Featured Review
5 from 24 reviews

10 stars. I am slightly embarrassed to admit how many times I make this recipe, but I’m also not. Because it is delicious. We eat this almost every week. The sweet and sour pork comes together so quickly. I typically make at least a double batch to enjoy leftovers for lunches. I have made for dinner guests who were shocked it was homemade. So. Good!

Rachel
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Mom Knows Best – A 25-Minute Weeknight Dinner Win!

There are a few home-cooked dishes that instantly remind me of my Mom, and this quick and easy Sweet and Sour Pork is definitely one of them!

I never realized just how simple it is to make sweet and sour stir fry from scratch until Mom walked me through it.

While authentic Cantonese-style sweet and sour pork often features extra crispy battered and deep-fried pork (this is probably what you’re used to ordering from Chinese restaurants here in the States, too), Mom’s version is a little more home cook-friendly, while still delivering on the dish’s signature crispy texture.

Side angle of sweet & sour pork plated with white rice. The plate sits atop a light blue surface, next to a striped black linen, a small dish of thinly sliced green onion, & a second plate of sweet & sour pork. this Recipe for Later!
Serve this simple stir fry over rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice for a perfectly balanced plate.

Rather than deep-frying (Mom’s always hated cleaning up the mess involved!), the pork is lightly dredged in rice flour and pan-fried until it’s beautifully browned and crisp.

The result? Juicy bites of pork stir-fried with tender-crisp veggies, all coated in a tangy homemade Chinese sweet and sour sauce that’s so delicious you’ll want to eat it with a spoon! Plus, it all comes together in less than 25 minutes, tops.

So good, so simple, and so much faster than takeout! It’s sure to become a favorite in your weeknight meal rotation!

Prefer chicken? ⇢ We’ve got you covered! 🙌🏼 Be sure to try our 25-Minute Sweet & Sour Chicken Stir Fry, for all the same takeout-worthy flavor with chicken instead of pork.

How to Make Sweet and Sour Pork

Like many Chinese-style stir-fries, this sweet and sour pork uses a combination of high heat + flavorful ingredients to deliver an awesome meal in no time at all.

Meal Prep Tip

You can eliminate almost all of the active prep time involved by dicing up the pork and veggies ahead of time. Check out the Recipe Notes, below, for more tips!

Diced pork loin tossed in rice flour in a large glass mixing bowl atop a light blue surface.
Step 1: Season and dredge the cubed pork.
1

Season the cubed boneless pork loin (or shoulder) with kosher salt and lightly sprinkle the rice flour over top, tossing gently to coat. Tip! ⇢ Be sure to use finely ground rice flour (vs a more coarsely textured “stone-ground” flour).

Homemade sweet sour sauce whisked in a small white bowl atop a light blue surface.
Step 2: Mix up the Sweet and Sour sauce.
2

Add all of the ingredients for the homemade sweet and sour sauce into a bowl, and whisk to combine. Easy peasy!

Stir fried sweet n sour veggies in a large skillet with a wooden spoon.
Step 3: Stir fry the veggies.
3

Heat up a little bit of oil in your favorite skillet. Once it’s hot, toss in all the veggies and quickly cook. By quickly, I mean quickly – the veggies will barely soften after about 1 minute of cooking. That’s when you’ll want to pull them from the heat. Why? ⇢ They’ll be just tender-crisp, which ensures that they don’t soften up too much by the time the stir fry is finished.

Browning lightly dredged cubed pork loin in a large skillet.
Step 4: Brown the pork.
4

Add some fresh oil to the same skillet you used to cook the veggies, then carefully toss in the lightly dredged pork. Cook the pork just until nicely browned, about 90 seconds per side. Tip! ⇢ Work in batches to avoid over-crowding the pan. This helps promote browning and creates addictively crispy edges around the bits of pork (despite not having been deep-fried!).

Stir fried pork & veggies in sweet & sour sauce in a large skillet with a wooden spoon.
Step 5: Simmer and finish in the sauce.
5

Pour the sweet and sour sauce into the skillet with the pork. Let it cook and reduce for a couple of minutes, stirring every so often to coat the pork in the sauce. Things will start to smell really good! Once the sauce has coated the pork, add the veggies back in, tossing to combine.

Stir fried pork & veggies in sweet & sour sauce in a large skillet with a wooden spoon. The skillet sits atop a light blue surface, with a striped black linen napkin underneath it. Next to the skillet is a small dish of thinly sliced green onions.
Mom’s simple Chinese-style sweet and sour sauce features dark brown sugar for sweetness, rice wine vinegar for tang, ketchup for body and flavor, and soy sauce for richness.

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Serving Suggestions

When it comes to serving sweet and sour pork, we always keep things pretty simple by spooning the pork and veggies over a bed of rice with extra sweet and sour sauce and plenty of thinly sliced green onions.

