Cross-Cultural · Korea

Tangsuyuk (탕수육)

Name: Tangsuyuk (탕수육)
Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 2 hours
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 7 oz pork loin, cut into thin 2-3 inch strips (200g); 1/2 tsp salt; null ground black pepper, pinch; null fresh ginger, small piece, minced; 1/2 egg white; 1 cup potato starch, soaked in 3 cups water 1.5 hours, drained, use solidified starch; 4 cups cooking oil, for frying; 3 cups water, for sauce; 1/4 cup sugar; 4 tbsp white or rice vinegar; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp salt, for sauce; 2 tbsp potato starch, mixed with 2 tbsp water for slurry; 1/4 onion, cut into pieces; 1 oz carrot, cut into pieces; 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into pieces; 2 slices canned pineapple, cut into pieces

Double-fried pork in a solidified potato starch batter with a bright sweet and sour sauce of pineapple, vegetables, and vinegar

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Jump to Recipe

Tangsuyuk is Korean sweet and sour pork, and the secret to its impossibly crispy batter is a technique you will not find in Western cooking: soaking potato starch in water for an hour and a half until the starch sinks and solidifies at the bottom of the bowl, then draining the water and using only the dense, solidified starch to coat the pork. This concentrated starch creates a batter that fries into a shell so crispy it shatters when you bite through it.

The pork is sliced into thin strips, seasoned with salt, pepper, and ginger, then coated in the solidified starch with a bit of egg white to bind. It fries twice: the first pass at 330°F cooks the pork through and sets the coating, the second pass crisps the coating into glass. The double fry is what gives tangsuyuk its reputation. Single-fried versions go soggy in minutes. Double-fried tangsuyuk stays crispy long enough to survive the sauce.

The sweet and sour sauce is bright and fruity: water, sugar, vinegar, and a touch of soy sauce thickened with a starch slurry, with onion, carrot, bell pepper, and pineapple chunks cooked in. It gets poured over the fried pork at the table, or served on the side for dipping. Koreans actually debate which method is correct: "bumeok" (pour it over) or "jjikmeok" (dip in it). Both are valid. The argument is part of the fun.

At a Glance

Yield

2 servings

Prep

1 hour 30 minutes

Cook

25 minutes

Total

2 hours

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

2 servings

7 ozpork loin, cut into thin 2-3 inch strips (200g)
1/2 tspsalt
—ground black pepper, pinch
—fresh ginger, small piece, minced
1/2egg white
1 cuppotato starch, soaked in 3 cups water 1.5 hours, drained, use solidified starch
4 cupscooking oil, for frying
3 cupswater, for sauce
1/4 cupsugar
4 tbspwhite or rice vinegar
1 tbspsoy sauce
1 tspsalt, for sauce
2 tbsppotato starch, mixed with 2 tbsp water for slurry
1/4onion, cut into pieces
1 ozcarrot, cut into pieces
1/2green bell pepper, cut into pieces
2slices canned pineapple, cut into pieces

Method

1
Soak 1 cup potato starch in 3 cups water for 1.5 hours. The starch will sink and solidify. Drain off the clear water.
2
Season pork with salt, pepper, ginger. Pat dry. Toss in the solidified starch. Add egg white, massage to coat.
3
First fry at 170°C (330°F) for 3 min. Gently separate any stuck pieces. Drain 1 min.
4
Second fry at 170°C (330-340°F) for 3-4 min until very crispy and golden. Drain.
5
Make sauce: boil water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt on low. Add vegetables and pineapple. Thicken with starch slurry. Cook 1 min until glossy.
6
Pour sauce over fried pork ("bumeok" style) or serve sauce on the side for dipping ("jjikmeok" style).