This sweet and sour pork with pineapple is a way to have your Chinese Takeaway at home. By having this easy sweet and sour pork without batter and by adding in extra veggies, it makes one of the best fakeaway recipes and a great simple pork recipe for lunch.
I know a lot of people don't like having savoury dishes with pineapple added. But I am definitely one to enjoy pineapple on my pizza (and pineapple in my sweet and sour pork). But if you aren't a pineapple fan, you can omit the pineapple chunks from the recipe and just use the juice for your homemade sweet and sour pork.
This quick diced pork recipe can be made in one pan and is one of the best fakeaway recipes to have on your Friday night instead of expensive Chinese takeaway. If you're a fan of the Asian style cuisines and want to make more yourself, check out my Best Asian Fakeaway Recipes which includes my Beef Pad See Ew(or there's a Tofu Pad See Ew), Chicken Pad Thai (or Tofu Pad Thai), Pineapple Fried Rice and Lemon Chicken.
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Sweet and Sour Pork Ingredients
Pork steaks. I find pork steaks are the best to use for stir frys as they are versatile and tender.
Pineapples in juice. Use the pineapple pieces directly in the stir fry and then use the juice for the sauce.
Tomato sauce. Adds flavour and sweetness.
Vinegar. Balances the sweet
Worcestershire sauce, soy and oyster sauce. This amplifies the Chinese sweet and sour flavour you all know and love and helps to cut through the sweetness.
Cornflour/cornstarch. When added with the pork, it helps to tenderise it. When added to the sauce, the cornstarch will make it thicker so it coats the pork nicely.
Check recipe card for quantities.
How to make sweet and sour pork
- Prepare pork
Add the pork steak chunks to a mixing bowl and coat with ¼ cup of cornstarch. This helps to tenderise the meat.
Let rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge (preferably 3-4 or overnight). This is optional, but you won't regret this step as it prevents the chewiness of most cuts of meat. - Prepare vegetables
Using a chopping board and a large knife, prepare the vegetables to your liking. I like to do bite-sized pieces.
- Make sweet and sour sauce
Mix sweet & sour sauce ingredients together and add in pork steaks. Allow to sit while preparing your vegetables.
- Cook vegetables
Heat olive oil on a large pan or wok and add brown onion. Sautee until fragrant (approx. 5 minutes).
Add the rest of the vegetables (except pineapple) and sautee for a further 5-10 minutes until carrot is soft. Remove from the pan. - Cook pork sweet and sour with pineapple
Allow the pan to re-heat then add pork with the sauce and cook through (approx. 5 minutes depending on size of pork).
Once cooked, add vegetables and pineapple to the pan and mix in with the sauce. The sauce should continue to thicken slightly.
The dish will be ready once the pork reaches 70C (medium) which can be measured with a meat thermometer - Serve
Serve sweet and sour pork with rice or Fried rice with pineapple.
Substitutions and Variations
Protein. You can use other cuts of pork, but I can't guarantee the texture will be the same.
If you're not a pork fan, you can substitute for chicken. Or if you're a vegetarian or vegan (or just looking to try something different), use tofu or tempeh.
Pineapple. You can use fresh pineapple. Replace the juice you would get from the can with more water.
Vegetables. Add whatever stir fry vegetables you want. My favourite are capsicums, onion and carrot, but you can definitely mix-and-match to suit what is in season or cheap in the supermarkets. You could even use frozen vegetables to keep this really budget friendly and easy (as you don't have to cut and prepare).
Pork meal prep
This sweet and sour pork with pineapple recipe is a fantastic meal prep because it makes 6 serves so it will satisfy you and your partner for most of the week.
Storing pork sweet and sour
To store pork sweet and sour, add it with the rice (preferably separately as the sauce will continue to cook the rice and make it soggy) into an airtight container and store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Reheating sweet and sour pork stir fry
To reheat, place an icecube or sprinkle some water over the dish. Reheat on 1 minute intervals, stirring in between, until the sweet and sour pork with rice is heated all the way through.
Don't reheat in a plastic container, make sure you use a glass container or transfer to a ceramic bowl.
Freezing sweet and sour pork
You can freeze sweet and sour pork by adding the ingredients into an air tight container, ziplock bag (I like the reusable ones) or vacuum sealer bag and store for 6-12 months. If possible, keep the sweet and sour pork separate from the rice to prevent the rice from absorbing the liquid from the sweet and sour sauce.
Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as above.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
The red colour in sweet and sour pork typically comes from the addition of red food colouring or a combination of red ingredients used in the sauce.
While there can be variations in recipes, the vibrant red hue is often achieved by incorporating ingredients such as ketchup, tomato sauce, or red chili sauce. I don't use red food colouring in mine, but the red colour is still quite vibrant because of the addition of tomato sauce in the sweet & sour sauce recipe.
In some cases, red food colouring is used to intensify and enhance the red colour of the dish. Food colouring is a common additive used in cooking and baking to alter the appearance of dishes. If you want to have a very vibrant sweet & sour pork, feel free to add a drop or two of the food colouring.
Absolutely! Freeze sweet and sour pork with pineapple in a ziplock bag, airtight container or vacuum sealer for 6-12 months. Ensure there's no/limited air on the meal to prevent freezer burn.
Yes! And my recipe does just this. I always feel really gross after eating food with a lot of batter and deep frying which is why I created this healthy sweet and sour pork option.
Other pork recipes
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Recipe
Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple no Batter
Ingredients
Sweet & Sour Pork Stir Fry Ingredients
- 500 g pork steaks cut into 1inch chunks (see note 1)
- ¼ cup cornflour/cornstarch
- 1 brown onion diced
- 1 red capsicum sliced 1 inch pieces
- 1 green capsicum sliced 1 inch pieces
- 2 carrots sliced 1cm pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 400 g can pineapples in juice (see note 2)
Sweet & Sour Sauce Ingredients
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup white vinegar (subs Note 3)
- ¼ cup pineapple juice from the can
- 3 tablespoon tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (subs Note 4)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (subs Note 5)
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce (subs Note 6)
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or grated (subs Note 7)
- 1 teaspoon ginger crushed or grated (subs Note 7)
- 2 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- ½ cup water
Rice (to serve - cook as usual)
- 300 g (1 ½ cups) raw rice
- 750 ml (3 cups) water or stock
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Add the pork steak chunks to a large bowl and coat with ¼ cup of cornstarch. This helps to tenderise the meat. Let rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge (preferably 3-4 or overnight). This is optional, but you won't regret this step as it prevents the chewiness of most cuts of meat.
- Mix sweet & sour sauce ingredients together and add in pork steaks. Allow to sit while preparing your vegetables.
Cook sweet & sour stir fry
- Heat olive oil on a large pan and add brown onion. Sautee until fragrant (approx. 5 minutes). Then add the rest of the vegetables and sautee for a further 5-10 minutes until carrot is soft. Remove from the pan.
- Allow the pan to re-heat then add pork with the sauce and cook through (approx. 5 minutes depending on size of pork). Once cooked, add vegetables back to the pan and pineapple,, and mix in with the sauce.The dish will be ready once the pork reaches 70C (medium) which can be measured with a meat thermometer.
- Serve with your choice of grains (I served mine with rice).
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