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Chinese Takeaway Sweet and Sour Pork
Crunchy battered pork with pineapple, capsicum and onion in a glossy sweet-tangy sauce.
Takeaway: typical Gold Coast takeaway price, late 2026, $22.00 per dish (feeds 2, no rice).
Every suburban Chinese restaurant in Australia has its own version, but the formula is the same: chunks of pork in a puffy, crunchy batter, tossed at the last minute in a bright red sauce with pineapple, capsicum and onion. Serve with steamed rice.
Ingredients
Pork
- 500 g pork loin or scotch fillet, in 2.5 cm pieces
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 egg
Batter
- ½ cup plain flour
- ½ cup cornflour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup chilled water
- 1 litre vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Sauce and vegetables
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 brown onion, in chunks
- 1 red capsicum, in chunks
- 1 green capsicum, in chunks
- 1 cup tinned pineapple pieces in juice (drained, juice kept)
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup pineapple juice (from the tin)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp water, for the slurry
Australian measures: 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tbsp = 20 ml. Tap an ingredient to tick it off.
Method
- Marinate the porkToss the pork with the soy sauce and egg. Leave for 15 minutes.
- Make the batterWhisk the flour, cornflour and baking powder, then whisk in the chilled water to a thick, smooth batter (like thick cream). Add the pork and stir to coat.
- First fryHeat the oil in a wok or deep saucepan to 170 °C. Fry the pork in batches for 4 minutes until pale golden and cooked through. Drain on a rack.
- Second fryBring the oil up to 190 °C and fry the pork again, in batches, for 1–2 minutes until deep golden and crackly. Twice-frying is the takeaway trick: the first fry cooks the meat, the second (hotter and quicker) sets a hard, crackly shell that survives the sauce.
- Make the sauceIn a clean wok, heat 1 tbsp oil and stir-fry the onion and capsicum for 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, pineapple juice, soy and pineapple pieces and bring to a simmer. Stir the cornflour into the water and add, stirring until thick and glossy.
- Toss and serveTake the wok off the heat, add the pork and toss quickly to coat — or pour the sauce over at the table so the batter stays crisp. Serve with steamed rice.
Cornflour-coated pork in the air fryer instead of a deep-fried batter, and a no-added-salt sauce. The crunch is lighter and glassier rather than puffy.✔ Tested in our kitchen
Ingredients
Pork
- 500 g pork loin, in bite-sized pieces
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup cornflour
- 1 light coating of oil spray
Sauce and vegetables
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 brown onion, in chunks
- 1 red capsicum, in chunks
- 1 green capsicum, in chunks
- 1 cup tinned pineapple pieces in juice (drained, juice kept)
- ⅓ cup no-added-salt tomato ketchup
- ¼ cup rice vinegar (plain, not seasoned)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ cup pineapple juice (from the tin, or water)
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp water, for the slurry
Australian measures: 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tbsp = 20 ml. Tap an ingredient to tick it off.
Method
- Coat the porkDip the pork pieces in the beaten egg, letting the excess drip off, then toss in the cornflour until evenly coated. Shake off the excess.
- Air fryArrange in a single layer in the air fryer basket with space between pieces. Spray lightly with oil and air fry at 200 °C for about 12 minutes, shaking halfway and giving a second light spray, until golden and cooked through.
- Make the sauceWhile the pork cooks, heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the onion and capsicum for 2 minutes. Add the ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, pineapple juice and pineapple and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- ThickenMix the cornflour with the water and stir it into the simmering sauce until thick and glossy.
- Toss and serveToss the pork straight into the sauce and serve with steamed rice.
Tips
- Check the ketchup label — a no-added-salt variety is what keeps this genuinely salt-free.
- Use plain rice vinegar; “seasoned” rice vinegar has added salt and sugar.
- The sauce keeps in the fridge for a few days and also works with chicken or over steamed vegetables.
Nutrition per serve: original style vs healthier
| Closest to the original | Healthier | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 3237 kJ | 2216 kJ | -32% |
| Fat | 29 g | 13 g | -54% |
| Sugars | 45 g | 39 g | -12% |
| Sodium | 1257 mg | 138 mg | -89% |
Estimates from typical Australian product labels and food composition data, counting only the oil, marinade and sauce that end up on the plate, and leaving out optional extras. Brands vary a lot — especially for sodium in bread, crumbs and sauces. For reference, the recommended upper limit for adults is 2,000 mg of sodium a day.
Cost: homemade vs takeaway
Ingredient costs use typical Coles and Woolworths prices in late 2026 and count only what the recipe uses, not whole packets. Pantry spices are included at a few cents a teaspoon.
Questions
How much does it cost to make sweet and sour pork at home?
About $5.57 a serve for the original-style version and $5.16 for the healthier one, against roughly $11.00 a serve from a takeaway shop.
Can I make a healthier sweet and sour pork?
Yes. Our healthier version has about 89% less sodium and 54% less fat per serve than the original-style recipe. Cornflour-coated pork in the air fryer instead of a deep-fried batter, and a no-added-salt sauce. The crunch is lighter and glassier rather than puffy.