Tangsuyuk. Delicious, crispy fried pork coated or dipped in a tangy sweet and sour sauce with colorful vegetables. This quick and easy Korean Sweet and Sour Pork is packed with flavor! A great main dish that beats takeout saving you money!
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What is Tangsuyuk?
Tangsuyuk is a Korean-style sweet and sour pork dish. It features crispy deep fried pork stir fried in a sweet and sour sauce with bell peppers and onions. You'll find this served at many Korean-Chinese restaurants with the crispy pork served separately from the sauce.
The question that every Korean asks about this dish: do you like to dip the pork into the sauce or do you like to pour the sauce over the pork? I personally like to dip the crispy pork into the sauce so it remains crispy.
If you’re a big fan of Chinese sweet and sour pork, then you will love this Korean version! The main differences is the sweet and sour sauce as it's light in color and the pork is crispier and lighter in coating.
This pork dish is best served with steamed rice and veggies or jajangmyeon (Korean black bean noodles). The salty savory noodles balance well with that sweet sour pork making it a pair that is often ordered together!
Ingredients & Substitutes
- Pork loin or Boneless Pork Shoulder: if you can find ones with more fat marbling through it, it'll result in a juicier tangsuyuk! You can also substitute with pork chops but remove the bone.
- Bell peppers: ideally red, yellow or orange bell peppers. This Korean dish also can contain wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, celery, apple slices or pineapples.
- Onion
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Pork Batter
- Potato starch: or substitute corn starch to make the pork ultra crispy. Avoid using all-purpose flour as it won't result in a crispy light coating.
- Cold water: ideally ice cold water to create a light batter.
- Salt
- Egg
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- White vinegar, rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- Cold water
- Potato starch or cornstarch: to thicken the sauce
- White granulated sugar
Expert Tips
- Use fresh ingredients. This is a no brainer but when you use fresh ingredients, it will really elevate your dish to the next level.
- Use boneless pork shoulder with some fat marbling through it for best taste!
- Pat your pork loins dry with paper towel. This allows for the pork to adhere to the batter better. It also removes any odours from the pork that may linger and makes it tastier. Alternatively you can rinse your pork in cold water.
- Use a heavy bottomed pan or dutch oven to fry if possible as the thick base of the pan will maintain the oil temperature through the frying process.
- Make sure the oil temperature is hot enough before you fry by checking with a digital cooking thermometer or a wooden utensil to look for bubbles.
- Fry pork in small batches and do not overcrowd the pan because this prevents the oil temperature from lowering which prevents the formation of crispy pork.
- Double fry your crispy pork for extra crunchy texture!
- Drain the crispy pork of excess oil on a wire rack or paper towel lined plate as excess oil makes the coating soggy.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make tangsuyuk:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your batter ingredients until well combined. In another bowl, mix your sweet and sour sauce until well combined and set aside.
- Pat sliced pork dry with paper towel and mix into batter. Note: The batter will naturally solidify when left undisturbed. This is totally normal so don't panic! When you re-mix the batter, it'll loosen up again.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil temperature reaches 325 degrees F with a digital instant read thermometer or place a chopstick in the oil and when you see bubbles form, fry battered pork in small batches. Fry for 5-6 minutes flipping it over until golden brown. Remove and transfer to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Then double fry the fried pork again for another 2-3 minutes until extra crispy and brown. Remove and transfer back to wire rack or paper towel lined plate.
- Remove most of the oil and leave 2 teaspoon in the pan. On medium heat sauté bell peppers and onions until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in sweet and sour sauce and simmer to thicken. Once thickened, pour sauce into a medium serving bowl.
- Serve crispy pork and sauce separately and dip as needed. Or alternatively pour sauce over pork when ready to serve. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing this dish as the pork coating and vegetables will become soggy.
Pairing Suggestions
Tangsuyuk serves well with rice or jajangmyeon and other Korean side dishes or banchans like:
FAQ
No, I wouldn't recommend it for this recipe because the wet batter will instantly fall off the pork as it air fries or bakes.
Yes, feel free to substitute the pork with chicken, extra-firm tofu, beef or shrimp.
This can be made in advance and I recommend storing the sauce and pork in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat each component in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
This is totally normal for some of the wet batter to fall off the pork so don't worry. As long as you're not shaking all of it off before frying, you'll still get a crispy coating as the coating will expand as it fries in the oil.
Other recipes you may like
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Tangsuyuk (Korean Sweet and Sour Pork)
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork loin or pork shoulder, sliced into ¼-inch thick pieces at 1-inch wide x 2-inches long
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 orange bell pepper diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cups vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Batter
- 1 cup potato starch or cornstarch
- ½ cup water cold
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 6 tablespoon white vinegar or rice vinegar/apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup water cold
- 1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your batter ingredients until well combined.
- In another bowl, mix your sweet and sour sauce until well combined and set aside.
- Pat sliced pork dry with paper towel and mix into batter. Note: The batter will naturally solidify when left undisturbed. This is totally normal so don't panic! When you re-mix the batter, it'll loosen up again.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil temperature reaches 325 degrees F with a digital instant read thermometer or place a chopstick in the oil and when you see bubbles form, fry battered pork in small batches. Fry for 5-6 minutes flipping it over until golden brown. Remove and transfer to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Then double fry the fried pork again for another 2-3 minutes until extra crispy and brown. Remove and transfer back to wire rack or paper towel lined plate.
- Remove most of the oil and leave 2 teaspoon in the pan. On medium heat sauté bell peppers and onions until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in sweet and sour sauce and simmer to thicken. Once thickened, pour sauce into a medium serving bowl.
- Serve crispy pork and sauce separately and dip as needed. Or alternatively pour sauce over pork when ready to serve. Enjoy!
Natalie
The recipe was a perfect compliment to homemade jjajangmyeon. I didn’t have pineapples on hand for the sauce and was searching for a recipe that doesn’t include it, honestly the vinegar and sugar makes it tastes the same! The pork was crispy and delicious. Adding this recipe to the rotation, thank you Christie!
christieathome
This made my day! I'm so happy you enjoyed my recipe! Glad I could share it with you. Thank you for making it and for this very kind review, Natalie!
Betsy Russell
Hi there, what is the measurement of the water 8n the sauce? It only shows 3/4, is it 3/4 cup?
christieathome
Hi Betsy! Thank you for bringing that to my attention! It should be 3/4 cups of water.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Sweet and sour is my very favorite and that beautiful crispy pork looks absolutely tantalizing!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
This pork looks so crispy delicious, Christie! We'd all love this one, even the kiddos. Sign me up!