A few other variations for serving…

  • Choose a different grain: Brown rice, jasmine rice, and quinoa all work great. If you want to skip cozy carbs, cauliflower rice works too!
  • Add extra veggies to your plate with some roasted broccoli, green beans, or asparagus. Choose whatever’s in season, and finish with a little drizzle of toasted sesame oil for extra flavor.
Sweet & sour pork plated with white rice. The plate sits atop a light blue surface, next to a striped black linen, a small dish of thinly sliced green onion, & a second plate of sweet & sour pork.
Serve your sweet and sour pork with your grain of choice and top with thinly sliced green onions for a simple and satisfying meal.

I can’t wait for you to try Mom’s Sweet and Sour Pork recipe. It’s so flavorful, so quick and easy, and so much faster than takeout! I know you’ll love it.

If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. We LOVE seeing your PWWB creations! Happy cooking! ♡

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Sweet & sour pork plated with white rice. The plate sits atop a light blue surface, next to a striped black linen, a small dish of thinly sliced green onion, & a second plate of sweet & sour pork.

25-Minute Sweet and Sour Pork Stir-Fry

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 24 reviews
  • Author: Jess Larson
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4
  • Category: Main Dishes, Pork Recipes
  • Method: Stovetop, Skillet Recipes, Stir Fry
  • Cuisine: Chinese, Asian-Inspired
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

My Mom’s Quick and Easy Sweet and Sour Pork recipe! Cubes of juicy pork loin dusted in rice flour and stir-fried with bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions in the most perfectly tangy and sweet homemade sweet and sour sauce. A seriously quick and easy weeknight dinner – it’s even faster than takeout!

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless pork loin (or boneless pork shoulder), diced into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup finely ground rice flour
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil of choice, divided
  • 1 bell pepper (color of choice), deseeded and diced into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 red onion, diced into ½-inch cubes
  • 2 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced into ½-inch cubes
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

for the sweet and sour sauce:

  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar (dark brown sugar, if available)
  • ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1–2 tablespoons soy sauce (sub tamari if gluten-free)

Instructions

An overhead shot of ingredients arranged on a light blue surface in individual bowls and dishes: red onion, rice flour, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, oil, garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, and diced pork loin.

  1. Season the pork: Place the pork in a medium bowl, seasoning all over with kosher salt. Sprinkle the rice flour over top, tossing to lightly coat the pork in the flour. Set aside.Diced pork loin tossed in rice flour in a large glass mixing bowl atop a light blue surface.
  2. Mix the sweet and sour sauce: Combine all listed ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.Homemade sweet and sour sauce whisked in a small white bowl atop a light blue surface.
  3. Cook the vegetables: Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot and shimmering, add in the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until barely softened, about 1 minute. Carefully transfer vegetables to a large plate or bowl and set aside.Stir fried veggies in a large skillet with a wooden spoon.
  4. Brown the pork: Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add in the remaining olive oil. Once hot and shimmering, add in the pork, shaking off excess rice flour before adding it to the pan. Cook the pork until deeply browned, about 90 seconds per side.Browning lightly dredged cubed pork loin in a large skillet.
  5. Finish the sweet and sour pork: Pour the sweet and sour sauce into the skillet with the pork. Increase heat to high. Cook, stirring often, until the sweet and sour sauce thickens slightly, 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetables back into the pot. Stir to combine and cook until warmed through.Stir fried pork and veggies in a large skillet with a wooden spoon.
  6. Serve immediately, spooned over white rice. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions as desired. Enjoy! Sweet and sour pork plated with white rice. The plate sits atop a light blue surface, next to a striped black linen, a small dish of thinly sliced green onion, and a second plate of sweet and sour pork.

Notes

  • Storage: Sweet and Sour Pork is best enjoyed fresh, immediately after cooking. Leftovers will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, just until warmed through.
  • 15-Minute Meal Prep: This Sweet and Sour Pork recipe comes together in no time at all, but you can do a little prep ahead of time to cut down on any and all active prep the night you want to throw it together. Pick and choose from the list below, or do it all and all you have to do at dinnertime is get cooking – easy!
    • Prep the sweet and sour sauce: Mix the sweet and sour sauce according to Step 2 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (5 minutes active time)
    • Chop the veggies: Deseed and dice 1 bell pepper and 2 large tomatoes into ½-inch pieces. Peel and dice 1 red onion into ½-inch pieces. Store in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (5 minutes active time)
    • Dice the pork into 1/2-inch cubes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (5 minutes active time)

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 515
  • Sugar: 23.1 g
  • Sodium: 1148.6 mg
  • Fat: 26.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 6.8 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 37.1 g
  • Fiber: 1.9 g
  • Protein: 33.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 82.3 mg
Sweet & sour pork plated with white rice. The plate sits atop a light blue surface, next to a striped black linen, a small dish of thinly sliced green onion, & a second plate of sweet & sour pork.

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