Sweet & Sour Pork
By popular vote I am sharing my Sweet & Sour Pork recipe. It’s definitely not hard. In fact the idea came to me while thinking about my childhood. Sweet & Sour Pork was one of my favorite recipes my Dad’s mother (Grandma) made.
I remember requesting this meal numerous times growing up. It was this and Smoked Cheesy Ham Soup; I will make this soon and share. I didn’t have my Grandma’s recipe on me yesterday when I made it, so I improvised and threw it together as I thought it should be, and it turned out super delicious.
Additional Veggies/Veggie Substitutions
- Sweet Pea Pods
- Zucchini
- Red Pepper
- Yellow Pepper
Sweet & Sour Pork
Sweet & Sour Pork
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 Boneless Pork Chops
- 1 1/2 Cups Brown Rice
- 1 Green Pepper Chopped in Medium Pieces
- 2 Carrots Thinly Sliced
- 3 Stalks Celery Thinkly Sliced
- 1/2 Yellow Onion Chopped in Medium Pieces
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Grated
- 1 Tsp Garlic Minced
- 4 Large Mushrooms Sliced
- 1/2 Pineapple Chopped in medium Pieces
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes (omit if you don’t like spicy)
Sweet & Sour Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Ketchup
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- Cornstarch Optional
Garnish
- 3 Green Onions Sliced
Instructions
-
Chop pork chops into bite sized pieces and place in a wok with olive oil and chopped onion. Turn on medium heat and cook.
-
While pork chops are cooking add in fresh grated ginger and minced garlic. If you want a spicer sweet & sour pork then add in the red pepper flakes at this time. Keep cooking on medium heat.
-
In between stirring the onion pork chop mixture, prep all remaining veggies. Place pineapple and mushrooms in a bowl together. Place pepper, carrot and celery in a bowl together. Set aside.
-
Once pork chop pieces are cooked through (15-20 minutes pending size and quantity) add in the pepper, carrot and celery bowl. Sauté for 5-10 minutes. You want to ensure the carrots get softer. Make sure the carrots are not mush, but not too hard. (I personally like my veggies a bit more crunchy so I leaned towards the 5 minutes.)
-
After carrots are cooked through, add in pineapple and mushrooms. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
-
Start adding in sauce ingredients. If it’s easier for you to combine them all ahead of time and pour in, then do that. I just pour in as I go. There is no rhyme or reason as to what goes first.
-
Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. If you like a thicker sauce then add a little corn starch in to thicken. I personally don’t feel it needs the excess thickening and go without it, but everyone has their own preference.
-
Don’t forget about the rice. If you are doing instant/ 5 minute rice, while the final product is simmering is your time to make it. If you do rice that requires a longer length of time to cook, then start it when you start the pork chops.
-
Once rice and sweet & sour mixture are done, spoon rice in a bowl. Top with sweet & sour pork mixture. Garnish with some green onions.
-
Enjoy!
Cheers!
