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Gabajou in sweet and sour sauce in Chinese

Guo Bao Rou — Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork

Crispy battered pork in a bright sweet-and-sour sauce. Want to give it a try? This dish was a real discovery for us! My family loves meat, but some of our usual meat dishes had started to feel old, so it was fun to try something new — and the result was a hit. The pork in its starchy batter has a pleasant crunchy crust and stays juicy inside. The sauce is its own delight: fragrant, tangy, and mellow, pairing beautifully with the mild meat. Wonderful! This dish is incredibly good served fresh. It's still tasty once it cools, but something is lost, so serve it piping hot!

mom of sweet tooth

Recipe author

Gabajou in sweet and sour sauce in Chinese

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pork (boneless)

500

Potato starch (potato)

Flour

Egg white

Water (ice-cold, ice cubes and all)

100

Vegetable oil

500

Carrot

Onion

Pineapple (canned)

200

Bell pepper

Garlic

Ginger (1-inch piece)

Lemon (juice)

0.5

Potato starch

Honey

Soy sauce

Salt

Ground black pepper

Vegetable oil (or 4 tbsp)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 11 % 5 g

Fats 67 % 31 g

Carbohydrates 22 % 10 g

324 kcal

GI: 70 / 10 / 20

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather the ingredients for the battered pork. Rinse the pork and pat it dry with paper towels. The water for the batter must be ice-cold — mine has actual ice cubes in it, and it stays in the fridge right up until I make the batter. Sift the flour and starch.
Step 2:

Cut the meat into small pieces about 3/4 by 1 1/4 inches (2 x 3 cm) and roughly 1 inch (2–2.5 cm) thick.
Step 3:

Pound the pieces of meat with a mallet — this step makes them very tender once fried.
Step 4:

Before you dip the meat in batter, prep everything for the sweet-and-sour sauce. Wash and peel the vegetables, then chop them all now so they're within reach at the right moment — this dish comes together fast. Once you start frying the meat you won't have time to stop, since it needs to be fried quickly and watched closely so it doesn't burn.
Step 5:

Cut the carrot into long matchsticks, the onion into half-moons (Chinese-style, sliced from root to tip rather than across), and the bell pepper into squares.
Step 6:

Thinly slice the garlic and ginger.
Step 7:

Take the ice water out of the fridge (the cold is what keeps the batter crisp when it fries). Pour it into a deep bowl, add the egg white (you won't need the yolk), and whisk well with a fork. Quickly add the starch and flour and mix until smooth and lump-free.
Step 8:

Dip the pounded pieces of meat into the batter, making sure each one is evenly coated on all sides.
Step 9:

The batter should have the consistency of thick sour cream. Stir the meat to coat it in the batter.
Step 10:

Heat a deep skillet or wok over the burner. Pour in the vegetable oil and let it get good and hot. Lower the battered meat into the hot oil in batches and deep-fry until fully cooked and golden, about 7–8 minutes. To check, cut a piece from the first batch in half and make sure it's done. Fry all the meat in two or three batches.
Step 11:

Set the meat on paper towels to blot the excess oil, and cover it loosely to keep it warm.
Step 12:

Add 3–4 tablespoons of oil to a hot skillet and let it heat up. Toss in the garlic and ginger, and almost immediately add the onion and carrot. Stir-fry, stirring constantly, for 4–5 minutes.
Step 13:

Add the bell pepper and pineapple and cook, stirring constantly, for another 4–5 minutes.
Step 14:

Pour in the soy sauce, the starch (1 tablespoon) dissolved in a little water, and the honey. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 15:

Stir well, lower the heat, and simmer the sauce until it thickens, about 8 minutes.
Step 16:

Arrange the deep-fried battered pork on a platter or in a deep dish, spoon plenty of sweet-and-sour sauce over the top, and serve hot. Enjoy — it's incredibly tasty and fragrant!