Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers

Hello! It’s great to see you! Today we are taking a classic Chinese takeout dish, Sweet and Sour Pork, and giving it a summertime makeover. For this recipe we have soy and pineapple marinated pork tenderloin skewered with onion, green bell peppers and pineapple, grilled and basted with sweet and sour sauce. It’s the flavors we’re familiar with, homemade and grilled, not fried. Let’s get to it – Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers!

The pop-up thunderstorms this week prevented me from doing these Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers outside on the grill. So I brought it inside with a grill pan. This has happened a few times this summer and I have to say I am so happy we have a cast iron, double sided grill/griddle pan to make up for it. Nothing is a perfect substitute for the flavor of cooking on an open fire, but the grill pan comes really close.

Pork Tenderloin

Let’s start with the pork, we can get that marinating while we make the sweet and sour sauce. I have about 1.5 pounds of pork tenderloin country ribs. I like using these ribs because the prep is that much easier when I only have to make vertical cuts to get nice 1-inch chunks of meat to skewer.

Place the pieces of pork in a bowl and – no measuring needed – pour in some soy sauce, pineapple juice and a glug of apple cider vinegar. We just want to cover the meat in marinade. The ratios aren’t going to be that important. We have salt from the soy sauce, acid from the vinegar and the pineapple juice brings acid and sweetness.

Cover and let it sit while we make the sweet and sour sauce. We don’t want to grill cold meat, so it’s fine to let it sit on the counter for the ten minutes it will take to make the sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

The sauce is really simple. Combine the apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, pineapple juice, ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch in a measuring cup and whisk to fully combine.

Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Reduce temperature to keep it at a low simmer. Whisk the sauce as it cooks to thicken. Once it’s thickened a bit and is a smooth, caramel-like sauce. remove from heat. Portion out about one third of the sauce for drizzling over the finished dish. The remaining sauce we use to baste the skewers as they grill.

The sweet and sour sauce will tighten, or stiffen as it cools, so as we use it, we will add a little water (as needed) to loosen the sauce to keep it brush-able and pourable. Set the sauce aside while we skewer the meat and veggies.

Skewers

Set up your skewer station with the prepped bell peppers, onion and pineapple. Everything should be cut into roughly 1-inch pieces.

Skewer the meat and veggies however you like, keeping each skewer proportioned evenly between the meat and the veggies. Continue skewering until the meat and veggies are all skewered.

Set up your grill pan over high heat. Flick some water on the pan after a few minutes of heating and if the water immediately bubbles and evaporates, we are ready to oil the grill and the skewers. Brush vegetable oil on the grill and drizzle vegetable oil the skewers. If the griddle shows wisps of smoke, slightly reduce the burner.

Carefully arrange the skewers on the oiled grill. We will cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Total cook time is about 12-16 minutes. Turn the skewers as they develop color to keep an even browning and cooking. Adjust the burners as needed to keep things sizzling, but not burning. Char marks are good, and it’s important to cook the pork all the way through. So to keep it from getting away from you, reduce the burners to medium or medium-high.

After the skewers have made one complete turn, begin basting with the sweet and sour sauce. Remember to stir in a little water if the sauce is too tight. Then continue turning and basting the skewers. When the pork is looking done: it’s firmer to the touch and looking more grey than pink, temp the meat.

Pork is fully cooked at 145 degrees F. Pull the skewers off the grill when the internal meat temp is at 145 degrees. Place the skewers on a sheet tray for service and top with sliced fresh jalapeño for a little heat. Serve the reserved sauce on the side. Remember to stir a little water into the sauce to loosen it up to a pourable consistency.

Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers

Serve with rice, top with more sauce if desired and there you have it; the classic Chinese takeout dish Sweet and Sour Pork, updated for summer as Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers.

