TangSuYuk, Sweet and Sour Pork (Beef or Chicken)

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kid friendly

nut free

prep time:

15 min

inactive time:

0 min

cooking time:

45 min

total time:

60 min

Tangsuyuk, along with jjajangmyeon and jjam ppong, are the epitome of Korean Chinese food known for being delivered to houses in a steel case called "Cheol Ga Bang 철가방" even back in the days when food delivery was unusual.

It’s also often cooked at home for special occasions and parties. Because of its sweetness, kids love it too!
Traditionally Tangsuyuk is made with pork, but there are variations made with chicken, beef and even seafood.

Buy Tang Su Yuk ingredients online here.

INGREDIENTS

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main ingredients
3 lb 14 oz	Pork Neck(uncut) 돼지고기 목살 (any cut for pork chop, can use chicken of beef)
7 tbs	Salt 소금
1½ tsp	Black Pepper 후추
11	Egg 계란
3½ cups	Potato Starch 감자 전분
14 cups	Vegetable Oil 식용유
for sweet & sour sauce
1¾ cups	Vinegar 식초
1¾ cups	Sugar 설탕
3½ cups	Water 물
1⅔ tbs	Soy Sauce (regular) 왜간장
1⅔ tbs	Salt 소금
1½ tsp	Black Pepper 후추
1 tbs	Garlic (minced) 다진 마늘
1	Onion (Medium) 양파
1	Zucchini, Korean (Grey Squash) 애호박 (optional)
1	Red Pepper 붉은 피망 (optional)
1	Green Pepper 피망 (or pineapple)
9 oz	Carrot (large Korean carrot) 당근 (optional)
2	Apple 사과
3½ tbs	Sesame Seeds 깨
7 tbs	Vegetable Oil 식용유
½ cup 2½ tbs	Potato Starch 감자 전분
1 cup 2⅔ tbs	Water 물

tips:

Optional Ingredients and Substitutions
Pork: You can use chicken, beef or seafood. For chicken, you can use dark meat, white meat or a mix of both. If you are using fish or seafood, the frying time will be shorter.
Carrot, zucchini, minced Garlic, sesame seeds: can be omitted.
Soy Sauce: an be omitted. Use more salt instead.
Apple: can be omitted or you can use another sweet fruit like pineapple or orange.

Batter Variation
In this recipe, the meat is dredged in potato starch, then dipped in beat eggs. This creates soft and thin skin.

If you would like a thicker and crispier batter, use the following batter.
1. Mix 1 cup of potato starch with 1 cup of water (1:1 ratio) and let it sit until it forms sediments at the bottom.
2. Discard 1/3 of water on top and mix the remaining mixture well with 3 egg whites.
3. Mix all the pork pieces with the batter well before deep frying.

More questions? Please leave your questions below in the comments section. We will do our best to answer as soon as we can.

instructions	photos	summary
Ingredient amounts in the recipe instructions are for the default serving size.	Click to enlarge photos.	Ingredient amounts in the recipe summary are for the default serving size.
1. Slice vegetables and fruit Slice all the vegetables and fruit.		1 Slice ¼ onion ¼ zucchini (optional) ¼ red pepper ¼ green pepper ¼ carrot (optional) ½ apple (optional)
2. Cut pork Cut pork into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the meat.		2 Cut pork into bite size Sprinkle salt pepper both sides
3. Preheat vegetable oil Preheat vegetable oil in a pot or in a deep-fryer for deep-frying (350 °F or 180 °C). The amount of oil depends on what kind of pot you use and how much meat you are frying. Make sure there is enough oil for a few pieces of pork to be completely immersed when frying.		3 Preheat Vegetable oil 350 °F or 180 °C
4. Sauté vegetables Preheat a pot on high heat for a minute. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and minced garlic. Add in carrots, onions and zucchinis and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir frequently.		4 Preheat a pot High Heat 1 min Add 2 tbs vegetable oil 1 tsp minced garlic carrots, onions & zucchinis Sauté High Heat 2 min Stir frequently
5. Sauté vegetables 2 Add apple, red pepper and green pepper and sauté on high heat for another 2 minutes while stirring.		5 Add apple red pepper green pepper Sauté High Heat 2 min while stirring
6. Make sauce Add 1 cup of water, ½ cup of vinegar and ½ cup of sugar to the sautéed vegetables and mix well. Bring it to boil.		6 Add 1 cup water ½ cup vinegar ½ cup sugar High Heat Bring to boil
7. Season sauce Reduce the heat to low. Add ½ tablespoon of soy sauce for color and season with ½ tablespoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper. You may need more or less salt. Taste and add gradually.		7 Reduce heat to low Low Heat Add ½ tbs soy sauce ½ tbs salt a pinch black pepper
8. Thicken sauce Mix 2½ tablespoon of potato starch with ⅓ cup of COLD water in a small bowl. Add a little more water if potato starch is not completely dissolved. Add the starch mix to the sauce slowly on low heat. You can add more starch mix if needed. Aim for a consistency that is a little thicker than pancake syrup. Mix well and let it simmer on lowest heat to keep it warm.		8 In small bowl Mix well 2½ tbs potato starch ⅓ cup cold water Add mix to the sauce Mix well Simmer Low Heat Keep warm
9. Bread pork Spread potato starch on a large plate or tray and lightly dredge the pork pieces in the potato starch. See above tips for a different variation of the batter.		9 Dredge pork in potato starch
10. Dip in egg Beat 3 eggs and season with ¼ teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Shake off excess starch from the dredged meat and dip in the egg mix.		10 Beat 3 eggs with ¼ tsp salt a pinch of black pepper Dip dredged meat in egg mix
11. Deep-fry Remove excess egg mix from the pork and add to the pre-heated oil one by one. Deep-fry pork for about 5 minutes or until it’s a golden color. To see if the oil is ready, you can drop in a small piece. If it floats to the surface in a couple of seconds, it’s hot enough. Don’t deep-fry too many at once. It will lower the temperature of the oil and the meat will take longer to cook and become greasier.		11 Deep-fry 5 min or until golden
12. Drain fat Leave the fried meat on a flat strainer or paper towel for 5-10 minutes to drain fat.		12 Drain fat on strainer or paper towel
13. Deep-fry again Deep-fry once again for about 30 seconds to 1 min or until golden brown. It can be a higher temperature the first time. For pork and chicken, make sure it’s cooked all the way. No pink color. It can make you sick.		13 Dee-fry 1 min
14. Drain fat again Drain fat again on a strainer or paper towel for a couple of minutes.		14 Drain fat
15. Serve Serve on a plate and pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top (optional).		15 Place on plate Pour sauce Sprinkle sesame seeds