MUZIChinese Matrix
Shandong Cuisine · FFET10178
Strips of pork tenderloin, marinated, battered and fried crisp, then tossed in a sweet-and-sour sauce of sugar, vinegar and ketchup.
A round white porcelain plate holds crisp pork tenderloin strips coated in glossy red sweet-and-sour ketchup sauce, with ginger and toasted white sesame seeds scattered on top, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the plate.
Represented by the cooking of Jinan and the Jiaodong coast, strong in quick-fire and braising methods, with stock-making as its hallmark.
Tang cu li ji is a dish of pork tenderloin cut into strips, marinated, coated in batter and fried crisp, then tossed in a sweet-and-sour sauce cooked from sugar, vinegar and ketchup. One method uses flour and cornstarch batter and fries the strips twice, first at a lower and then a higher heat; another coats them in egg and then cornstarch and pan-fries them. It differs from Cantonese gu lou rou. Its origin is unsettled: it is classified as Zhejiang cuisine and is also well known in Shandong, Sichuan and Cantonese cooking; a Shandong cuisine entry does not list it, and a claim that it comes from Jiangsu lacks a cited source.
Tang cu li ji is pork tenderloin cut into strips, marinated, battered, fried crisp and tossed in a sweet-and-sour sauce cooked from sugar, vinegar and ketchup. It differs from Cantonese gu lou rou; the English phrase sweet and sour pork mostly means the Cantonese dish, not this one.1,2,6,7
No dated text for this dish was found. The account of a sweet-and-sour item on a Tang banquet menu of 708 is quoted from a 2012 book; it concerns the flavor in general and does not name tang cu li ji, so it is only a side note.2
Its place of origin is unsettled. It is classified as Zhejiang cuisine and is also well known in Shandong, Sichuan and Cantonese cooking. A claim that it comes from Jiangsu lacks a cited source; a Shandong cuisine entry lists sweet-and-sour carp and sweet-and-sour loin shreds but not this dish. Harbin's guo bao rou is a related Northeastern dish developed by chef Zheng Xingwen from Beijing quick-fried pork slices; that account gives no year and does not mention tang cu li ji.1,2,3,4,5
One method marinates the strips with white pepper, salt, wine, sugar and ginger, coats them in flour, cornstarch and water batter, fries them at about 160 degrees Celsius and ref fries them at about 200 degrees Celsius for 6 to 10 seconds; the sauce combines ketchup, sugar, vinegar, scallion-ginger water and a starch slurry. Another marinates the strips for 15 minutes in salt and oil, coats them in egg and then cornstarch, and pan-fries them in batches, with a sauce of ketchup, cider vinegar, Shaoxing wine, brown sugar and starch. The methods and ingredients differ; this entry sets no standard.6,7
No source was found that explains why the dish became popular. A legend ties it to Qin Shi Huang's liking for sweet and sour flavors, but this is a retold tale, and no text from the Qin period mentions the dish.5
No intangible heritage listing, time-honored brand or output figure was found for the dish. The English phrase sweet and sour pork mostly means Cantonese gu lou rou, while tang cu li ji is described as a northern Chinese version.1,2,6,7
Legend has it that Qin Shi Huang liked sweet and sour flavors, and a soldier's mother, hoping her son would be promoted, cooked this dish for him. He praised it, and the dish spread.
Told in: A popular tale, told by an English-language travel guide (updated August 13, 2025). No text from the Qin period mentions the dish, so this is only a story that circulates.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is my simplified home version of tang cu li ji, fried twice in an ordinary wok. The batter amounts and the double frying follow the recipe author Elaine, while the ratio of ketchup, sugar and vinegar in the sauce is my own choice at home, informed by her recipe and one by Maggie Zhu; the two differ in how they fry and how they make the sauce. The frying times and heat are my own judgment, not copied from either one.
Allergens: wheat, sesame
