Tangsuyuk is one of the most iconic Korean-Chinese dishes. It’s crispy golden pork with a glossy sweet and sour sauce. This tangsuyuk recipe comes from famous Korean celebrity chef Yeo Kyungrae on his YouTube channel. It creates an extra crispy coating made only from potato starch, paired with a perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce that tastes just like what you’d get at a restaurant.
To Pour or To Dip the Sauce
Almost every time we visit a Korean-Chinese restaurant, we order tangsuyuk to go along with our main noodle or rice entrees. In Korea, there’s a long-running debate about whether the sauce should be poured over the pork or served on the side for dipping.
Most restaurants today serve the sauce separately so each person can choose their preference. My husband recently complained that it’s not the same when the sauce is provided on the side and you pour it over. The sauce isn’t hot enough, and the pork doesn’t get evenly coated. Even about 10-15 years ago, the sauce was always stirfried with the crispy pork right before serving. So, I decided to give this recipe a try at home.
The batter
Many tangsuyuk batters use Korean frying-mix flour, a blend of starch and flour, combination of sweet rice flour and starch. But this batter only uses potato starch and water. While it takes longer because the starch must soak for about two hours, the result is well worth the wait. After soaking, the water is drained and the remaining crumbly starch is used to coat the pork. I was skeptical when I first saw the texture but trust the process. It fried beautifully and created a slightly chewy but very crispy pork.
For this Recipe
This recipe is by Chef Yeo Kyungrae who appeared as a white coat chef on Season 1 of Culinary Class Wars. He’s an icon to many so I fully trust his recipes.
Many Korean YouTube recipes use approximate measurements, or a home spoon sizes rather than standard measuring tools, so I adapted the ratios to create more accurate tablespoon and teaspoon measurements for consistent results. Chef Yeo demonstrates the traditional style of coating the crispy pork directly in the sauce. My husband was especially happy with this version, and enjoying it immediately after frying makes all the difference.
Ingredient Variations
Pork is the most common ingredient usually used. However, you can find versions of beef, shrimp, or mushrooms as well. You can just swap out the pork for whatever other meat or vegetable you have on hand at home.
Tangsuyuk (Sweet and Sour Pork) - by celebrity Chef Yeo Kyungrae
Ingredients
Pork & Batter
- 12 oz pork loin (340 g)
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1 cup water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Neutral oil for frying
Sauce
- 270 ml water (9 oz)
- 5 Tbsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 4 ½ Tbsp vinegar
- 1 ½ Tbsp starch + 3 Tbsp water mix well
Vegetables for sauce
- 2 slices canned pineapple cut into chunks (or standard pineapple works!)
- ¼ carrot thinly sliced on the diagonal
- ¼ cucumber thinly sliced on the diagonal
- ¼ onion cut into chunks (optional)
- 1 oz wood ear mushrooms (optional)
- ¼ cup green peats
Instructions
Prepare the Starch Batter
- Combine 1 cup of starch and 1 cup of water in a large bowl. Mix well and then set aside for at least 2 hours.
- Once settled, the starch will sink to the bottom and the water will float on top. Carefully pour off and discard the water, leaving only the thick starch paste. Set aside.
Prepare the Initial Sauce
- Prepare the sauce vegetables. Slice the carrot and cucumber thinly, in a diagonal. Cut the pineapple into 2 inch pieces. If using, cut onions into 2 inch pieces.
- Prepare the Sauce Base. Mix the water, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar in a pan. Bring to a boil on medium high heat, and add in the vegetables. Reduce to a simmer once boiling on medium low heat. Turn off the heat and set aside. The starch slurry will be added later.
Prepare and Fry the pork
- Cut pork into 2 inch long strips and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Break up the reserved potato starch with your hands, massage and crumble the starch. The starch will be very hard. Add in the pork pieces and lightly massage the starch on to the pork. * You may think it doesn’t look right. You want pieces of the white starch sticking to the pork but it doesn’t need to be fully covered.
- Heat oil in a deep pot or fryer to 350°F (175°C). Carefully add pork pieces in batches and fry for 3–4 minutes, or until pale golden and lightly crisp. Remove and drain on a wire rack.*Tip for extra crispy: while frying, use a wire rack to raise the fried pork out of the oil, and hit the frying pork pieces with a spoon. This helps break up the pork pieces and make it extra crispy. Do it about twice.
- Fry a second time for 2 minutes until deep golden and extra crispy. Drain well.
Finish the Sauce
- Thicken the Sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer on medium heat, and add in the starch slurry.
To serve:
- Poured over: For the traditional style, add the double-fried pork into the sauce pot and gently toss until evenly coated. Serve immediately. Dipping: Transfer sauce to a small bowl and serve alongside crispy pork for dipping. Enjoy right away.
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