Sweet and Sour Pork With Ginger and Pineapple

Sweet and Sour Pork
Diana Rattray
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 80 mins
Total: 95 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

This easy sweet and sour pork is made with common pantry ingredients and is a succulent dinner that you can make during a weeknight if having some extra time after work, or reserve for a weekend lunch or dinner whenever there's no time pressure. Ready in one and a half hours, the pork tenderloin simmers in a tasty mixture of pineapple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, and ground ginger. You can use fresh if you have a root at hand, and don't forget to round out the flavors with the sweet onions and peppers. Canned pineapple is your shortcut to this recipe, as it requires no peeling or slicing of the whole fruit. Endowed with the perfect amount of sweet and sour, the pork chunks cook to perfection in a sauce that you can pour over the pork when serving.

You'll need 2 pounds of tenderloin for this recipe, but keep in mind that pork tenderloin and pork loin aren't the same. Tenderloin, which is called for in this recipe, is a long, narrow, and boneless cut that you can easily slice or cut into chunks. Pork loin can have bones or not, and it's flatter in appearance. Both cuts are lean, but you can't use them interchangeably. Because the tenderloin is so lean it needs a lot of moisture when cooking or it can dry out, our recipe provides the cooking liquid in which the meat can cook to safety while staying juicy. Pork tenderloin tends to run pricey, but if the price seems fair and you'd like to buy more than you need, you can freeze it for later use or double the recipe and freeze the individual portions of the finished dish.

Side dishes such as rice or mashed potatoes are best to soak up the juices of this delicious sweet and sour pork, but if you feel like taking things up a notch, try a different version of rice or potatoes, like coconut rice or creamed cassava.

Ingredients

  • 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks

  • 1/4 cup vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 2 pounds boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 1 large onion, cut into chunks

  • 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into chunks

  • 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into chunks

For the Cornstarch Slurry:

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Drain juice from pineapple and pour it into a Dutch oven. Reserve the chunks.

  3. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, salt, ginger, and water stirring well until smooth.

  4. Add the pork chunks and bring the mixture to a boil.

  5. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, or until meat is tender.

  6. Add the onion, green and red peppers, and pineapple chunks.

  7. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until onions and peppers are just tender.

  8. In a small mixing bowl, stir the cornstarch with the water.

  9. Stir the slurry into the pork mixture and heat to boiling

  10. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 additional minute.

  11. Serve the sweet and sour pork with. your favorite sides.

  12. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
387 Calories
14g Fat
24g Carbs
41g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 387
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 17%
Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 121mg 40%
Sodium 965mg 42%
Total Carbohydrate 24g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 41g
Vitamin C 57mg 284%
Calcium 36mg 3%
Iron 2mg 9%
Potassium 766mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)