Tangsuyuk (Korean Sweet and Sour Pork)

Tangsuyuk is a very popular Korean Chinese dish. It is crispy deep fried pork coated with sweet and sour sauce. The pork is crunchy and the sauce is irresistible! 

I know you’re hungry and your patience is running short after looking at these crunchy sweet little bites. But hold on for a minute and let’s talk.

Tansuyuk / Tang soo yook / Tang su yuk (탕수육) is a very popular Korean Chinese dish known as Korean sweet and sour pork.

The pork is double deep fried and it’s crunchy. What’s more, the sauce! hmmmm

The right balance of sweetness and sourness is totally addictive and irresistible! OK, I’m in love.

Seriously, this is so good!

I order Tansuyuk whenever I go to my local Korean Chinese restaurant. I must say, it isn’t as good as my Tangsuyuk! It somewhat lacks in diversity and generosity. 😉

I must be upfront though. It’s not a quick 10 minutes recipe. You need to do some work (but it’s easy to follow through!) – Double deep frying in some heavy oil.

I know it doesn’t sound healthy but it’s unavoidable if you want crunchy sweet and sour pork! (Some might ask whether you can bake it in the oven? Well, I’m sure it won’t be the same, but you can go for it if you would like. Let us know how it turns out.)

And I will say this. The end result is totally worth it! Every minute of it! Anyway, I hope you try it soon.

P.S. Here are some good companion dishes you could enjoy with Tangsuyuk. Jajangmyeon (Korean black bean noodles), Jjampong (Korean spicy seafood noodle soup), and Korean radish pickles

The original recipe was posted on October 2006 and it’s been updated with new photographs.

Ingredients for Tangsuyuk, Serves 2 to 3

Meat

• 500 g / 1.1 pounds pork loin, cut into thin strips (about 1 cm x 5 cm)

*You can use beef or chicken instead. Use lean and tender parts of the meat.

Marinade

• 1 Tbsp rice wine (or any cooking wine)
• 1 tsp ginger powder (or minced ginger)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• A few sprinkles ground black pepper

Batter

• 1 & 1/4 cup potato starch (or corn starch)
• 1 & 1/4 cup water
• 2 egg whites

Fruit and Vegetables

• 100 g / 3.5 ounces pineapple slices, cut into small chunks (I used canned pineapple)
• 1/2 onion (70 g / 2.5 ounces), cut into small chunks
• 1/2 green capsicum (50 g / 1.8 ounces), cut into small chunks
• 1/2 red capsicum (50 g / 1.8 ounces), cut into small chunks
• 1/4 English cucumber (50 g / 1.8 ounces), thinly sliced
• 1/4 carrot (30 g / 1 ounce), thinly sliced

*Other popular fruit and vegetable options: earwood mushrooms and apple

Sweet and sour sauce (mix these in a bowl)

• 200 ml water
• 200 ml pineapple juice (I used the juice from the canned pineapple)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Sauce thickening agent (mix these in a bowl)

• 2 Tbsp potato starch (or corn starch)
• 2 Tbsp water

Other

• Some vegetable oil for cooking and deep frying (I used rice bran oil)

*1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml

How to Make Tangsuyuk

1.Make the tangsuyuk batter by combining the potato starch and water in a bowl. Mix them well. Leave it for about 1 hour (or until the starch sinks in the bowl completely) on the kitchen bench. When the starch and water separate, gently discard the water. Combine the starch with the egg whites. Mix them well. (It will be stiff at first, so you might want to use a fork or equivalent tool to mix.)

2. Combine the pork with the marinade and mix them well. Set aside (in the fridge) until needed.

3. Add the pork (from step 2) into the batter bowl (from step 1). Mix them well.

4. Fill a wok with a generous amount of oil and bring it to boil until it reaches 175 C / 350 F (or boiling). (It takes about 5 mins.) Add the battered pork into the wok one at a time and cook the meat. (It takes about 1 to 2 mins to cook.) Make sure the wok doesn’t get crowded. Scoop out the meat and move them onto kitchen paper to soak away the excess oil. Repeat this with the remaining meat.

5. In a separate pan, pour the sweet and sour sauce into the pot. Heat the sauce on medium high heat until it bubbles up. Add the carrots into the sauce and boil for 1 min. Add the remaining fruit and vegetables and boil the sauce a further 2 mins. Add the thickening agent and stir constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat.

6. Return to the wok. Heat the oil again until it reaches 175 C / 350 F (or boiling). Deep fry all the meat (from step 4) briefly again to make it crispier. (The wok can be crowded this time.) Scoop out the meat and place it onto kitchen paper.

7. Serve the meat on a plate with the sweet and sour sauce over it. Alternatively, you can serve the meat on a plate and the sauce in a separate bowl. (FYI, some restaurants also serve a Korean dipping sauce for your fried meat. If you want, you can try the meat with it instead of the sweet and sour sauce.)

Note

• It tastes best when served immediately after cooking.
• If you are refrigerating Tangsuyuk, keep the sauce separate to the meat so that the crispness last a bit longer.