Tangsuyuk

Tangsuyuk (Korean Sweet and Sour Pork)

A Korean-Chinese classic: crisp, chewy starch-battered pork strips served with a glossy sweet-and-sour sauce loaded with vegetables. Traditionally eaten two ways - dipped (bukk-eum) or poured over (deop-bap).

Prep

45 min

Cook

25 min

Total

70 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 1½ oz) pork loin or shoulder, cut into 5–6 cm (2 in) strips, about 5 mm thick
• •200 g (7 oz) potato starch, for the batter; cornstarch works as substitute
• •100 ml (3½ fl oz) cold water
• •1 whole egg white
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine salt
• •10 g (2 tsp) sugar, for seasoning the pork
• •10 ml (2 tsp) soy sauce
• •5 g (2 tsp) grated garlic
• •1000 ml (4 cups) neutral frying oil, for deep-frying, plus more for a second fry
• •150 g (1 medium) carrot, sliced thinly on the diagonal
• •150 g (1 medium) onion, cut into wedges
• •100 g (1 small) cucumber, seeded and sliced on the diagonal
• •15 g (1 small handful) dried wood ear mushroom, soaked in warm water 30 min, trimmed, sliced; fresh shiitake is a substitute
• •50 g (3½ tbsp) sugar, for the sauce
• •60 ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar, or white vinegar
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce
• •10 ml (2 tsp) sesame oil
• •200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) water or stock
• •20 g (2½ tbsp) potato starch, slaked with 3 tbsp water for thickening
• •5 g (1 tsp) grated fresh ginger
• •1 whole green chilli or mild red chilli, sliced, optional

Steps

1. 1 Marinate the pork: toss the strips with salt, sugar, soy sauce and garlic. Rest 20 minutes at room temperature (or up to overnight in the fridge).
2. 2 Make the batter: in a bowl, combine 200 g potato starch, cold water and egg white. It will be very thick and stiff - that is correct. Let it sit 5 minutes so the starch hydrates.
3. 3 Soak dried wood ear mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes until soft; trim off any hard base and slice into bite-sized strips. If using fresh shiitake, slice directly.
4. 4 Mix the sauce: whisk together water (or stock), sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil in a jug. Keep the potato-starch slurry separate.
5. 5 Heat 1000 ml oil in a deep pot or wok to 170 °C (340 °F). Use a thermometer - this matters for the texture.
6. 6 Coat the pork: add the pork to the batter and fold with your hands until every strip is thickly coated. The batter should cling in a heavy, uneven layer.
7. 7 Fry in batches: carefully lower coated strips into the oil, separating them with chopsticks. Fry 3–4 minutes until pale golden and set. Do not crowd. Remove to a rack. Oil temperature should recover to 170 °C between batches.
8. 8 Second fry (essential for crispness): raise oil to 190 °C (375 °F) and fry all the pork again for 1–2 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Drain on a rack.
9. 9 Cook the vegetables: in a wok or wide pan over high heat, add 1 tbsp oil. Stir-fry onion and carrot 1–2 minutes until just tender-crisp. Add cucumber and wood ear mushroom, toss 30 seconds.
10. 10 Add the sauce mixture to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Stir the starch slurry, pour it in while stirring, and cook 1–2 minutes until the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Taste: it should be tangy first, then sweet.
11. 11 Serve immediately: either pour the sauce over the pork (deop-bap style) or plate the pork with the sauce on the side for dipping (bukk-eum style). Eat while crisp.
12. 12 Safety note: pork must reach an internal temperature of 63 °C (145 °F) with a 3-minute rest, or 71 °C (160 °F) if ground; the double fry at 190 °C (375 °F) for 1–2 minutes will achieve this for strips cut 5 mm thick. Keep oil below 200 °C (390 °F) to avoid smoke and fire risk; never leave hot oil unattended, and keep water away from the fryer.