This pork yuk sung recipe is so quick and easy to make in 20 minutes. Pork mince is cooked in a delicious combination of Chinese herbs and spices, then a homemade sweet and sour sauce. Then enjoy in small lettuce cups as a low-carb main or a healthy appetizer.
🥗What is Yuk Sung?
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that there are some recipes in our lives that we make regularly without realising it has a name. Especially as I love Asian flavours!
This was true for this pork Yuk Sung. It is pan-fried ground meat cooked with onions, ginger, and garlic, then fried in a sweet and sour sauce before spooning over lettuce.
There’s no need to pay yuk sung Chinese restaurant prices as this low-carb weekday meal is so quick and full of flavour. It also makes great party finger food or a tasty side dish that I’m sure your guests (or family) will love!
Jump to:
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Note, you can find my full recipe for my delicious Chinese lettuce wraps at the bottom of this page.
Oil – we used rapeseed oil to crisp the vegetables stir-fried in the pan
Minced pork – this is the main protein in the dish which can be swapped for any ground meat. If coarse cut meat, chop it into small pieces
Onion – diced and sauteéd
Cloves garlic – minced or grated to add more complexity to the flavour
Ginger – pureé or freshly grated for a warming taste
Celery – not essential, but diced into very small cubes as we love the added flavour
Vegetables – red bell pepper, diced, and a carrot grated or diced for sweetness and contrasts of textures
Water chestnuts – an extra cost that’s worth it for the texture addition, cut into matchstick width cubes
Salt and black pepper as seasoning to taste
Yuk Sung Sauce
- Oyster sauce – or hoisin sauce for a sticky sweet taste
- Light soy sauce – to add salt to balance the sweetness
- Dark soy sauce – for colour
- Sesame seed oil – a tablespoon of sesame oil really enhances the flavour with a toasted nutty taste
- Cornflour – or xantham gum to thicken the sauce overall
- Sherry vinegar – for acidity, or dry sherry, or use rice wine
- Honey – or a pinch of sugar or sweetener
- Water – to make a cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce
For Serving
- Lettuce leaf – little gem lettuce, or you can use an iceberg lettuce – cut the stalk off and separate leaves before running under a cold tap and dry with kitchen paper
- Spring onions – sliced as a warm, fresh garnish
- Fresh coriander – for a delightful fragrant taste
- Red chilli – sliced and sprinkled at the end for a pinch of heat if desired
📋 Instructions
First, in a small bowl mix all of the Yuk Sung sauce together until the cornflour has dissolved and set aside.
For the next part, add oil to a large pan or wok and season the pork to shallow fry over medium-high heat until everything has turned grey.
Add the remaining ingredients except for the sauce and fry over medium heat for 8 minutes while stirring occasionally.
For the next stage, pour in the sauce, and stir occasionally while frying for a final 5 minutes.
Spoon into lettuce leaves and top with spring onions, red chilli, coriander, and an extra tablespoon of sesame oil if desired.
Tip: you could also serve with noodles on top or on a leafy green salad instead of large lettuce leaves and enjoy Asian cooking at its best!
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make:
- Soy sauce – use Tamari sauce for gluten free
- Lighter options – use lean pork for low fat content and fry in low calorie cooking oil spray and low carb sauces. And focus more on extra quick stir fry veg like broccoli, button mushrooms, courgettes/zucchini, etc
- Vegetarian – pork mixture can be made with bulgar wheat, veggie mince, or crispy tofu for a plant based meat yuk sung, or a variety of vegetables and vegetarian or vegan oyster sauce by Lee Kum Kee
- Keto – for a Keto low carb diet, add zoodles (courgetti) that you can easily stir fry and use xantham gum and sugar free alternatives, such as stevia brown sugar, honey and keto oyster sauce
- Other meats – swap for a ground beef yuk sung recipe, lean turkey, chicken mince, etc
⚖️ Variations
Here are a few simple ingredients to add to personalise for the whole family to dish out of a serving bowl:
- Spicy – add red chilli flakes while cooking if you like a fair bit of heat
- Deluxe – add bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, a handful of vermicelli rice noodles and drizzle with an extra tablespoon of sesame oil and sesame seeds
- Kid friendly – omit the chilli for a mild taste and serve with noodles or chips instead of in a leaf of an iceberg lettuce
You might also like to crisp lettuce leaves with this leftover pork carnitas recipe.
