The traditional 咕噜肉 (Cantonese style sweet & sour pork) consists of deep fried pork in a sweet & sour sauce and many restaurants here like to use pretty fatty pork so that the fats become crispy once fried and when you bite into them, oil just bursts in your mouth.
This is a slightly healthier, westernised version of the same dish whereby I used lean pork loin chops. I only pan-fry them instead of deep-frying. Using lean pork may be a little tougher/chewier than fatty pork but you can always use a meat tenderiser on them before cooking.
Sweet and Sour Pork Chops Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4)
500g pork loin chops, tenderised then cut into bite-size pieces
1 can 565g pineapple rings, cut into wedges & reserve syrup
1/4 cup tomato ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 green bell pepper, cut into wedges
1 red bell pepper, cut into wedges
Instructions
1. Heat oil in pan and pan-fry pork chops till cooked. Set aside.
2. Combine reserved syrup, ketchup, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar in the pan and bring to a boil. Add pineapple, red and green peppers and cook for a minute. At this point, you can adjust the taste of the sauce with more ketchup or sugar, depending on your preference.
3. Return the pork chops to the pan, stir till they are well coated in the sauce and serve.
The sauce is a perfect balance between the sharpness of the cider vinegar, tanginess of the pineapples and the sweetness of the ketchup. The vegetables add crunch and texture to the dish and this makes an easy-to-make one-dish to go with steamed rice.
Enjoy!