Air-Fryer Sweet & Sour Pork Balls
Pork mince balls air-fried until crisp on the outside, then tossed in a glossy sweet-and-sour sauce that's the right kind of sticky. The Chinese-takeaway classic, made at home in under forty minutes. Better than the takeaway, because hotter.
Sweet-and-sour pork is the Chinese-takeaway classic that took British and Australian high streets by storm decades ago and never left. The takeaway version is usually battered cubes of pork in a neon-orange sauce that's mostly sugar. This homemade version replaces batter with seasoned pork mince balls — still crisp on the outside from air-frying, but more tender and savoury inside.
The sauce is balanced rather than candy-sweet: rice vinegar for the sour, brown sugar and ketchup for the sweet, soy and sesame for depth, cornflour to thicken. Made in a pan in 5 minutes while the pork cooks.
The photo shows the pork balls piled on a white plate: deeply glossed in a red-orange sauce, spring onions scattered across the top, the kind of glaze that catches the light. A small ramekin of extra sauce in the corner.
Method
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01
Mix the pork balls
Combine pork, panko, onion, garlic, egg, soy, ginger, five-spice,
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02
Shape
Roll into 20 balls, golf-ball-sized.
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03
Air fry
Heat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Spray balls with oil. Cook in a
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04
Make the sauce
While balls cook: combine ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy, pineapple
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05
Toss
Transfer cooked balls to a bowl. Pour over the sauce, toss to coat.
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06
Plate
Tip balls onto rice. Scatter spring onions, sesame seeds, and