This Dongbei Guo Bao Rou (东北鍋包肉) looks and sounds distant to many. The lighter color of the finished dish may also seem curious compared to our typical dark soy sauce braised dishes or brightly colored Chinese takeout recipes. You’ll also notice that there’s no English translation here. As I see it, Guo Bao Rou is a more delicate version of Sweet and Sour Pork.
This Dongbei Guo Bao Rou isn’t a renowned dish. It has humble origins in Harbin during the Qing Dynasty, when it was apparently originally created for foreigners living there during that time period. But a reader requested it, and when we say “we’ll add it to the list,” we mean it!
Here’s what we look for in a well-executed Guo Bao Rou: robust sweet and sour flavor and a super crunchy and crispy texture that’s tender inside. As I write this, it boggles my mind how artful cooking can be. Every ingredient, every set timing, and every temperature change can affect the outcome of the recipe. I know you don’t usually hear me saying this, since I prefer to make things as simple as possible, but this Guo Bao Rou is a dish that requires full attention to detail. Here are a few notes on the recipe:
- The pork is cut slightly thicker and marinated with water to ensure it stays tender and juicy.
- Potato starch is the star of this dish. Please don’t try to substitute another ingredient! You’ll be amazed by this potato starch batter; if you eat a piece of fried pork before you coat it in sauce, the crispy coating crunches. If you’ve never used potato starch before, you’ll be hooked! Feel free to repurpose this batter for other dishes.
- The frying temperature should be set at 250 to 300 degrees F, which is low for frying pork. However, in this case, we’re trying to fry the batter to a crisp while keeping the pork tender. There are two rounds of frying, similar to french fries. The first frying cooks the pork and the second ensures the batter turns golden brown.
- The sweet and sour sauce is the only element of this dish you can adjust to your liking. If you like your sauce lighter, don’t let it reduce and thicken as much. Either way though, you’re looking for a sheer and shimmering finish on your pork. Pretty tantalizing, huh?
Happy wokking, and I hope you find this version of “Sweet and Sour Pork” pleasing to your palate!
You’ll need:
- 1 pound pork loin
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus another ½ teaspoon (divided)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 3 tablespoons water, plus 1 ½ cups (divided)
- 230 grams potato starch (about 1⅓ cup)
- ½ cup sugar (about 115 grams)
- 150ml rice vinegar, 4.5% acidity (about ½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ of a small carrot, julienned
- 4 scallions, the white parts only
- 1 small handful cilantro
Slice the pork loin into ¼-inch thick slices.
Marinate with 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, and 3 tablespoons water, working the ingredients thoroughly into the pork pieces. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator.
In a medium bowl (large enough to fit all the pork), dissolve the potato starch in 1½ cups of water, and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside for 15 minutes, or until the potato starch has completely settled to the bottom.
Now prepare the sauce by mixing the sugar, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and sesame oil together. Stir to dissolve, and set aside.
Take your potato starch, and slowly drain out the majority of the water, leaving behind the potato starch paste.
Add the pork slices to the bowl, and use your hands to ensure the pork is completely coated in the wet potato starch. Add a tablespoon of water at a time if the mixture is too dry and hard to work with.
Prepare the oil for frying in a deep pot or wok, heating it slowly to 250 to 300 degrees F––no higher, or the pork will overcook. Use a kitchen thermometer if needed! Carefully lower the pork pieces, one at a time, into the oil, leaving space in between, as they tend to stick together.
Fry each batch for 2 minutes, transferring the fried pork to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain.
When all of the pork has been fried once, bring the oil back up to 250 – 300 degrees F and fry the pork again in batches for about 30 seconds each batch.
Now you’re ready to put together the rest of the dish. If you fried the pork in your wok, carefully pour the hot oil into a heat-proof container, leaving about 1 tablespoon of it behind.
Heat the wok over medium heat. Cook the ginger and garlic briefly.
Add the sauce mixture, turn up the heat, and cook for about 2-3 minutes. You should have about ⅓ cup of sauce in the wok after it’s reduced. Next, add the carrot, scallions, cilantro, and fried pork.
Stir quickly so there is a thin layer of sauce coating each piece of pork. Serve immediately!
- 1 pound pork loin
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus another ½ teaspoon (divided)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 3 tablespoons water, plus 1 ½ cups (divided)
- 230 grams potato starch (about 1⅓ cup)
- ½ cup sugar (about 115 grams)
- 150ml rice vinegar, 4.5% acidity (about ½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ of a small carrot, julienned
- 4 scallions, the white parts only
- 1 small handful cilantro
- Slice the pork loin into ¼-inch thick slices. Marinate with 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, and 3 tablespoons water, working the ingredients thoroughly into the pork pieces. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator.
- In a medium bowl (large enough to fit all the pork), dissolve the potato starch in 1½ cups of water, and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside for 15 minutes, or until the potato starch has completely settled to the bottom.
- Now prepare the sauce by mixing the sugar, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and sesame oil together. Stir to dissolve, and set aside.
- Take your potato starch, and slowly drain out the majority of the water, leaving behind the potato starch paste. Add the pork slices to the bowl, and use your hands to ensure the pork is completely coated in the wet potato starch. Add a tablespoon of water at a time if the mixture is too dry and hard to work with.
- Prepare the oil for frying in a deep pot or wok, heating it slowly to 250 - 300 degrees F––no higher, or the pork will overcook. Carefully lower the pork pieces, one at a time, into the oil, leaving space in between, as they tend to stick together. Fry each batch for 2 minutes, transferring the fried pork to a wire rack to drain. When all of the pork has been fried once, bring the oil back up to 250 - 300 degrees F and fry the pork again in batches for about 30 seconds each batch.