This dish is really wonderful, so easy and satisfying when you have that craving for Chinese takeout classics. Basting the skewers in the sweet and sour sauce creates a delicious caramelization on the pork and the veggies. Speaking of the sauce, it’s the flavors you know, but deeper and without that weird red color; the sauce is fruity, sweet and sour. The jalapeños add a little bit of fruity heat, which is a nice compliment to the sweet sauce.

I do hope you try these Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers, they really are a great summertime dish! Looking for more Chinese takeout classics? Try Easy Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken, or Easy Scallion Pancakes. Take care and be well, xo Kelly

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Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Skewers

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Dinner, Main Course – Chinese

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 25 Minutes – Cooking Time: 12-16 Minutes – Total Time: ~40 Minutes

A classic Chinese takeout dish, Sweet and Sour Pork, with a summertime makeover. Marinated pork grilled and basted with sweet and sour sauce.

Ingredients

• Pork Marinade
• ~1/3 cup Soy Sauce
• ~1/3 cup Pineapple Juice
• 1-2 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1.5 lbs. Pork Tenderloin (Country Ribs work well for this), cut into 1-inch pieces
• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• 1/3 cup White Sugar
• 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 tbsp. Pineapple Juice
• 3 tbsp. Ketchup
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp. Oyster Sauce
• 4 tsp. Corn Starch
• Water, as needed to loosen the sauce as it cools
• Skewers
• Vegetable Oil
• 1-2 Green Bell Peppers, sliced into roughly 1-inch pieces
• 1 Onion, sliced into roughly 1-inch pieces
• 1 14-oz. can of Pineapple Chunks, packed in 100% Pineapple Juice
• 1 Fresh Jalapeño, thinly sliced for garnish

Instructions

Pork Marinade

1

Place the pieces of pork in a bowl and pour the marinade ingredients in to cover the meat. Toss to combine. Cover and set aside.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

2

Combine the apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, pineapple juice, ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch in a measuring cup and whisk to fully combine.

3

Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Reduce temperature to keep it at a low simmer. Whisk the sauce as it cooks to thicken. Once it's thickened a bit and is a smooth, caramel-like sauce. remove from heat. Portion out about one third of the sauce for drizzling over the finished dish. The remaining sauce we use to baste the skewers as they grill.

4

The sweet and sour sauce will tighten, or stiffen as it cools, so as we use it, we will add a little water (as needed) to loosen the sauce to keep it brush-able and pourable. Set the sauce aside while we skewer the meat and veggies.

Skewers

5

Skewer the meat and veggies however you like, keeping each skewer proportioned evenly between the meat and the veggies. Continue skewering until the meat and veggies are all skewered.

6

Set up your grill pan over high heat. Flick some water on the pan after a few minutes of heating and if the water immediately bubbles and evaporates, we are ready to oil the grill and the skewers. Brush vegetable oil on the grill and drizzle vegetable oil the skewers. If the griddle shows wisps of smoke, slightly reduce the burner.

7

Carefully arrange the skewers on the oiled grill. We will cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Total cook time is about 12-16 minutes. Turn the skewers as they develop color to keep an even browning and cooking. Adjust the burners as needed to keep things sizzling, but not burning. Char marks are good, and it's important to cook the pork all the way through. So to keep it from getting away from you, reduce the burners to medium or medium-high.

8

After the skewers have made one complete turn, begin basting with the sweet and sour sauce. Remember to stir in a little water if the sauce is too tight. Then continue turning and basting the skewers. When the pork is looking done: it's firmer to the touch and looking more grey than pink, temp the meat.

9

Pork is fully cooked at 145 degrees F. Pull the skewers off the grill when the internal meat temp is at 145 degrees. Place the skewers on a sheet tray for service and top with sliced fresh jalapeño for a little heat. Serve the reserved sauce on the side. Remember to stir a little water into the sauce to loosen it up to a pourable consistency.

Notes

One 14-oz. can of pineapple should yield enough pineapple for the skewers and enough juice for the marinade and sweet and sour sauce.

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