Sweet and sour pork is a quick stir fry dinner, full of fresh vegetables and breaded pork. It's relatively easy to make, too, which is always a plus in my book. Hopefully, in your book, too.
I'm all about the quick and easy meal from time to time. The king of quick and easy has got to be the stir fry dinner. We love mixing it up and trying new ones. Part of my new year's resolution is to try to utilize more of my cookbooks and magazines, so the moment I saw this sweet and sour pork recipe, I had to try it!
I ripped the recipe out (as per my new organization process) and added it to the pile.
Sweet and Sour Pork
from Food Network Magazine, January/February 2011
Ingredients:
- 1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 ½ tbs balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt
- 2 teas low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbs cornstarch
- 3 tbs ketchup
- 3 tbs sugar, plus a pinch (really, FN - is plus a pinch an actual form of measurement?)
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 tbs peanut or vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 scallions, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3 cups snow peas, cut in half
- ½ small head of cabbage, sliced thin *I threw this in
Preparation:
Toss the pork with ½ tbs vinegar and pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix the remaining 2 tbs vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch , ketchup, 3 tbs sugar, ⅓ cup water and ½ teas salt in another bowl.
Heat 2 tbs oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add the pork and slowly sit until it turns mostly opaque, about 2 minutes (my ½-inch to 1-inch pieces took more like 5 minutes to get to a point I was ok with serving). Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Discard the oil and wipe out skillet.
Heat the remaining 1 tbs oil in the skillet, then stir-fry the garlic with a pinch each of salt and sugar, 15 seconds. Add the carrots and scallions and stir-fry until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. If the garlic starts to stick to the skillet, add a bit of water. Add the pork, snow peas and soy sauce mixture stir until the pork is cooked through and the sauce is thickened, about 3 minuets.
Serve with rice and enjoy 😀
My thoughts on the sweet and sour pork recipe:
Until I made the sweet and sour pork, I had never eaten a sweet and sour anything. After trying this dish, I'm not sold. I didn't love love this one from Food Network magazine, but with amount of recipes in each issue, there are bound to be a few we don't love. It was a meal, and I packed a ton of veggies in without much prep-work or time wasted, but I won't be making this one again. Win some, lose some.
Blog is the New Black says
Kita, this looks divine!
Lacy DeVeney says
Wow the colors are beautiful! This looks amazing!!
Tina@flourtrader says
This looks fantastic. I like the addition of the red cabbage here, adds more flavor and makes the dish so eye catching. Well done.
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts says
Looks great - I am not a fan of sweet and sour either. Maybe if that is your thing this would be wonderful!
RavieNomNoms says
Wow! Look at those colors! It is just so pretty....I bet it is even more delicious than it looks in your pictures (which are outstanding as usual!).
Vicki @ WITK says
This dinner looks so good, I love that it's a quick dinner. I'm totally needing quick dinners these days, bookmarked!
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
Oh my dear, this is an amazing dish! I love the color contrast,very very pretty and delicious looking!!! Fantastic photos!!
Kim Beaulieu says
This is just a beautiful dish. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Susie Bee on Maui says
Aww, sorry you didn't like it but don't give up on sweet and sour. Here is a good one for sweet and sour meatballs. You could use the sauce on pork tenderloin, chicken etc
https://eatlittleeatbig.blogspot.com/2011/01/recipe-for-sweet-and-sour-meatballs.html
The Harried Cook says
I love sweet & sour pork! And I love that your recipe is so quick to fix, too! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ann says
Looks delicious! Brilliant minds thinking alike...we both made Sweet & Sour Pork today!
Kita says
😀 Love when that happens. Always makes me feel like I'm not the only one on the boat. Yours looks beautiful.
Sarah-Jane Nash says
shame you didn't like it - the colours are really pretty and inviting
Tes says
This looks so beautiful, Kita! It sounds so fresh and delicious 🙂
ping says
Aww ... I'm sorry you didn't like this. I'm not sure if it's meant to be the Chinese styled sweet sour pork dish. If so, it sure doesn't look like it, but ... it's really colorful and beautiful and I'm sure it didn't taste too bad.
Kita says
Im with you Ping, I didn't really feel that this was a 'traditional' recipe at all. Any time something has ketchup in the ingredients I am a little weary. >.> Ill give sweet and sour another shot, I promise!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
Looks good but I'm not sure it is sweet and sour. I agree with you. Still beautful! 🙂
Amy says
THIS LOOKS SO GREAT!!!!! I would prefer to make my own asian food then go out and buy it. This is great!!
We just started following you! We saw you on food gawker!!
Love,
https://chickswholovetoeat.blogspot.com/
Adora's Box says
I actually like this. I was expecting the thickly battered fried pork with the gloopy sauce. This actually looks so much better and healthier. I like the colourful vegetable mix. I might cook this actually.
claire says
Beautiful work, this looks incredible! Congrats on the top 9!!
Mike@The Culinary Lens says
The red cabbage really makes this pop. I am sure it tastes as good as it looks
Ann says
Congratulations on making the Top 9! This was So beautiful and well deserved!
Drew says
Just a quick note about cooking the pork...the recipe is correct...in the initial fry, you're only just browning the pork...it then sits on the side and the cooking process is completed when you add it back into the wok by simmering in the sauce...
also, yes, this is nothing like the "traditional" sweet & sour sauce you normally see in take-out restaurants (what I like to refer to as tourist-style chinese food) which is a nasty concoction that is mainly an excessive amount of breading with an unnaturally neon red sauce...ugh...
one thing that doesn't make sense to me is using low-sodium soy sauce yet adding salt...uhhhh, what?
btw, feel free to ask if ya have any chinese food questions...just don't ask me to make chop suey...heheh
Christa Rose says
I was just admiring this photo on Foodgawker! The veggies looks so fresh and crisp. Can't wait to try it!
Sandra says
Very pretty dish, love the colors!
Pretty. Good. Food. says
Mmmmmm, sounds delicious! So much better than take out!