Crispy Battered Sweet and Sour Pork
This Crispy Battered Sweet and Sour Pork recipe is juicy and tender. Made with a tempura-style batter instead of a floured crumb and coated in a delicious sweet and sour sauce.
Equipment
- Wok
- Deep Pot
Ingredients
Vegetable Ingredients
- 1 cup Pineapple Pieces
- ½ Green Capsicum or Bell Pepper
- ½ Red Capsicum or Bell Pepper
- ½ Yellow Capsicum or Bell Pepper
- 1 small Red Onion
- 1 tbsp Peanut or Vegetable Oil
Pork Marinade Ingredients
- 600g Pork Belly Skin removed
- 2 tsp Garlic Salt
- 2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients
- 8 tbsp Ketchup
- 8 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 6 tbsp White Vinegar
- 2 tsp Cornflour or Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Table Salt
- 4 tbsp Water
Batter Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Plain Flour or All-Purpose Flour
- 6 tbsp Cornflour or Cornstarch
- ¼ tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Table Salt
- 8 tbsp Soda Water
- Vegetable Oil (for deep frying)
Instructions
Preparing the Pork and Marinade
- Remove any skin and large chunks of fat from the pork and then cut into 2cm pieces.
- Add pork, garlic salt, and light soy sauce to a bowl and massage the salt and soy sauce into the meat. Put aside to marinate for 20 minutes uncovered.
Making the Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Combine ketchup, brown sugar, white vinegar, cornflour, salt and water into a bowl.
- Mix well with a whisk or fork until there are no lumps.
Cutting the Vegetables and Pineapple
- Cut the capsicum and onion into long strips. Then cut the pineapple into medium-sized chunks.
Heating the Vegetable Oil
- Place the 2 litres of vegetable oil, or fill your pot half way. Place of the stove and start heating up your oil to 180°C
Making the Batter
- While your oil is heating, place plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, table salt, and soda water in a large mixing bowl. Making sure the soda water is added last.
- Gently whisk the ingredients until they are just combined. Do not over whisk or whisk vigorously as the soda will lose it's effect to the batter.
- Place the marinated pork into the batter and mix well, coating all the pieces.
First Fry
- Once the oil has 180°C, quickly, but gently place around 10 battered pieces of pork into the oil, starting from one side of the pot and working around to the other.
- Allow 30 second to 1 minute before gently moving the pork in the pot. You only want to move them to avoid the batter sticking to the bottom of the pot. Please do not stir.
- Fry for 5 minutes or until the batter is a light golden brown and then remove and drain. Repeat for the rest.
- Note: Make sure you monitor the temperature of the oil with a candy thermometer or instant-read thermometer and adjust the heat on your stove accordingly.
Second Fry
- Increase the oil temperature to 200°C. Place half the pork back into the oil and fry for around 1 to 2 minutes or until a lightly darker golden brown.
- Remove the pork and allow it to drain, then repeat with the other half.
Stir-Frying the Vegetables and Pineapple
- Place a wok over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil or vegetable oil to the wok and allow to heat up. Place the cut-up capsicum, onion and pineapple to the hot oil, and stir-fry until the onion is tender.
- Remove the vegetables and pineapple from the wok and place them in a bowl.
Combining Everything Together
- Keeping your wok over high heat, pour the sweet and sour sauce into the wok and stir until simmering. Allow the sauce to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the battered pork, stir-fryed vegetables and pineapple to the hot sauce and toss to combine.
- Serve once everything is fully coated in the sauce and the pork is warmed through.
Notes
Important Note: if you can't toss, you can fold the ingredients through the sauce, by using a flat wooden spoon. This is done by going from the bottom of the ingredients and flipping it over. Don't stir the ingredients as this may cause the batter to come away from the pork.
