Traditional Chinese Cantonese Style sweet and sour pork made with pork, pineapples, peppers and onions, tossed in a sticky sweet and sour sauce. For sweet and sour pork use pork shoulder (or pork butt) because of the marbling of fat within the lean meat. The fat marbling makes the bite-sized pieces tender, moist and flavourful. If you are looking for a healthier alternative, you can use pork tenderloin but it might turn out slightly less tender and less moist since it is leaner.

Preparation:
Cut the onions and peppers in 1-inch chunks and set aside.
If you are using fresh pineapple, core and peel it and then cut them into 1-inch chunks and set aside. If you are using canned pineapple, drain it and cut them into 1-inch chunks if you are using pineapple rings. Put them in a bowl and set aside.

Marinating the pork:
Cut the pork into 1-inch chunks and place it in a bowl.
Grate the ginger, garlic, and onion and place it in the bowl with the meat. Add soy sauce to the bowl and mix everything very well. Let it marinate for 1 hour.

Battering and deep frying the pork:
Once the meat has finished marinating, in the bowl or plate – separate the meat slightly so they are not clumped together.

Add half the potato starch over the meat and gently toss it in the potato starch until each piece has been coated with potato starch. Let it rest for 5 min until the potato starch has absorbed the marinade and moisture, and the batter looks gummy and moist.

Add in the rest of the potato starch and gently toss it again to coat each piece of meat. Let it rest for10 min until it has absorbed the rest of the moisture.

If you are using a deep fryer, set the temperature to 350F (180C) and wait for the oil to get to temp. If you are using a frying pan, set the heat to medium heat and make sure there is at least 1 inch of oil in the pan.

Add the meat in when the oil is hot, careful not to overcrowd the pan. (Depending on how big your pan is, you may need to do it in 2 batches). Cook the meat for approximately 5 min until it is crispy and browned.

Remove the crispy pork and let it drain on a rack or a plate with something absorbent like newspaper or paper bag and set aside.

Putting It together:
In a clean frying pan, add in 2-3 tbsp of oil, and set the stove to medium heat.

Add in the tomato paste when the oil is hot and toast the tomato paste for 1-2 min until the oil has turned orange.

Add in the white vinegar, water, sugar and soy sauce and mix well and let it cook for 5 min.

In a small bowl, dissolve the potato starch in cold water. Slowly pour it into the sauce but make sure you are constantly stirring it so it doesn’t clump.

Once the sauce has thickened, add in the peppers, pineapples and onions and cook it for 1-2 min. Use your spatula to separate the onion chunks into smaller pieces.

Add in the crispy pork and coat each piece with the sweet and sour sauce once the meat has all been coated, turn off the heat.

Plate it and serve with rice!

Enjoy!