Sweet and sour pork is a Chinese dish that is particularly popular in Cantonese cuisine and
may be found all over the world. A traditional Jiangsu dish called Pork in a sugar and
vinegar sauce (糖醋里脊; pinyin: táng cù lǐjǐ) is considered its ancestor.
The origin of sweet and sour pork was in 18th century Canton or earlier. A record shows
that the renowned Long Family in the prosperous neighbouring Shunde county (of the
Qinghui Garden fame, and the family was active in the 18th and 19th centuries), used
sweet and sour pork to test the skills of their family chefs. It spread to the United States in
the early 20th century after the Chinese migrant goldminers and railroad workers turned to
cookery as trades. The original meaning of the American termchop suey refers to sweet and
sour pork. In some countries the dish is known as Ku lo yuk.
The dish consists of deep fried pork in bite sized pieces, and subsequently stir-fried in a
more customized version of sweet and sour sauce made of sugar, ketchup, white vinegar,
and soy sauce, and additional ingredients including pineapple, green pepper(capsicum),
and onion. In more elaborate preparations, the dish's tartness is controlled by requiring
that Chinese white rice vinegar be used sparingly and using ketchups with less vinegary
tastes, while some restaurants use unripe kiwifruits and HP sauce in place of vinegar.
Some of the more casual food outlets use diluted acetic acid as a substitute for white
vinegar and synthesized red colouring in place of ketchup to keep the costs down,
making the dish too pungent and leaving customers thirsty.
*猪肉 zhūròu pork
*番茄酱 fānqiéjiàng ketchup
*菠萝 bōluó pineapple
*柿子椒 shìzijiāo bell pepper
*洋葱 yángcōng onion