🔪 Equipment
To make this Chinese appetizer, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links.
❄️ Storage
Storing – we prefer eating Pork Yuk Sung fresh, but it can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing – cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating – If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove.
💡Pro Tips
- Save money by restoring the crisp leaf of the iceberg lettuce by placing it in a bowl of iced water
- If using dried shiitake mushrooms, why not use a tablespoon of that water instead of ordinary water to make your cornflour slurry for extra flavour?
- While making the sweet soy sauce mixture, mix the cornflour or Xantham gum with water first, otherwise, you’ll get lumps. Don’t worry if it has though, as they’ll disappear while cooking.
- If preferred, you can marinate the ground pork in the Yuk Sung sauce ingredients for 3-3.5 hours in the fridge. You could also try adding star anise if you’re feeling fancy.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Noodles: instead of lettuce cups, it would also taste great with slow cooker noodles or stirred into some straight-to-wok udon noodles.
Rice: serve with a side like stir fried rice for a more filling option. use white or brown rice, and cook with extra vegetables.
Tortilla wraps: make pork yuk sung wraps and add fresh salad to the top, such as lettuce, tomato, and diced onions.
❓ FAQ
The best way to describe it is that it’s a delicious sweet-and-sour recipe. You can make it salty (or less) if preferred and has an infusion of fresh ginger, garlic, chilli, honey and dark soy sauce.
The easiest way I find is to cut the stalk off the bottom, then gently separate the leaves, one at a time from the base while upside down under a running cold tap.
Whether you’re using chicken mince or even turkey mince, try to keep it in the fridge for a maximum of 2-3 days. Then reheat in the microwave or frying pan until piping hot again.
Instead of using sherry vinegar, yes, you could swap for dry sherry, or rice wine for a richer flavour.
Yuk sung is traditionally made with fresh shiitake mushrooms, but you can add soaked Chinese mushrooms by soaking them in warm water first for at least 30 minutes. Then squeeze as much water out as possible before cooking.
➕ More Pork Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
🍽️Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve Yuk Sung:
📖 Recipe
Pork Yuk Sung Recipe
This pork yuk sung recipe is so quick and easy to make, in 20 minutes. Pork mince is cooked in a delicious combination of Chinese herbs and spices, then a homemade sweet and sour sauce. Then enjoy in small lettuce cups as a low-carb main or a healthy appetizer.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
Cut the stalk base off the mini gem lettuces to separate the leaves and wash with salted water and leave to dry.
To mix the Yuk Sung sauce together, start with the cornflour and water until dissolved, then the remaining ingredients and set aside.
Add the oil to the pan along with the salt, pepper and pork mince, then fry until everything has turned grey.
Now add the remaining ingredients except the sauce and fry for a further 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in the sauce, and stir occasionally while frying for a final 5 minutes, then spoon into the lettuce cups.
Top with spring onions and chilli, then enjoy!
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World’s website can be found at Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Notes
- Save money by restoring the crisp leaf of the iceberg lettuce by placing it in a bowl of iced water
- If using dried shiitake mushrooms, why not use a tablespoon of that water instead of ordinary water to make your cornflour slurry for extra flavour?
- While making the sweet soy sauce mixture, mix the cornflour or Xantham gum with water first, otherwise, you’ll get lumps. Don’t worry if it has though, as they’ll disappear while cooking.
- If preferred, you can marinate the ground pork in the Yuk Sung sauce ingredients for 3-3.5 hours in the fridge. You could also try adding star anise if you’re feeling fancy.
Nutrition
Calories: 514kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 24gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 977mgPotassium: 687mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 4019IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 3mg
Leave feedback about this