Seasoned Advice Asked by Vass on January 7, 2021
Most recipes for sweet and sour pork/chicken I see include pineapple example.
But what if someone does not like pineapple?
What are candidate substitutes?
Do they necessarily need to be fruits?
What purpose/taste-component does the pineapple serve?
The recipe title kind of answers the question--it is the sweet, and some of the sour. Pineapple also has a good firmness. Note that all of the below is speculation, as this is a most unusual substitution request, so I haven't tried any of this.
Fruit will best serve the role of both tart and sour, so almost every reasonable substitute is going to be fruit.
You have indicated you don't like the flavor of pineapple, which for your goal, is probably good as nothing else will provide that distinctive flavor. While my first choice would be to not make this recipe, where you don't enjoy one of the signature ingredients, if you do, then you want something that:
In the recipe you cite, the pineapple is canned, so you are not losing its enzymatic action, as the enzymes in the pineapple were deactivated by the heat during the canning process.
What comes first to my mind is mango, perhaps with a mixture of lime and orange juice to replace the acidity of the pineapple juice, and maybe a touch of sugar to balance the flavor. You will have to find the right balance, depending on your particular fruit--you may want extra acidity from lemon juice, even, or perhaps extra sugar. I would use something that adds complexity like brown sugar or turbadino depending on where you live if it is needed.
If you try this, however, you will be inventing essentially a new dish, and will have to work out how long to cook the mixture.
Another more radical choice would be canned peaches, perhaps using some of their syrup for sweetness, and again, lemon or lime juice mixed with orange juice for the acidity. This will probably be even more divergent, but peaches have a good floral complexity, and with enough lemon juice, you should be able to find the sweet/sour balance. Of course, this would be far from authentic.
Correct answer by SAJ14SAJ on January 7, 2021
To my mind the pineapple serves two purposes - to provide (some of) the sweetness of the dish, and to provide an interesting texture.
Adding some orange juice works well for the sweet flavour, but pieces of orange would not be the right texture. I find slices of water chestnut and bamboo shoot give a good texture combination to replace the pineapple chunks.
Answered by Vicky on January 7, 2021
Canned lychee works really well, it is sweet, slightly floral and has a distinct texture that stays relatively firm during cooking.
There is a KAPOW (technical term for zowee) factor to the pineapple that really can't be duplicated.
Canned mandarin slice work well too, but they don't stand up to heat very well, need to be added at the very end.
The juice from both work well in the sweet component for a sweet and sour sauce.
Answered by David on January 7, 2021
Peaches- apricots- oranges or juice- pineapple juice instead of chunks-
Answered by jessica on January 7, 2021
Canned Mandarin Oranges might work for some recipes that are cold or room temperature. Once cut the have a similar texture & the juice is similar to pineapple juice and that would probably work in most recipes.
Answered by Holly Stuffle McCammack on January 7, 2021
Chinese plum sweet & sour mix is one of my favorites. You can find recipes online. Also mango with a dose of red cane rum in it, but made about the same as plum. Use sweet, ripe to slightly overripe mangoes.
Answered by J Bergen on January 7, 2021
From personal experience of not having canned/fresh pineapples in the kitchen, I just used a bit of lemon juice and an orange cut into large chunks.
Answered by Marco on January 7, 2021
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