ChineseGuo bao rou
Crisp sweet and sour pork
Guō bāo ròu (锅包肉) — Harbin's crackling sweet-and-sour pork slices
Created in a Harbin government kitchen in the early 1900s to please Russian guests, this is the north-east's own sweet-and-sour pork, and every Dongbei restaurant still serves a heaped plate of it. Large, thin slices of tenderloin go into a thick potato-starch coating, are fried twice until they shatter, then are tossed in a pale, sharp sugar-and-vinegar glaze with shreds of ginger, carrot and coriander. Unlike the red Cantonese version there is no ketchup and no pineapple; the flavour is cleaner and more sour. Bring it to the table the second it leaves the wok, alongside steamed rice and a cold cucumber salad. Chef's tip: soak the potato starch in water for an hour and pour off the clear liquid; the thick paste underneath gives the crispest coating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 430 kcal
Ingredients
For the pork
- 14 oz pork tenderloincut across into 5 mm slices about 6 cm long
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
For the coating
- 5 ½ oz potato starch
- ¾ cup water
- 4 ¼ cups neutral oilfor deep-frying
For the sauce
- 2 ⅛ oz sugar
- 3 ½ tbsp white rice vinegar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
For the aromatics
- ½ oz fresh gingercut into fine shreds
- ½ carrotcut into fine shreds
- 1 spring onioncut into fine shreds
- 2 garlic clovesthinly sliced
- ⅓ oz coriander (optional)cut into 3 cm lengths
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Stir 5 ½ oz potato starch into ¾ cup water and leave for at least 20 minutes (an hour is better). Pour off the clear water on top; you want a thick paste that just drips from a spoon.
20 minStep 2: Use a separate board for the raw pork. Season 14 oz pork tenderloin with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground white pepper, then turn the slices through the starch paste until each one is coated.
Step 3: Heat 4 ¼ cups neutral oil in a wok or deep pan to 325°F. Fry the slices one at a time so they do not stick, in two batches, for 2–3 minutes until set and pale gold. Lift out onto a rack.
6 minStep 4: Raise the oil to 375°F and fry all the pork again for 1 minute until deep gold and hard-crisp; tapped with chopsticks it should sound hollow. The thin slices will be well past 145°F (145 °F) and white all the way through. Drain on the rack.
2 minStep 5: Mix 2 ⅛ oz sugar, 3 ½ tbsp white rice vinegar, 1 tsp light soy sauce and ¼ tsp salt in a small bowl until the sugar mostly dissolves.
Step 6: Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil. Over a medium-high heat stir-fry ½ oz fresh ginger, ½ carrot, 1 spring onion and 2 garlic cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant.
1 minStep 7: Pour in the sauce and let it bubble for 30–60 seconds until it thickens to large, glossy bubbles.
1 minStep 8: Tip in the pork and toss fast for 15 seconds so every slice is glazed. Don't let it sit in the sauce or simmer; that is the usual mistake and turns the crust soft. Scatter over the coriander and serve at once.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guo bao rou take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of white rice vinegar?
- Cider vinegar with a pinch of sugar, same amount.
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