Lychee-Style Sweet and Sour Pork
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Published October 30, 2026
12 ingredients
by WokBite Kitchen
15min Prep
45min Cook
60min Total
4Servings
MediumDifficulty
This Fujian home classic takes its name from the way the scored pork cubes curl and puff in the fryer, looking like lychee fruit. A quick marinade in egg white, rice wine and salt keeps the lean pork tender, while a heavy coating of cornstarch gives each piece a shatteringly crisp crust.
The sauce comes together fast: garlic and scallion sizzle in the wok, then ketchup, oyster sauce and a cornstarch slurry bubble down to a thick glaze. Fried pork and potato chunks go back in for a few minutes to soak up the flavor, and a few drops of white vinegar at the very end keep the whole dish bright and tangy.
Ingredients
Tap an item to tick it off- 400 g lean pork, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 scallion, white and green parts separated and finely chopped
- White vinegar, to taste
- 1 egg white
- 1 potato, peeled and cut into wedges
- 4 tbsp (about 70 g) ketchup
- Salt, to taste
- 180 g cornstarch
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp (about 15 g) oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp (about 15 g) Shaoxing rice wine
- Peanut oil, for frying
Method
1
Mince the garlic and finely chop the scallion, keeping the green tops aside; rinse the pork, slice it, score it in a crosshatch as you would squid, then cut it into small cubes.
2
Put the pork in a large bowl, add the egg white and 1 tbsp rice wine.
3
Season with salt, stir well and leave to marinate for 20 minutes; meanwhile peel the potato, rinse it and cut it into wedges.
4
Coat each marinated pork cube in cornstarch; heat a generous amount of peanut oil in a wok and fry the pork over medium-low heat.
5
Fry until golden, then lift out and drain; fry the potato wedges the same way until golden and set aside.
6
Pour off most of the oil, leaving a little in the wok, and stir-fry the garlic and chopped scallion until fragrant; add the ketchup and oyster sauce, stir over low heat, thicken with a cornstarch slurry and simmer until glossy and thick; add the fried pork and potato and toss for a few minutes so they absorb the sauce.
7
Finish with a few drops of white vinegar, toss to combine, scatter over the reserved scallion greens and serve.
8
Sweet, sour and crisp — a dish the whole family will enjoy.
Why this worksScoring the pork in a crosshatch lets it curl into lychee-like nuggets and helps the cornstarch cling, so don't skip it. Fry at medium-low heat so the crust sets and cooks through without burning, and add the vinegar only at the very end — boiling it in dulls the sharp, bright note that makes this dish sing.
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