Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple

Chinese name: 菠萝咕咾肉 (bō luó gū lǎo ròu)
Style: Cantonese Cuisine
Characteristics: Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple is bright in color as pineapple, pork, green and red peppers are used. It tastes sweet and a little sour. The pork is crispy outside and extremely tender inside.
 
The Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple, Gu Lao Rou in Chinese, is one of the most well-known Cantonese dishes. Many foreigners are fond of its distinctive flavor which is quite similar with another famous Chinese dish – Sweet and Sour Pork Fillet. The dish can be found on the menus in most Chinese restaurants around the world. As the recipe below shows, pork is fried in advance, so that the dish is not oily. Meanwhile, the pineapple betters the flavor and improves people’s appetite.
 

Ingredients: lean pork, 200g; pineapple, 100g; one red pepper; one green pepper

 

Seasonings: cooking oil; light soy sauce; cooking wine; egg;salt; tomato ketchup; white vinegar; white sugar; starch Note: The amounts of the ingredients and seasonings listed above can be appropriately adjusted according to one's personal taste.

 

Preparation: 1. Cut the pork and preserve it: Clean pork and cut into 1.5cm cubes. Add in salt, cooking wine and dry starch and combine with pork thoroughly. Let it stand for 20-30 minutes. Then crack an egg in and mix with the preserved pork. Roll the pork cubes in starch one by one until all of them are well coated. 2. Peel the pineapple. Dice into 1.5-2cm cube and soak in light salt brine for 20 minutes. Pick out and drain off water. 3. Make the sweet and sour sauce: Combine tomato ketchup, white vinegar, light soy sauce, white sugar and water. 4. Prepare water starch. 5. Discard the seeds of red and green peppers. Clean and cut into chunks.

 It is said that the dish can be originated back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). At that time, many foreigners in Guangzhou liked to have Chinese dishes, especially the Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs. However, they were not used to spit bones. Local chefs coated the lean pork with starch or flour, fried it until crispy and mixed with sweet and sour sauce. The method successfully achieved the similar flavor; hence the dish gradually became welcomed. Later, the chefs added pineapple into the pork in order to better the flavor.
 1. Pineapple can also be used as a container. Remove the pulp and serve rice, meat or vegetables in.
2. Consumption of the Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple should be controlled for people suffering from periodontitis and gastrohelcosis. In addition, pineapple is better to be avoided for those suffering from high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
 
Further Reading: Top 10 Chinese Pork Recipes to Satisfy Your Taste Bud