Portions: 6 servings Calories: 382kcal |
Pineapple and pork simply pair wonderfully together, especially in Asian-inspired dishes. Learn how to make sweet and sour pork with pineapple, which was love at first try for me. Surprise family and guests with a quick and easy dish that just hits the spot, and is also loaded with vegetables. Which better way to entice those in our family that don't particularly love vegetables?
Why I ā¤ļø it ⢠Recipe ⢠Ingredients ⢠Preparation
Why I ā¤ļø it
There's the classic sweet and sour pork recipe of Chinese restaurants, and then there's this super easy recipe with pork and pineapple in a sweet and sour sauce that combines the complex flavor of sweet and sour pork dishes in a perfect balance of vegetables, fruit, and savory tastes.
There's no deep frying in this recipe, and the sweetness is kept at a reasonable level to make it a healthier alternative to what we can find on a Chinese restaurant menu, so it is perfect for everyday dinner. So if you're looking for easy recipes with an Asian flair, this is going to be one of your favorite dishes.
Sweet and sour pork with pineapple recipe
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Utensils and tools
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound [0.7 kg] of pork tenderloin, or boneless pork chops, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- 2 ½ teaspoons of salt, (or more, to taste), divided
- 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 large of white onion, cubed
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup of diced green tomatoes, (optional, see notes)
- 2 cups of fresh pineapple, peeled and cubed
- ½ teaspoon of chili flakes, (optional)
- 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- ¼ cup of rice vinegar, or 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 cups of pineapple juice
- 1 cup of chopped garlic chive, (see notes)
- 1 cup of chopped green onions
Preparation
Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.
Step 1: Season the meat
Pat the pork pieces dry with a paper towel. Season with pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt.
Step 2: Cook
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the pork (careful with oil splatters!) and cook and stir until it turns golden brown. It may release a little bit of liquid at the beginning, but it will soon evaporate.
Step 3: Add ingredients
Stir in the onion, green pepper, and garlic to the fried pork, and cook and stir for 30 seconds, don't overdo it, we want crisp bell peppers in the end.
Stir in, the green tomatoes, and pineapple chunks. Cook and stir for 30 seconds or until they are heated through. Stir in the chili flakes.
Step 4: Make the sauce
In the meantime, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing corn starch, soy sauce, vinegar, and pineapple juice. Lower stove to medium heat and add the slurry to the pot and stir.
Once it breaks the boil, add garlic chive and green onions. Cook until these two wilts.
Step 5: Serving
Taste and season with more salt if you find it necessary. Remove from the heat and serve.
Variations
You can use thinly sliced pork belly for this recipe, in that case, remove any excess oil after browning. You can also use pork butt or pork shoulder.
Sprinkle with some sesame seeds if you like them.
Top tips
Dissolve two tablespoons of tomato paste in the slurry if you want a red sauce.
Cutting the pork into thin slices makes it cook faster, and you'll have dinner on the table in no time.
If you don't have chili flakes, use spicy sauce to taste.If you can't find garlic chives, substitute for equal amount of chives, the taste is different, but the dish will still be very good.
I only had green cherry tomatoes (from my potted garden), they turned out really good, but use whatever green tomatoes you find, or none. It's perfectly fine without it.
Serving suggestions
Serve each serving with a small bowl of white rice. You can make my preferred white rice, or a Chinese-style white rice if you prefer it.
Nutritional information
Calories: 382kcal - Carbohydrates: 29g - Protein: 27gFat: 18g - Saturated Fat: 4g - Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g - Monounsaturated Fat: 9g - Trans Fat: 0.1g - Cholesterol: 76mg - Sodium: 985mg - Potassium: 786mg - Fiber: 3g - Sugar: 17g - Vitamin A: 1442IU - Vitamin C: 74mg - Calcium: 56mg - Iron: 2mg
FAQs
How to make sweet and sour pork with pineapple?
To make sweet and sour pork with pineapple, brown the seasoned pork cubes or slices, stir fry the vegetables and pineapple, and make the sauce thickened with corn starch.
What to serve with sweet and sour pork?
White rice is the best side dish to go with sweet and sour pork.
How many carbs in sweet and sour pork?
This sweet and sour pork recipe has 29 grams of carbs per portion, considerably less than the traditional restaurant take out.
How much sodium is in sweet and sour pork?
This sweet and sour pork recipe has 985 milligrams of sodium. You can lower the sodium in it by using low-sodium soy sauce.
How to reheat sweet and sour pork?
To reheat sweet and sour pork, heat a large skillet over high heat, stir in the leftovers, and cook stirring until it starts releasing steam. Remove from the heat and transfer out of the pan right away to prevent the vegetable from getting even more wilted.
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Sweet and sour pork with pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound of pork tenderloin [0.7 kg] or boneless pork chops, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper freshly-cracked, or ground
- 2 ½ teaspoons of salt (or more, to taste), divided
- 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 large white onion cubed
- 2 green bell peppers chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup diced green tomatoes (optional, see notes)
- 2 cups fresh pineapple peeled and cubed
- ½ teaspoon of chili flakes (optional)
- 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- ¼ cup of rice vinegar or 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 cups of pineapple juice
- 1 cup of chopped garlic chive (see notes)
- 1 cup of chopped green onions
Instructions
Step 1: Season the meat
- Pat theĀ porkĀ pieces dry with a paper towel. Season withĀ pepperĀ and 2 teaspoons ofĀ salt.
Step 2: Cook
- HeatĀ oilĀ over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the pork (careful with oil splatters!) and cook and stir until it turns golden brown. It may release a little bit of liquid at the beginning, but it will soon evaporate.
Step 3: Add ingredients
- Stir in theĀ onion,Ā green pepper, andĀ garlicĀ to the fried pork, and cook and stir for 30 seconds, don't overdo it, we want crisp bell peppers in the end.Stir in, theĀ green tomatoes, andĀ pineappleĀ chunks. Cook and stir for 30 seconds or until they are heated through. Stir in theĀ chili flakes.
Step 4: Make the sauce
- In the meantime, make a cornstarch slurry by mixingĀ corn starch,Ā soy sauce,Ā vinegar, andĀ pineapple juice. Lower stove to medium heat and add the slurry to the pot and stir.Once it breaks the boil, addĀ garlic chiveĀ andĀ green onions. Cook until these two wilts.
Step 5: Serving
- Taste and season with more salt if you find it necessary. Remove from the heat and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
By Tia Clara
, published Feb 11, 2014 on
Heather
Is it me or is the amount of pineapple you are supposed to use not in the ingredients list?
Tia Clara
It's after the tomatoes.
Nami | Just One Cookbook
I love rice vinegar in cooking - wonder if citrus rice vinegar means ponzu... Your dish is always so beautiful and delicious and wish that I could eat from the screen! Great combination of pork and pineapple... I need extra rice to enjoy this gorgeous dish! <3