- Now you’re ready to put together the rest of the dish. If you fried the pork in your wok, carefully pour the hot oil into a heat-proof container, leaving about 1 tablespoon of it behind.
- Heat the wok over medium heat. Cook the ginger and garlic briefly. Add the sauce mixture, turn up the heat, and cook for about 2-3 minutes. You should have about ⅓ cup of sauce in the wok after it’s reduced. Next, add the carrot, scallions, cilantro, and fried pork. Stir quickly so there is a thin layer of sauce coating each piece of pork. Serve immediately!
J says
Used to eat this all the time in China and was so excited to try. I followed everything exactly and… not much of a result. The batter didn’t stick to the pork and was such a gluey mess some of it wouldn’t even come off the paper towels and had to be trashed. Never got crispy and there’s almost no batter left on the pork by the end anyway. Is there some secret type of potato starch you’re using? The pics you have are spot on but nothing at all like what happened in my wok.
Judy says
Hi J, I showed the potato starch I used in one of the photos. You should not have the problem you mentioned if you used that ingredient. Cornstarch would also work for this dish, but I like potato starch because it makes the coating extra crunchy.
Monica Liu says
I’ve loved this dish since I was a kid so happy to finally see a recipe for it. I’ve tried making this a few times, the pork comes out OK, but whenever I add the sauce to it the starch coating starts falling apart and turns into sticky jelly. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.
Judy says
Hi Monica, can you tell me if you made any changes to the recipe? This will help me understand the problem better.
Katie Wong says
You have no idea how happy I am to come across this recipe! I lived in Sichuan for 4 years, and we went to a restaurant that serves this dish once a week! (Also had great gan bian si ji dou, gan bian tu dou si and gong bao ji ding for our American guests). I can’t wait to try this. I miss the way the ginger would hit the roof of your mouth when you took the first bite through that crunchy goodness!
Judy says
Hi Katie, sounds like you have very high standards when it comes to food. Hope this recipe will not disappoint. :-)
Matt Bockbrader says
Wow! This was one of the best recipes I’ve made off your blog and I have made quite a few. I used tenderloin and think I cut the pieces too small, as I was frying forever. I don’t know if I drained too much water off the starch, but it reminded me of a grade school science demo about non-Newtonian solids.
Judy says
Hi Matt, you can afford to cut the pork in big slices and slightly thicker for more pork flavor. So glad you enjoyed it!
Emily says
So I tried this recipe last week, the taste was spot on and it was enjoyed by my entire family! The only trouble I seem to be having is cutting the pork into the right shape – when I tried to cut the slice they tended to just fall apart/smush a bit, any tips?
Judy says
Hi Emily, pork tenderloin should not fall apart; try cutting it slightly thicker.
Julian says
Hi Guys,
Loving all the new recipes as always! We had this last night and the final outcome was glorious! One thing we noticed was that at 225 fahrenheit during the first fry, the coating barely crisped at all and it left a jelly like coating which stuck to everything! I decided to crank the oil heat up to 325 and it worked for the double frying and went beautifully crunchy. Just an observation from a very happy cook!
Ka says
i agree. that has to be some typo. 225 F is just too low and the pork is just absorbing the oil at such a low temperature. +325F or even 425F to achieve a nice crunchy pork. i got mostly jelly when i tried at the lower temperature. i will have to try this recipe again at the higher temperature. At least i only used half of the pork tenderloin
Judy says
Hi Ka, I think I know the problem, I fry the pork in my wok and my stove has high BTU so it can keep the temperature up even after adding the pork. I decide to revise the frying temperature to: 250 to 300. The key is that the oil should not smoke when adding the pork but it should sizzle nicely.
Ka says
Hey Judy, is there a difference between sweet potato starch and regular potato starch? It’s a lingering question I had for many many years
Judy says
Hi Ka, I am so sorry, I don’t know enough to answer this question.
Judy says
Hi, Julian, thank you so much for pointing that out. I think I know what the problem is. I fry the pork in my wok, and my stove has high BTUs so it can keep the temperature up even after adding the pork. I decided to revise the frying temperature to: 250 to 300. The key is that the oil should not smoke when adding the pork, but it should sizzle nicely.
Sandor says
I agree too. 225F is about 107 Celsius which is the temperature of boiling water. Did not happen anything just disaster as Julian described before. So I had to throw away all of the oil batter meat jelly complex. Fortunately you would not have understood my Hungarian verbal ventilate while I have tried to save that Sunday lunch (what a spluttering was when I put back the jelly meat to the oil secondly). I have recovered from Dongbei Guo Bao Rou breakdown now so I am able to think again making Chinese food. But no deep fry recipe just some straight stuff. I leave it to professionals. :)
Judy says
So sorry, Sandor, I’ve since updated the recipe (before receiving your comment) and adjusted the oil temperature to 250 – 300 degrees. Also, remember to use a thin bottomed vessel like a wok to fry the pork, because it transfers the heat quickly.
Natalie Ellis says
I love this dish, I still remember I’ve eaten this a few times at a Chinese restaurant and completely hooked by it!
Thanks for sharing!! I definitely try it soonnn
Judy says
Hope you like it, Natalie.
Grace says
Hi Judy,
Do you know what is pork loin in chinese? I need to ask my mum get the pork from the wet market as my usual pork seller only has tenderloin.
Judy says
Hi Grace, it’s 里脊肉.
Grace says
Thanks Judy!
Am going to try it out this Saturday. Will update again *excited*
Alan J Sommerman says
How long can the fried pork sit before finishing the dish?
Judy says
Hi Alan, the whole dish should be done in one “sitting”.
Lisa Havelka says
No, no, really! I just found your other sweet and sour pork recipe! Don’t make me choose between them!
Judy says
LOL…don’t choose, make them all.