Slow cooker sweet and sour pork made from scratch is the ideal midweek meal for a busy family! Tasty and full of flavour, it will go down well with the whole family, and is so easy to prepare.
Recipe inspiration
I was looking for a family meal for a wet late summer afternoon and the Cheeky Sweet and Sour Pork in My Family Kitchen by Sophie Thompson caught my eye so I decided to try it.
I decided to adapt the recipe to make a slow cooker sweet and sour pork since that would be more convenient for me.
Sophie does mention using a slow cooker for some of her recipes so I tried this one out in mine, reducing the liquid from the original recipe to compensate.
I left out the cashews as my children don’t like them, prepared the meal, popped it in the slow cooker and took my eldest daughter out to the cinema before her return to school.
When we got back I quickly prepared some plain boiled rice and served up in no time.
This meal is great as it is a tasty way to cook with pork. Diced pork is cheap and also low in fat so it is a good option for family mealtimes.
Ingredients
To make this slow cooker sweet and sour pork recipe you don’t need any jarred sauces or ready-made spice mixes. Just a few store cupboard ingredients and you’re done!
To make this sweet and sour pork you will need:
- olive oil
- lean pork
- cornflour (traditionally used in Chinese recipes to thicken sauces)
- pineapple chunks in juice
- white wine vinegar
- light brown sugar
- light soy sauce
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper
- cashew nuts (can be omitted)
- fresh coriander
My Family Kitchen review
I love a new cookbook and when I was sent My Family Kitchen by Sophie Thompson recently I knew it would be a great addition to my kitchen shelf.
If you watched Celebrity Masterchef last year, you will know Sophie Thompson was the worthy winner. You might also remember her as an actress from film and TV if you didn’t see Masterchef.
The book is a collection of recipes from four generations of Sophie’s family, as well as recipes from her friends and neighbours.
Because of this I found the recipes very varied which is great when you are looking for inspiration for a meal. You can just dive in and find something different in each chapter.
Recipes that have caught my eye and are to be tried soon include Corn, Cheese and Chilli Bread, Fish Kofta Curry, Saucy BBQ Chicken, Garlic, Coconut and Chicken Korma, Spicey Ricey Lamb Shoulder, Sally’s Bobotie, Chander Kapoors’s Awesome Aubergines, to name but a few.
There is also a lovely background to each recipe and where it came from, giving the book a great personal touch. It is as if you have been personally handed a book of handed-down recipes, carefully collected and stored away over a lifetime.
I treasure my family’s recipes so it is great to be able to share recipes from Sophie’s family as well.
My Family Kitchen is published by Faber & Faber, and available in hardback from 3rd September RRP £22. Order it here.
Recipe below for Cheeky Sweet and Sour Pork reproduced from My Family Kitchen by Sophie Thompson with the permission of the publisher. Note that I adapted the method from the book and am giving my slow cooker adaptation for the method.
Step by step
Step 1. Brown off the pork chunks. Coat with cornflour.
Step 2. Place the pork in the slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients including the pineapple chunks and juice.
Step 3. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Step 4. Garnish with the cashew nuts (if using) and coriander leaves. Serve with rice or noodles.
Recipe tips
- Rice or noodles go best as sides with sweet and sour pork.
- Garnish with coriander for some added colour.
- Vary the vegetables, baby aubergines and chunks of butternut squash would go well.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 500 g lean pork cut into 3 cm cubes
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 227 g can of pineapple chunks in juice
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 50 g soft light brown sugar can also use dark muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot peeled and cut into batons (I used my julienne peeler)
- 1 yellow and 1 red pepper de seeded and cut into strips
- 75 g unsalted cashew nuts (I omitted these)
- Small bunch of coriander leaves picked
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add the pork chunks. Brown on all sides. Sift the cornflour over the pork, turning to coat. Place the pork in the slow cooker (I used a 3.5 litre).1 tbsp olive oil, 500 g lean pork, 2 tsp cornflour
- Place the pineapple and juice in the slow cooker with the pork, and add the vinegar, sugar and soy sauce. Add the onion, carrot and peppers, stir to combine and turn the slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours.227 g can of pineapple chunks in juice, 4 tbsp white wine vinegar, 50 g soft light brown sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 onion, 1 large carrot, 1 yellow and 1 red pepper
- Toast the cashew nuts, if using, in a dry frying pan until golden and evenly coloured. Scatter the toasted cashews and coriander leaves over the pork.75 g unsalted cashew nuts, Small bunch of coriander
Notes
Leanne Bell says
Lasagne is a firm favourite in our house 🙂 x
claire little says
lentil soup
kelly holden says
Tomato and roasted red pepper soap
Lyndsey Jones says
My mum’s lasagne – absolutely perfect x
Caroline Signey (@Cazhow33) says
My mum does delicious cauliflour cheese
Rachel Wise says
Steamed date pudding
Cerys John says
Sausage casserole!