Sweet-and-Sour Pork Made with Carbquick Baking Mix

Here's How I Took the Carbs Out of Hubby's Favorite
Oriental Dish: Sweet-and-Sour Pork

One of hubby's favorite foods is Sweet-and-Sour Pork.

He likes the chicken version too, which you can easily do with this recipe as well, but given the choice, he prefers the pork.

This keto-friendly recipe is as close to an authentic sweet-and-sour recipe as I could get it and still have it fit into our low-carb lifestyle. The adaption wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, thanks to Carbquick Baking Mix.

I took the authentic Sweet-and-Sour Pork recipe that I've been using for years and simply adapted it to be Atkins-friendly by using a product called Carbquick Baking Mix.

Carbquick is high in wheat protein, so it's not gluten free.

I want to make that clear, right from the start. This is a recipe that I created after I returned to keto in 2007 and before I discovered that hubby and I have celiac disease.

The bake mix is ridiculously low in carbs when compared to all-purpose wheat flour and works just about the same way, except that it's super high in fiber. It's a good way to get more fiber into your diet if you're not fond of vegetables.

Similar to Bisquick, this low-carb baking mix is packed with little balls of palm-oil shortening instead of Crisco. Some people don't like the taste of palm oil, but it's pretty easy to mask the flavor, especially when you're topping your pork or chicken nuggets with a flavorful sweet-and-sour sauce.

Unlike the type of Sweet-and-Sour Pork nuggets that you'll find at those fast-food oriental places, the pork balls don't come out really hard and crispy. This is because you aren't using cornstarch in this recipe, so the breading comes out softer.

I turned the cornstarch coating into a batter, which is exactly what hubby has to have because he doesn't have any bottom teeth.

At only 7 net carbs per serving, the softness that Carbquick brings to this oriental classic is an acceptable compromise.

(Make sure that you pin this recipe, so you have it handy when you're ready to make this. If you try it out, please come back and let us know how you liked it!)

Products I Used Making Keto-Friendly Sweet-and-Sour Pork

Many low-carb flour alternatives come with a funny off-taste, especially those made with soy flour, but the Carbquick Baking Mix doesn't have that problem.

Keto-Friendly Carbquick Baking Mix

(Available at Amazon)

The Resistant Wheat Starch I combined it with isn't mandatory, and maybe not even necessary for this recipe. I don't know. Since hubby and I are now gluten free, I can't make it without the wheat starch to find out.

The purpose of the starch was to help mask any odd taste in the Carbquik, which didn't happen.

Like vital wheat gluten, Resistant Wheat Starch is very low in carbs and can be found at Netrition.com. It is 1 net carb per tablespoon, due to its high fiber content and resistant properties.

I used Raspberry flavored Crystal Light to color and help flavor the sweet sauce, but any flavor of red powdered soft-drink mix will work, I think.

Originally, I used a Splenda Quick Pack to sweeten the sauce. The quick packs were designed to sweeten Kool-Aid in 2007, so they didn't have a lot of maltrodextrin filler in them, but they didn't sweeten Kool-Aid very well, so they are no longer available.

Since the quick pack is only used for sweetening the sauce, and you don't need a bulk sweetener for this, any liquid sugar substitute you like will work just fine.

Another product I originally used in this recipe was Not-Sugar.

Not-Sugar was a special blend of vegetable gums formulated to give sauces and baked goods the same texture as sugar. It was a blend of different fibers and not slimy like guar gum can be if you use too much.

Like the Splenda Quick Pack, Not-Sugar is no longer available.

Today, the most popular low-carb thickener is Thick-it-Up by Dixie Carb Counters. It is available at Amazon.

A blend of vegetable gums, it can be used to thicken soups, sauces, and gravies. It works in a similar way to the Not-Sugar, but is much more potent. You don't need to use nearly as much.

There will be enough sauce to glaze everything nicely, but if you're serving this with riced cauliflower, you will probably want to make more sauce.

Low-Carb Sweet-and-Sour Pork

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pork, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 to 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup Reduced-Sugar Ketchup
• 1 cup prepared Crystal Light Drink Mix (any type, red)
• 1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla
• Sugar substitute to equal 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp Thick-it-Up
• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• small onion cut up into chunks
• a bell pepper cut up into chunks
• 1/2 cup Carbquik Baking Mix
• 1 tbsp Resistant Wheat Starch (optional)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp water

Cut pork into bite sized pieces and place in a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle with baking soda and a tablespoon or two of water, and stir to mix well. Please, don't skip this step. Baking soda tenderizes the pork. Cover the bowl tightly and marinate the pork in the refrigerator for several hours before cooking.

When ready to eat:

In a medium saucepan, combine ketchup, Crystal Light, vinegar, vanilla, sweetener, and Thick-it-Up. Whisk thoroughly to break up any lumps. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and allow the sauce to simmer, stirring constantly, until it reaches desired thickness.

It should be about as thick as a very thin gravy.

Meanwhile, in a non-stick skillet or wok heat the peanut oil. Saute onion and bell pepper until crispy-tender. You can add a tbsp or two of water and cover for a minute or so to get it more done if you like. Set aside to cool slightly, then add to the red sauce.

Heat 3 or 4 inches of peanut oil in a heavy cast iron skillet.

Combine Carbquick Baking Mix and wheat starch, if using. Blend well, then stir in the egg. Add water 1 tbsp at a time and stir until smooth. Add the batter to the pork cubes and stir to coat. It will look like there is not enough batter.

Drop each piece of battered pork into the hot oil, being careful not to over crowd the pan. Stir several times with a slotted spoon, flipping them over so they brown on all sides. It will take about 5 or 6 minutes depending upon your altitude and how big the pork pieces are.

I like to make mine a bit on the small side. If yours are larger, they might take 10 minutes.

With a medium sized skillet it will take two batches to cook them all. When nice and brown, and cooked through, remove the pork balls with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Once all the pork is cooked, dump the chunks into a large bowl. Top with the sauce and stir to coat well.

Makes 3 servings, about 7 net carbs each. 

If You Don't Want to Use Carbquick

To make this recipe without the Carbquick Baking Mix, you can saute the onion and bell pepper in the peanut oil as recommended, then remove the veggies to a platter to cool slightly.

In the same skillet, saute the pork (or use chicken breast) until well done. You probably want it a bit crispy to closer imitate the crispiness of a sweet-and-sour dish, so add a bit more oil and don't rush this step.

You can also dredge the pork cubes in some whey protein powder to improve crispness. I've never tried this with almond flour or coconut flour, as I think the nuggets would come out a bit gritty doing it that way, so I have no idea how to make those substitutions.

Once the pork or chicken cubes are well browned, combine them with the sauce.

There are 3 net carbs in the 1/2 cup of Carbquick baking mix, so leaving it out will make each serving 6 net carbs, plus whatever carbs are in your protein powder if you decide to use that.