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Sweet and Sour Pork

A pork dish with a sweet and sour sauce made from pineapple, vinegar, brown sugar, and cornstarch.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Pork and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,214 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Sweet and Sour Pork

Timeabout 1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Trim visible fat from pork loin.

  2. Cut meat into thin strips.

Brown the pork

  1. Heat oil in skillet and brown the meat strips.

  2. Remove the meat and set it aside.

Make the sauce and serve

  1. Drain pineapple and mix the pineapple juice with water, vinegar, brown sugar, cornstarch and soy sauce.

  2. Shake in a glass jar until well mixed.

  3. Cook the sweet and sour sauce in the skillet until clear and slightly thickened.

  4. Cook over low heat for about 1 hour.

  5. About 5 minutes before serving, add green pepper, onion slices and pineapple chunks.

  6. Serve over rice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1034Calories
44 gProtein
29 gFat
147 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,214 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Pineapple + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together533 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Pineapple + vinegartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together411 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  5. Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,147 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Pork loin
Provides the meat, which browns for savory flavor and stays tender when cut thin.
Pineapple chunks
Adds fruity sweetness and juice that moistens and flavors the sauce.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sweetness of the sugar and pineapple.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a caramel note that rounds out the sour flavors.
Cornstarch
Thickens the sauce into a glossy coating when heated with liquid.
Soy sauce
Adds savory, salty depth that gives the sauce body.

The step that matters

Thickening the sauce with cornstarch. Cornstarch only thickens once it is heated with liquid until the starch granules swell. Stir the sauce as it heats and cook until it turns clear and slightly thick, or it will stay thin or clump.

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, vinegar, sugar, sauce, pepper, onion):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Mangofits better
  3. Limefits better
  4. Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, vinegar, sugar, sauce, pepper, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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