Sweet and Sour Pork in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it
Quick answer
Sweet and sour pork is battered pork in a bright, tangy red sauce with pineapple and peppers, the most ordered dish in British Chinese takeaways. Its Cantonese ancestor, gu lou yuk, is subtler and less sweet; the UK version is heavier on the batter and the sugar. Both are real; knowing the difference tells you what kind of Chinese restaurant you are in.
Calories and nutrition
- Calories
- 700
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Salt
- 2.4 g
560–880 kcal
Portion: One takeaway portion, about 350 g.
The batter and sugar make it high in fat and carbohydrate; boiled rice adds around 300 kcal.
Estimates for a typical portion, based on standard UK and USDA food composition data. Actual values depend on the recipe and the restaurant.
What sweet and sour pork is
Pieces of pork are coated in a batter and deep-fried, then tossed in or served with a sauce of sugar, vinegar, tomato and often pineapple juice, with chunks of pepper, onion and pineapple. The Cantonese original, gu lou yuk, uses a lighter coating, a sauce balanced with hawthorn or plum, and a deeper red-brown colour; the British takeaway version is sweeter, brighter red and more heavily battered, developed for local tastes over decades. Neither is wrong. A good version keeps the pork crisp under the sauce rather than letting it go soggy.
How to judge it
The batter should stay crisp, the sauce should have a real sour edge to balance the sweetness rather than being just sugary, and the pork should be tender inside. A dish that is only sweet, with limp batter in a gluey red sauce, is the low end. Restaurants that offer gu lou yuk under its own name, or list a Cantonese version, are usually cooking closer to the source. Sweet and sour chicken and prawn are the same treatment.
Takeaway versus restaurant
The takeaway version, sauce poured over battered balls, is a British institution and, done well, genuinely good. A Cantonese restaurant will make a more balanced, less lurid version. If you grew up on the takeaway kind, order that; if you want to see what the dish is in Guangzhou, look for gu lou yuk on a Cantonese menu.
Where it is done well in the UK
Cantonese restaurants make the more balanced version; the directory below lists areas with the most Chinese restaurants. Chinatowns in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool are the places for the authentic style.
How to order it
For the classic British takeaway version, order sweet and sour pork Cantonese-style or Hong Kong-style. For the subtler original, look for gu lou yuk on a Cantonese menu. Ask for the sauce on the side if you want the batter to stay crisp.
Where it's done well
UK councils with the most sweet and sour pork specialists, by restaurant name, in our directory.
Restaurants near you
Search by postcode or use your location to find restaurants likely to serve sweet and sour pork near you.
Make it at home
Serves 4 · 40 min
Ingredients
- 400 g pork shoulder, cubed
- 1 egg, 4 tbsp cornflour, oil for frying
- 1 pepper and 1 onion, in chunks
- 200 g pineapple chunks
- for the sauce: 4 tbsp sugar, 4 tbsp rice vinegar, 3 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp pineapple juice, 1 tbsp soy, 1 tsp cornflour in water
Method
- Coat the pork in beaten egg then cornflour and deep-fry at 180°C until golden and crisp; drain.
- Mix the sauce ingredients and simmer until it thickens.
- Stir-fry the pepper and onion briefly, add the pineapple and the sauce.
- Toss the fried pork through the sauce just before serving so the batter stays crisp, or serve the sauce alongside.
Balance the vinegar against the sugar so it is genuinely sweet-and-sour, not just sweet. Add the pork last to keep it crisp.