Sweet & Sour Pork (Cantonese Style) has always been one of the biggest hitters on any Chinese takeaway menu — the ultimate “fakeaway” classic. But for me, it’s more than just a recipe. This dish takes me right back to my parents’ restaurant — the very first Chinese restaurant to open its doors in Leicester in the 1960s. It was a customer favourite, and I grew up watching plate after plate of it leave the kitchen.
What makes Sweet & Sour Pork so special is the balance. Cantonese cuisine is all about harmony between flavours — sweet, sour, salty, and savoury — and this dish brings them all together in one glossy, vibrant sauce. The golden pork pieces coated in that red glaze aren’t just eye-catching, they’re pure nostalgia for anyone who’s ever ordered from their local Chinese takeaway.
Crispy, colourful, comforting, and timeless — Sweet & Sour Pork isn’t just a recipe. It’s a piece of my family’s story, a dish that’s travelled from the Guangdong province of southern China to the heart of British food culture, and now into your own kitchen.
Sweet & Sour Pork Cantonese Style
Ingredients
- 300 g Pork loin chopped into 2cm cubes
- 1 Egg beaten
- ¼ tsp Salt
- Corn flour slurry 3tbsp corn flour mixed with 6 tbsp water
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ red pepper chopped quite chunky
- ½ small onion chopped quite chunky
- 1 handful pineapple chunks
Instructions
Making the sauce
- Place a large saucepan on a medium heat and add all the sauce ingredients, except for the corn flour slurry.
- Bring to the boil and then simmer for five minutes.
- Slowly stir the corn flour into the sauce, a little at a time, until you have the desired consistency. Leave to one side.
Pork
- In a large saucepan heat the oil to 170c, the oil need enough so the pork nuggets can float in the oil without touching the bottom of the pan.
- Place pork loin into a large bowl, add the beaten egg, a pinch of salt and mix well.
- In another large bowl add the cornflour, dredge each piece of pork in the flour and bang off excess.
- Gently drop the pork into the oil and fry for around 5 minutes or until completely cooked (if you have a food thermometer probe the internal temperature should be 75c).
- Remove pork and drain over a wire rack. Arrange pork on a plate and spoon over your sweet and sour sauce and serve.
