Full of flavor, these homemade pork fritters are savory and rich. They’re a meat-lover’s favorite. With only 8 ingredients, they can be made into a weeknight meal or served as an appetizer.
Updated post (2020) with new process photos and frying tips.
Calling life hectic lately has been an understatement. We recently got these whitewashed oak floors installed on the second level of our house and they look amazing, but I’ve had hardly any time for anything else. I want to give a huge shoutout to family for helping us move all our furniture off the top floor and back again. I guess that’s one of the bright sides of having a large family!
Another benefit is learning recipes from each other. This particular one comes from my Grandmother on my Dad’s side. I call these my Grandma’s Chinese pork fritters. These savory patties are made out of pork and onions and using mostly pantry ingredients, they are incredibly easy to make. The cornstarch helps bind the ingredients together and prevents the patties from tasting dry. My grandmother would fry these up for me and my brother every time we visited her and family in Taiwan. I hope you get a chance to try these out and if you do, don’t forget to let me know how they turn out!
Why You’ll Love these Pork Fritters
- Made in 1 bowl
- Crispy and flavorful
- Easily adaptable (Try this with another ground meat!)
- Perfect weeknight main or party appetizer
- Freezer-friendly
- Only 8 ingredients and most are in your pantry
Cooking Process
The process can be summed up in two simple steps:
- Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pan-fry. I’ve found it easier and faster to drop spoonfuls of the mixture straight onto the frying pan and then to flatten each with a spatula to create the round patties. You will have to pan-fry in batches.
Tips for Getting these Fritters Perfectly Crisp
While you might want to bake these to make them healthier, I would highly recommend pan-frying them instead. You’ll be rewarded with an extra crispy exterior.
- Use the right-sized pan. Use a pan that’s large enough to accommodate as many patties as you can but without overcrowding them.
- Heat the pan on high first. Make sure the pan starts out hot and then reduce the heat when you start panfrying.
- Oil your pan but don’t go overboard. Use a well-oiled paper towel to spread the oil around in your pan after each batch. If you only drizzle oil onto the pan, you’ll have unevenly crisp patties.
- Be patient. Plan to flip each fritter once. No prodding or moving them around.
- Notice the visual cues. The outer edges will start to brown and the fritter might start bubbling a little bit. That’s your cue to flip.
What goes great with these pork fritters
This recipe pairs well with a veggie, rice dish or even on its own. Check out the following for ideas!
Five Ingredient Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (芥蘭)
Stir-fried Spinach with Garlic
Yangzhou Fried Rice
I’ve definitely leaned on this recipe once or twice in the past few weeks. If you like making fritters, this will be a cinch for you! Enjoy, and don’t forget to comment down below!
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Grandma’s Pan-Fried Pork Fritters
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 14 - 2 inch patties 1x
- Category: Meat
- Method: Pan-fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Full of flavor, these homemade pork patties are savory and rich. They’re a meat-lover’s favorite. With only 8 ingredients, they can be made into a weeknight meal or served as an appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground pork (75% lean, 25% fat)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 6 T. cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Combine: Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pan-fry: Heat 1 T. of oil in a large pan. With a spoon, drop 1.5-2T. of the filling onto the pan and with a flat spatula, press down slightly until 1/4-inch thick. You can push the edges in slightly if needed to form a circle.
- Fry 2-3 minutes on medium high on each side or until tiny bubbles start forming. When the edges start to brown, it’s time to flip.
- Serve with rice and/or a veggie dish.
Keywords: Pork, Fritters
These pork fritters are such a godsend. I’ve been running out of ideas of what to make for dinner. What can I say, my creativity is just better exercised outside of the kitchen. For someone who is challenged with the dreaded question of “what to make for dinner?” (either from boredom or despair,) this recipe helped so much. It was juicy and every bite had so much flavor. And the onions!! We love onions. I was delighted to see that the onions were mixed into the fritters. Nice way to get some fiber and vegetables in ;). This recipe will definitely be a staple in my kitchen. It’s one of my favorite recipe of yours. Thanks so much for sharing a recipe that contains so much history and affection in the making.
★★★★★
Thanks Anne! I appreciate the kind words!
Hi Sharon – is that really 6 tablespoons of cornstarch? Just want to make sure I have it right – but it seems a lot…?
Yes! It may seem like a lot, but it’s what helps bind the pork together.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
★★★★★
Honestly, the cornstarch made the patties gummy, next time I would add some panko. Also some onion and garlik powder, and I fried them in sesame oil which gave them some extra flavor and a nice crisp!!!
★★★
Hi Jennifer! Glad you gave this a try! This is more of a traditional version of Taiwanese pork fritters, so the texture is probably slightly different from what you’re used to. The addition of sesame oil is a great idea – I may have to give that a try too!