Everyone knows and loves sweet and sour pork, right? Some people don’t know that sweet and sour pork is totally deep fried and not all that healthy. This is an easy, healthy, just as delicious homemade version with no added oil and no deep frying. The sauce is as authentic as you’d find in any Chinese household or restaurant, and this was so good the two of us demolished over a pound of it in under 10 minutes.
Cooking Notes
Is that ketchup in the ingredients list? Yes. Not only was ketchup invented in China anyway, it’s perfectly normal to use and is pretty much the accepted standard method to get that unique tanginess you find in sweet and sour pork.
If you want the pork crispier and you have a can of cooking spray such as pam handy, hit it with a light coat of oil before you dust with corn starch to get even more crunch.
What do you need?
A baking sheet with a rack that fits and a non stick pan.
How do you serve it?
Serve with rice.
Easy Oven Baked Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork
Serves 2-4
- 1lb pork shoulder, cubed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (rice vinegar recommended)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1. Preheat your oven to 450ºF and season your pork with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer your pork to a plastic bag or ziploc bag along with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Shake well until the pork is lightly coated and then place on an oiled tray in a foil lined baking sheet.
3. Bake your pork for 40 minutes, flipping once after 20 minutes.
4. While the pork is baking, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water in a cup and stir until a smooth slurry forms.
5. Make your sauce by adding sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, corn starch slurry, and 1/4 cup of water to a pan and bringing it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and add your vegetables. Cook until your desired doneness and then remove from heat (for us that means almost raw).
6. Add your pork to the sauce and toss until well coated. Enjoy!
great, had no idea this (oven baked s-sour pork) was possible! Or at least, didn’t have any clue how to make it in an oven, so thank you for making healthy one of my favorite dishes!
Very good and saves time. No frying
Looks delicious and good that it’s oven baked rather than fried
Awesomely simple recipe.
Love how it turned out.
Thanks for posting!
Nutritional Information would be helpful. Thanks.