes, or when they just start to get golden brown. Remove them from the oil and transfer to a sheet pan with a slotted spoon.
- In a large saucepan over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp or oil, red bell pepper and onion. Sautee for 3-4 minutes until slightly tender but still crunchy.
- Add the orange juice, white sugar, tomato paste, ketchup, vinegar and pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry, stirring continuously, until you have the desired consistency. Add water to thin out the sauce if required. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside.
- Once you’re ready to combine everything, refry the pork in batches to crisp up the coating. Frying the pork twice prevents it from getting too soggy when added to the sauce.
- Add the deep fried pork to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve with steamed rice and garnish with sliced scallions.
Nutrition
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just like from the chinese restaurant, yummy.