Tangsuyuk Korean Sweet and Sour Pork. Crispy fried pork deliciously smothered in a tangy sweet sauce accompanied with red bell peppers and onion. A delicious main dish ready in 30 minutes! This is better than takeout!
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What is Tangsuyuk?
Tangsuyuk is a Korean-style sweet and sour pork dish. It features crispy deep fried pork with a sweet and sour dipping sauce with bell peppers and onions. If you’re a big fan of Chinese sweet and sour pork, then you will love this dish! It’s similar to the Chinese version but also has it's differences. The sauce is much lighter in color and the pork is usually served on the side to retain it's crispiness.
You can have this pork dish with steamed rice and veggies or if you want to get authentic, Koreans usually eat jajangmyeon with tangsuyuk! The savory black bean noodles pair so well with that sweet sour crispy pork. The contrasting textures and tastes are really so incredible. Regardless of how you enjoy it, it's a great main dish for the whole family to enjoy!
Ingredients
- Pork loin: if you can find ones with more fat marbling through it, it'll result in a juicier tangsuyuk
- Bell peppers: red, orange or yellow ones work
- Onion
- Neutral oil: like vegetable oil, avocado oil or any scentless oil with a high smoke point.
Batter
- Potato starch: or corn starch
- Cold water
- Salt
- Egg
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 of your choice.
- White vinegar
- Cold water
- Potato starch or cornstarch
- White granulated sugar
How to make Tangsuyuk
Prepare Batter
In a large mixing bowl, mix your batter ingredients until well combined.
Slice & Batter Pork
Pat your pork loins dry with paper towel. Slice your pork into bite size pieces and add pieces to batter. Mix until each piece is coated in batter. Note: it may be hard to mix as potato cornstarch naturally solidifies when left undisturbed. This is normal. However, when you mix it enough the batter will become loose again.
Create Sauce
In another bowl, mix your sauce until well combined. Set aside
Deep Fry Pork
Then in a large wok or deep pan set over medium heat add cooking oil. Place a chopstick in the oil and when you see bubbles form, you are ready to fry your pork. Carefully add in each piece of battered pork. Fry for 5-6 minutes flipping it over until golden brown. Remove and transfer to a plate.
Double Fry for Extra Crispiness
Then deep fry again for another 2-3 minutes until extra crispy and brown. Remove and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Stir Fry Bell Peppers & Onions
Remove the oil and leave 1 teaspoon in the pan. Over medium heat fry your bell peppers and onions until they have softened, about 2-3 minutes.
Simmer Sauce
Pour in your sauce and let this reduce until it has thickened. Then pour the sauce into a serving bowl.
Serve & enjoy!
Serve crispy pork and sauce separately and dip as needed. Or alternatively pour sauce over pork when ready to serve. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
This dish will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat on the stovetop in a pan on medium heat until hot.
Expert Tips
- Use pork loins 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 fresh ingredients. This is a no brainer but when you use fresh ingredients, it will really elevate your dish to the next level.
- Double fry your crispy pork for extra crunchy texture!
FAQ
Can I use other vegetables?
Yes of course! You can add broccoli, carrots, celery or any hard vegetables. You could even add pineapples. Avoid any vegetables with excess moisture such as zucchini.
Is this like Chinese sweet and sour pork?
Yes, tangsuyuk is very similar to Chinese sweet and sour pork but the main difference is that that the Chinese versions contains pineapples and the sauce is very red in color. Also Tangsuyuk is served separately from the sauce to keep the crispy texture of the pork.
Can I make the pork in the air fryer?
No, I wouldn't recommend it as the wet batter will fall off the pork as it air fries.
Other recipes you may like!
- Sweet And Sour Chicken
- Sweet & Sour Battered Mushrooms
- Mongolian Chicken
- Honey Sesame Chicken
- Peking Pork Chops
📖 Recipe
Easy Tangsuyuk (Korean Sweet and Sour Pork)
Ingredients
- 0.75 lb pork loins sliced into quarters
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 orange bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow 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 egg
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 6 tablespoon white vinegar
- ¾ cup water cold
- 1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix your batter ingredients until well combined.
- Pat your pork loins dry with paper towel. Slice your pork into bite size pieces and add pieces to batter. Mix until each piece is coated in batter. Note: it may be hard to mix as potato cornstarch naturally solidifies when left undisturbed. This is normal. However, when you mix it enough the batter will become loose again.
- In another bowl, mix your Tangsuyuk sauce until well combined. Set aside.
- Then in a large wok or deep pan set over medium heat add cooking oil. Place a chopstick in the oil and when you see bubbles form, you are ready to fry your pork. Carefully add in each piece of battered pork. Fry for 5-6 minutes flipping it over until golden brown. Remove and transfer to a plate.
- Then deep fry again for another 2-3 minutes until extra crispy and brown. Remove and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
- Remove the oil and leave 1 teaspoon in the pan. Over medium heat fry your bell peppers and onions until they have softened, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in your sauce and let this reduce until it has thickened. Then pour the sauce into a serving bowl.
- Serve crispy pork and sauce separately and dip as needed. Or alternatively pour sauce over pork when ready to serve. Enjoy!
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Katherine | Love In My Oven
This pork looks so crispy delicious, Christie! We'd all love this one, even the kiddos. Sign me up!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Sweet and sour is my very favorite and that beautiful crispy pork looks absolutely tantalizing!
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.
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!